Military Officer - January 2008 - (Page 81) pagesofhistory A Sacrifice Honored A Navy SEAL is awarded the highest honor for bravely giving his life in a heroic attempt to save his fellow SEALs during a tough battle in Afghanistan. L t. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life in an attempt to save fellow SEALs in fierce fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan, has been awarded the Medal of Honor. President George W. Bush presented the medal to Murphy’s parents, Maureen and Dan Murphy, at a White House ceremony in October 2007. Murphy’s is the first Medal of Honor awarded for service in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. On June 28, 2005, as Murphy led a four-man SEAL team in search of a key enemy commander, the unit came under attack by some 50 Taliban fighters. During the fight, Murphy, already wounded, moved into the open where he could gain a better transmission signal and request backup from headquarters. At one point, Murphy was shot in the back, causing him to drop the transmitter. He picked it up, completed the call, and continued firing at the enemy as they closed in. By the time the two-hour gunfight had concluded, Murphy and two other SEALs had been killed, and an estimated 35 Taliban died in the fighting. The helicopter Murphy had requested crashed after being struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing all 16 men on board. In THIS MONTH IN HISTORY ■ On Jan. 9, 1945, Army Gen. Douglas MacAr- total, 19 Americans died in what Bush referred to as “the deadliest [event] for Navy Special Warfare forces since World War II.” Murphy was buried at Calverton National Cemetery, less than 20 miles from his childhood home of Patchogue, N.Y. Bush noted Murphy’s decision to join the military was not easily accepted by his family: Dan Murphy, who earned a Purple Heart in the Vietnam War, appreciated the sacrifices demanded by military service. I Restored Fort Open n World War II, not many people knew about Battery Townsley at Fort Cronkhite on the San Francisco Bay. The government built this secret underground site in 1940 to protect the western U.S. coast while war raged on the other side of the Pacific. Townsley, named after World War I Army Maj. Gen. Clarence P. Townsley, held two 16-inch guns that could fire a one-ton shell at a battleship 25 miles away and housed more than 100 soldiers. The battery later fell into disrepair and was closed to the public in the early 1990s. Now, Townsley’s extensive network of underground tunnels has been refurbished and reopened to the public. The mostly 1 volunteer effort took 2⁄ years and about 2 $150,000 to complete. MO JANUARY 2008 Lt. Michael P. Murphy, USN, who was killed during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan, received the first Medal of Honor for service in Operation Enduring Freedom. thur freed the Philippine people from Japanese occupation. In October 1944, he went to Leyte, but its capital was liberated three months later when American forces invaded the main island of Luzon. PHOTO: USN MILITARY OFFICER 81
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