SEAL of Honor (39 page)

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

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

T
he 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

J
une 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.