October 22, 2007

Navy SEAL Gets First Medal Of Honor For Afghan Combat

This afternoon, President Bush will award the first Medal of Honor for combat in Afghanistan to the family of Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was mortally wounded while making a radio distress call to save other members of his team who were trapped by enemy fire.

The fierce gun battle occurred on June 28, 2005, "the darkest day in the history of the Navy SEALs," according to Navy Times reporter Philip Creed, who notes that 11 special operators were killed in the Afghan mountains on that single day. Murphy and three other team members, on the hunt for terrorists, were spotted by locals, who apparently tipped off the Taliban. The fierce firefight that ensued forced the outnumbered SEALs to take shelter amid the mountain rocks, but Murphy, who was already wounded, left his position of cover to radio for help, exposing himself to enemy fire and thereby sacrificing his life to save his fellow soldiers.

Two other SEALs in Murphy's team, Matthew Axelson and Danny Dietz, were also killed and subsequently honored with Navy Crosses for aiding in the escape of the fourth member of their team -- Hospital Corpsman Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor of the two-hour battle.

Murphy is the first Navy SEAL to earn the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, AP reports. He was 29 years old and engaged to be married when he died. The New York Times and Newsday have profiles of Murphy, a native of Long Island.

Posted at 12:30 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Military
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