As Blackfive mentioned at his place, Navy SEAL LT Michael Murphy, who fell in battle in Afghanistan in June 2005, will be inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes later this month, after his father accepts the Medal of Honor in his behalf. From Navy NewsStand:
Murphy was the officer-in-charge of the SEAL element, which was tasked with locating a high- level Taliban militia leader to provide intelligence for a follow-on mission to capture or destroy the local leadership and disrupt enemy activity. However local Taliban sympathizers discovered the SEAL unit and immediately revealed their position to Taliban fighters. The element was besieged on a mountaintop by scores of enemy fighters. The firefight that ensued pushed the element farther into enemy territory and left all four SEALs wounded.As near as I can tell, LT Murphy will be the first Sailor so honored since the Vietnam War.
The SEALs fought the enemy fearlessly despite being at a tactical disadvantage and outnumbered more than four to one. Understanding the gravity of the situation and his responsibility to his men, Murphy, already wounded, deliberately and unhesitatingly moved from cover into the open where he took and returned fire while transmitting a call for help for his beleaguered teammates. Shot through the back while radioing for help, Murphy completed his transmission while returning fire. The call ultimately led to the rescue of one severely wounded team member, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell, and the recovery of the remains of Murphy and Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson.
The selfless heroism displayed by LT Murphy and his men is a reminder of why all of us know that the military is such a unique calling.
Update 0903 12 Oct: Subvet has more on LT Murphy.
