Michael Murphy: the Destroyer

The newest Navy Destroyer will be named for a recipient of the Medal of Honor, an operator of the sea, air, and land group more commonly known as the Navy SEALs.

The man’s name is Michael P. Murphy.

Maybe its the shape of the man’s eyebrows, or a knowledge he is willing to face the black, but he has a sensitive look about him, or maybe it’s a concerned look, or the look of a leader ready to make the hard decisions. This is a difficult look to pull off with an M4 strap around a neck with finger resting ready on the trigger.

Michael is a man who made all the right decisions. He went to college right after high school. Once graduated from Penn State he decided to use his degree to serve his country. He could have been a lawyer, yet he chose to throw bullets and was willing to catch them for the defense of his fellow soldiers.

He is not much different than the destroyer he is named for, this ship known for its high endurance used to extinguish short range attacks on its fleet.

This is what basically killed Michael, on June 28th 2005. He left his position to find high ground, called in support for his brothers, under fire from 200 insurgents. He returned wounded but successful and a group of 16 was being dispatched to rescue him and his team of four.

At the end of the day Michael died. The support he called for was attacked by an RPG killing every member on board the chalk. Of Michael’s team one lived to report the story as it happened.

The survivor was rescued by locals.

He reported:

The irony was these nineteen soldiers were killed potentially protecting local sheep herders.

of maybe They were discovered, while tracking the enemy, by four locals with goats.

They should be killed, some thought.

A decision was made.

The sheep herders were allowed to live. There was a risk in not killing them, the risk of being discovered if the herders told where they were.

Michael ignored this risk for a moral purpose. Those men posed no immediate threat. The higher value was the mission.

They herders left unmolested.

6 days later Michael’s body was discovered, on July 4th, 2005.

His job was to extinguish short range attacks that posed a danger to his fleet. That danger turned out to be a battle with 200 Taliban, not four defenseless goat herders. That look of sensitivity on the man’s face suggests he could make the tough decision, but at the end of the day it would be the moral one that earned him his Medal of Honor and status forever as an American Hero.