Lt. Michael P. Murphy

The Congressional Medal of Honor is perhaps the single most fitting tribute to our heroes of war. Having special significance among Navy SEALs this Medal of Honor serves to pay homage to all war veterans. One such leading man killed during Operation Redwing was Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

That fated day

It was during a special operation conducted in Afghanistan that Lt. Michael P. Murphy was killed during his Navy SEAL mission. He was leading a SEAL team comprising 4 members and it was on June 28th in the year 2005 that “Murph” or Murphy breathed his last. The team of 4 members comprised of the following members: Matthew G Axeson, Marcus Luttrell, Danny P. Dietz and Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

The task at hand

The task of the 4 member SEAL team was to try and locate an important and strategic leader of the Taliban. They were on their Navy SEAL operation located at a strategic tactical location when they encountered heavy enemy firing. This 4 man team bore the brunt of the firing without submitting to them or giving up. In addition to the heavy enemy firing a heavy grenade propelled by a rocket was hurled at the team. All died except Hospital Corpsman Second Class Marcus Luttrell. Soon after the grenade exploded all the team members were hurled into a ravine while being thrown over a massive ledge.

The killing rampage

Soon after the grenade was exploded, a rescue helicopter was immediately dispatched to the site to help save any survivors. However even the plane which had over 16 rescue members were all shot down with a rocket fire. All people on board were instantly killed. This massive killing spree caused one of the biggest and most devastating losses of life in the Navy SEALs mission Operation Enduring Freedom.

Risking his life

Lt. Michael P. Murphy was already in a very bad state, having suffered severe injuries on account of the grenade explosion. However, in spite of all his injuries he decided to touch base and establish a comms signal with the SEAL base. He advanced into the open ground, not caring for his life and also testing his level of Navy SEALs fitness in the process. He was instantly targeted with numerous fire shots by the enemy and in spite of heavy bleeding he managed to relay his position and ask for instant fire support from the SEAL base.

The recognition

It was on the day of October 11th in the year 2007 that the Whitehouse announced the posthumous award of Congressional Medal of Honor to Lt. Michael P. Murphy. The courage that Lt. Michael P. Murphy showed coupled with his immense bravery and presence of mind even during such a strenuous Navy SEALs mission just goes to show the kind of dedication this Lieutenant had for our country.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

This Article is written by James Kara Murat from USNavySEALstore.com, the contributor of US Navy SEALs Information Portal. A longer version of this article is located at Lt. Michael P. Murphy, and related resources can be found at US Navy SEALs Store

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