SEAL of Honor

by Gary Williams

  On Thursday, October 31, 2008, the Kristensens traveled by train to New York City and joined the Murphy family and the author for a daylong tour of the various places named in honor of Michael Murphy. A particularly emotional moment occurred when the Kristensens visited and prayed at Michael’s grave in Calverton National Cemetery.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Growing Legacy

  The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.

  —WILLIAM JAMES, quoted at iwise.com, www.iwise.com/hYdUg (accessed May 21, 2008)

  A Time of Tribute and Ceremony

  The legacy of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy began to develop almost immediately after his death. First came the creation of a memorial scholarship fund by his family, followed by the memorials described in the preceding chapters.

  On October 4, 2007, the 233rd anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy, the New York City Police Department, in conjunction with the New York Navy League, sponsored a dinner at which Michael posthumously received the USO’s 2007 George Van Cleave Military Leadership Award. At his college alma mater, Penn State University honored Michael during halftime of the Ohio State-Penn State football game on October 27, 2007. As his family was led onto the field, they were met with a standing ovation from the capacity crowd of 107,000.

  On November 4, 2007, during halftime of the New York Jets’ Military Appreciation Day game against the Washington Redskins, Michael was honored for his service and sacrifice. The Town of Brookhaven issued a proclamation on November 8, 2007, that recognized Michael’s Medal of Honor service. On November 24, the New York Islanders hockey team conferred its Hometown Hero Award on Michael. At Long Island’s Calverton National Cemetery, the original military headstone at Michael’s gravesite was formally replaced with the Medal of Honor headstone and its distinctive gold lettering on November 27. On December 6 the United Service Organizations (USO) named Michael Murphy Sailor of the Year.

  Motivate America, a company providing solutions in the disciplines of business and personal development, presented Michael Murphy with its 2007 Person of the Year award at its annual awards banquet in Manhattan on January 2, 2008.

  On March 17, 2009, the 247th St. Patrick’s Day Parade honored Michael Murphy and all of America’s armed forces. On July 7 Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, dedicated the new Lt. Michael P. Murphy Combat Training Pool at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.

  On April 10, 2008, former White House press secretary Tony Snow and Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy were honored at the Media Research Center’s 2008 Gala, held in Washington, D.C. There, T. Boone Pickens donated $1 million in Michael’s name to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Two days later the Patchogue-Medford High School dedicated its Wall of Honor, depicting the career of Michael Murphy.

  The Penn State Alumni Association conducted a tribute to Michael Murphy on May 2, 2008, during which he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award. The Serenity Plaza at the Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Park in Lake Ronkonkoma was dedicated on May 7, 2008, by the Town of Brookhaven, and a memorial was dedicated by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. At the May 7 dedication ceremony, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced that the Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke—class guided missile destroyer would be named the USS Michael Murphy. During his remarks, Secretary Winter declared, “Every Sailor who crosses the bow, every Sailor who hears the officer of the deck announce the arrival of the commanding officer, and every Sailor who enters a foreign land representing our great nation will do so as an honored member of the USS Michael Murphy.”

  The LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Sailor’s Cross Memorial, dedicated at the American Legion Post 269 in Patchogue on May 26, 2008, is a solid bronze “cross” constructed from a rifle, fins, a mask, and helmet draped with the Medal of Honor. The San Diego-based organization First American Military honored Michael during Operation Red Wing Tribute, held on board the USS Midway in San Diego Harbor on June 28-29.

  On September 21, 2008, the board of directors of the New Island Hospital in Bethpage, New York, dedicated the Navy LT Michael P. Murphy Emergency Department, and also hosted the very first annual LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Benefit 5K Run/Walk for emergency medical equipment.

  Roger Froehlich, a staunch military advocate, organized the biannual LT (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy Medal of Honor Memorial Golf Tribute on October 2, 2008, at the Mt. Kisco Country Club in Westchester County, New York, with all proceeds going to the LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN, Memorial Scholarship Foundation, the Navy SEAL Warrior Fund, and the Naval Special Warfare Foundation.

  At the Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, Lieutenant Murphy’s name was entered into the Special Operations Command Wall of Heroes and his photograph raised on the Medal of Honor Corridor on November 17, 2008. On November 20, 2008, conservative Christian singer Patti Clark Barnett released “There,” a tribute song to Michael.

  The Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Conference Room was dedicated at the Penn State University Department of Political Science on April 23, 2009.

  The Power of a Legacy

  Despite all the fanfare and notoriety that accompanied all of the preceding events, the one that clearly demonstrated the true power of Michael’s legacy occurred on November 1, 2008, at Calverton National Cemetery. Nannette Furio, the cemetery’s supervisory program manager, described the chance encounter.

  While in front of the administration building waiting for an incoming funeral, I noticed a woman walking into the cemetery and it was obvious she had used public transportation, getting off the bus at the front gate. Dressed in khaki pants, dark sweater and sneakers, her blond hair was pulled back in a pony tail which swayed out from above the adjustment strap in the back of her baseball cap. She carried a purse and flowers wrapped in white floral paper in one hand and a shopping bag in the other with a faux fur leopard coat draped over the bag.

  With no burial sections within a reasonable distance from the front gate, especially for someone bogged down with bags, I radioed for one of our employees to drive her to the gravesite she wished to visit. I then went over and introduced myself as a cemetery employee, telling her that I had someone coming to pick her up. She was extremely grateful, an attractive woman in her early 50’s, she spoke with a thick Polish accent.

  I asked her what section she was visiting and she said that she was going to Section 67 to visit Michael Murphy. I asked her if she knew the Murphy’s and she said no, but had learned about Michael’s death in the newspaper. She was gifted a copy of Lone Survivor, was captivated by the story and since reading the book has visited Michael’s grave several times. She told me that she lives in East Hampton and must take two busses in order to get to the cemetery. The funeral procession I was waiting for had arrived and I instructed her to just stay there and someone would be along shortly to pick her up.

  Several hours later, I was going to head home but decided to visit Michael’s grave to see what type of flowers she had left. As I approached Section 67, I noticed her speaking to a gentleman visiting a nearby grave. I parked the car so we could talk. We both walked over to Michael’s grave and saw she had left him three magnificent red roses with fern and baby’s breath. She explained to me that today is All Saints Day and the Polish tradition is to visit the grave of a loved one. Both of her parents are deceased and interred in Poland and was compelled to again visit Michael. As a young girl, her father would tell her stories about the Warsaw invasion and how they would always move from one neighborhood to another in order to keep ahead of the Germans. When she read, Lone Survivor, the experience Michael and his men had that fateful day took her back to the stories once told by her father.

  Aware that Michael had been awarded the Medal of Honor, she strongly believes our brave men and women who fight for our freedom should never be forgotten. I then escorted her to the grave of each of the men interred in Section 67 and gave her a brief story of each
who had died in Operation Enduring Freedom.

  Ewa [pronounced Eva] Banas is an accomplished but undiscovered artist. She showed me some photographs of her work and her paintings are absolutely beautiful. She then told me about a picture she painted of roses in a vase and the vase had a heart which appeared to be broken down the center because of the shadows she had painted on the canvas. Ewa wanted to give this painting to Marcus Luttrell because she remembered reading in his book that his heart would break when he had to talk to the Murphys. She completed this painting on June 28, 2006, one year after Michael’s death.

  Dan, having been notified of the meeting by Nannette, contacted Ewa, and he and Maureen had the pleasure of meeting her for dinner. She had brought along her well-worn, heavily highlighted and marked copy of Lone Survivor. Dan offered to send the book to Marcus for his autograph. Although somewhat apprehensive about parting with her only copy, she consented. A couple of weeks later, Dan returned to her the now-autographed copy of the book, which she considers one of her most treasured possessions.

  Michael Murphy Memorial Trophy

  As a lasting memory of Lieutenant Michael Murphy from the SEAL Recruiting District Assistance Council (RDAC), the Michael Murphy Memorial Trophy is awarded each year at the annual SEAL RDAC Christmas party to the SEAL officer candidate with the top scores achieved in the SEAL Physical Screening Test (PST) competition. Ironically, the first recipient was Midshipman Matt Shipman from the Penn State Naval ROTC program. Dan and Maureen Murphy personally award the trophy each year.

  The Nature of a Legacy

  A legacy can be defined as something that is handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor from the past. What attracts people from around the globe to the story of Michael P. Murphy? Some would claim that it was his selfless sacrifice on the field of battle; others might say it was his love of freedom and his willingness to die for it. I would argue that it is far more fundamental. While his selfless sacrifice on the field of battle is a matter of record and his love of freedom self-evident, these are but manifestations of the nobility of his character. It is his nobility of character that draws people from all walks of life, from all ages and creeds and nationalities, to his story.

  In the short four-plus years of Michael P. Murphy’s military career, he traveled the world in defense of America and that for which our nation stands. Although physically taken from our midst, Michael P. Murphy, in a much larger sense, continues to traverse the world instilling, and in some cases igniting, the flame of freedom.

  He had spoken of his plans after he concluded his military service. Building on what he had learned, and cognizant of the ever-growing threat of terrorism, he had voiced a strong desire to join the FBI as a counterterrorism specialist. However, that was not to be. Michael P. Murphy believed that while a single man cannot do everything, he could do something. It is this belief that one man can make a difference that serves as an inspiration for us all.

  Postscript

  June 28, 2005, was the deadliest day for American special operations forces since World War II. On July 8, 2005, at a memorial service for the eighteen known dead from Operation Red Wings, Captain Pete Van Hooser declared that their deaths would not go unanswered. What he knew, but could not say, was that Operation Red Wings was only part of the overall plan to rid the Korangal Valley of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.

  Captain Von Hooser’s words proved prophetic. Like the American bald eagle circling and stalking its prey, on August 11, 2005, U.S. and Afghan forces launched a devastatingly successful strike against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in response to the killing of nineteen of America’s best, in what was called Operation Whalers. Coalition forces moved into position at one end of the valley and constructed a forward operating base (FOB) in a nearby cornfield. During the next forty-eight hours, Marines from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii trekked into the rugged terrain while numerous A-10 warplanes circled overhead. Over the next eleven days, the Marines endured twenty-nine separate Taliban and al-Qaeda counterattacks in their effort to wrest the valley from Shah’s control. During the operation, the Mountain Tigers were tamed and Shah himself was severely wounded. He managed to crawl his way back across the mountains into the safety of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier, known as Sarhad, the smallest of Pakistan’s four provinces.

  Requiring only an occasional flap of its wings, the American eagle circled, knowing it was not a question of if its prey would appear, but only a question of when. The eagle circled and waited. On Tuesday, April 15, 2008, the prey reappeared. Afghan security forces opened fire on Mullah Ahmad Shah and those traveling with him after he failed to stop at a police checkpoint near the Afghan border. Shah and his men were killed as they were attempting to smuggle a kidnapped Afghan day laborer back to an al-Qaeda hideout on the Afghan side of the border.

  While Mullah Ahmad Shah and his Mountain Tigers no longer prey on the Afghan people and U.S. forces, the memory of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy SEAL, remains permanently immortalized in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes.

  Michael P. Murphy was not perfect. He certainly made his share of mistakes—in one case, a mistake that cost a SEAL teammate his career. An extraordinary man, Michael P. Murphy was instilled with the seeds of greatness derived from his ethnic background, family legacy, community, and a faith learned in the arms of a loving mother and at the knee of a wise father. Consistent with his faith, he possessed an inner belief of always putting others ahead of self. He also possessed the innate sense of leadership and determination that allowed him to overcome obstacles that would stop those less motivated or determined.

  Marcus Luttrell, Michael’s SEAL teammate and the lone survivor of Operation Red Wings, gave the following tribute to his friend: “If they built a statue of him as big as the Empire State Building, it would not be big enough for me.”

  Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy’s character, compassion, determination, and leadership resulted in his receiving this nation’s Medal of Honor on earth and a place of honor serving in the Army of the Lord in the world eternal. His earthly legacy continues to grow. Newsday’s Legacy.com Web page for him continues to average two to three new posts per week from around the globe nearly four years after his death.

  While political and military leaders change, our trust and commitment toward those who volunteer to wear this nation’s uniform must never change. All who put themselves into harm’s way in defense of freedom, as well as the families who endure their absence, deserve our unwavering gratitude and support. While we all cannot be Michael P. Murphy, we all can be patriots.

  May God continue to comfort those of us who grieve, bless and watch over those who defend freedom, and continue to bless the United States of America.

  Epilogue

  Gasps broke the silence as the small group touring the legendary Bath Iron Works shipbuilding facility entered the cavernous Ultra Hall. Above them, towering nearly four stories high, was the name of their son, brother, grandson, and friend. “Michael Murphy” was emblazoned on the massive, 800-ton hull of what would soon become a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer.

  The family knew, of course, that the name would be there. Aware of the project from its inception, they were present at the shipbuilding facility on June 18, 2010, for the keel-authentication ceremony for the ship named to forever memorialize the sacrifice of their son. The sheer astonishment and emotional impact of seeing his name across the hull of the ship, however, was something none of his family members had anticipated.

  Michael’s parents, Dan and Maureen Murphy, and his brother John embraced. Maureen’s sister Eileen, Michael’s godmother, joined the embrace; their sobs broke the silence. Scott Kay, the guided-missile destroyer project manager for Bath Iron Works and the tour guide for the day, took that moment to compose himself as the family embraced. Although he had conducted many tours for the families of ships’ namesakes, the task never became any easier or less emotional for him.

  Construction on the $170 millio
n guided-missile destroyer Michael Murphy (DDG-112) began on September 7, 2007. During the dedication ceremony on May 7, 2008, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter declared, “Michael Murphy’s name, which will be forever synonymous with astonishing courage under fire, will now be associated with one of the U.S. Navy’s most technologically advanced, most powerful, and most capable warships.”

  The keel-authentication ceremony on June 18 was the first of what will be several emotional ceremonies in bringing the ship to life. During the ceremony the workers at Bath helped Dan and Maureen weld their initials in a steel plate that will become part of the ship. The initials of all nineteen of those killed in Operation Red Wings also will be welded into the keel plate as a lasting tribute to their service and sacrifice.

  The anticipated christening is currently set for May 7, 2011, on what would have been Murphy’s thirty-fifth birthday. The commissioning is tentatively scheduled for June 28, 2012, in New York Harbor. The USS Michael Murphy will be the seventh destroyer and the fortieth Navy ship named to commemorate a Medal of Honor recipient. Although its fleet assignment has yet to be determined, the destroyer and its 23 officers and 250 enlisted personnel likely will be home ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, home of Murphy’s unit, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team-1.

  APPENDIX

  Naval Special Warfare Community Support Groups

  There are several organizations and agencies that provide valuable, thoughtful, and helpful assistance to the families of U.S. Navy SEALS and other American military personnel who have been seriously wounded or killed in action or training.