From the book "Seal of Honor" by Gary Williams
"WHEN CHARACTER MET CIRCUMSTANCE: Operation Red Wings"
..In June of 2005, Michael and SEAL Team 10 (Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz, and Axelson) were sent to Afghanistan, Kunar Province, as part of a large mission to neutralize a the Taliban leader Shah, his headquarters, and his Mountain Tigers (soldiers). They were dropped off at a specific "drop zone" and from there they traveled on foot along the side of a box canyon with extremely steep slopes and hard terrain to navigate. They found a clear spot to observe the village below by climbing trees with each SEAL approx. 30 yards apart. All of a sudden 3 goat herders came upon them and blew their cover. Immediately the SEALs surrounded the goat herders who called out "No Taliban!, No Taliban!. Upon review of the situation, the SEALs knew that the next decision (to kill them or not) was completely up to thier leader Lt. Michael Murphy. After he explained the reasoning to his team and showing his strong leasdership skills, he gave the order to release them and for the team to move to a new location. Shortly after, SEAL Team 10 was attacked by approximately 80 Taliban, who within minutes surrounded the SEALs on three sides. Nearly 30 minutes into the firefight, Dietz and Axelson had received multiple wounds, and Murphy had suffered a bullet wound to the abdomen. The wounded men began bounding down the steep slopes while providing each other with alternating fire cover. During their leaps they lost their rucksacks and medical supplies. About 45 minutes into the fight Dietz who was then severely wounded, walk out into an open space to place a call for help and suffered a gunshot wound to his right hand blowing off his thumb. By them all three had suffered several more wounds. Murphy yelled at them "keep moving!" More than an hour into the fight, Dietz was dead, Axelson was suffering from multiple wounds. Despite being severly wounded himself, Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, in a last ditch effort to save his men, broke cover and deliberatley walked onto open ground in one final attempt to acquire a cell-phone signal. According to Marcus Luttrell (the lone survivor) "He walked until he was more or less in the center, gunfire all around him, and he sat on a small rock and began punching in the numbers to HQ. I could hear him talking 'My men are taking heavy fire..we're getting picked apart... my guys are dying out here...we need help.' Right then he took a bullet straight in the back. He slumped forward, dropped his phone and his rifle, but then he braced himself, grabbed them both, sat upright, and once more put his phone to his ear. I heard him speak again, 'Roger that sir, Thank you."' ....... those were his last words.
Lieutenant Michael Patrick Murphy "Murph" was killed on 28 JUNE 2005
HONORING "MURPH"
He was the first to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in the War on Afgahnistan, the first naval officer to receive it since the Vietnam War, and the first SEAL to receive it posthumously.
Being a man of great character, he is also the subject of Naval Speacial Warefare courses on leadership, and an Arliegh-Burke - class guided missle destroyer, naval base, school, post office, ball park, and hospital emergency room have all been named in his honor.
Marcus Luttrell described Murphy as " the best officer I ever knew, an iron-souled warrior of colossal, almost unbelievable courage in the face of the enemy."
MURPH DAY - 04 JUNE 2011
I'm going to hold his values in my heart tomorrow when I participate in the "Murph" workout at Crossfit Austin.
