CALVERTON, N.Y. (AP) — The U.S. Navy's newest warship will not be named for a former president, distinguished member of Congress or some historic figure from the past.
The USS Michael Murphy, a 510-foot destroyer, is being commissioned this weekend in New York City for a Long Island native and Navy
lieutenant who became the first American awarded the Medal of Honor
during the Afghanistan War when he was killed along with two fellow SEALs during an ambush in 2005. He was 29.
"Here
is someone who is just like us," said Cmdr. Tom Shultz, the commander
of the USS Michael Murphy and its crew of about 300. "We've seen his
childhood photos and you look at those photos and in every single one of
them we have that same photo of our childhood."
Already wounded,
Murphy left a protected position and went to a clearing where he was
exposed to gunfire to get a clear signal to contact Bagram Airfield for
backup. He was killed along with 16 of his rescuers whose helicopter was
shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade on June 28, 2005. The only SEAL
to survive has since written a book about the ordeal, "Lone Survivor,"
which is being made into a movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Taylor
Kitsch.
The naming of a Navy vessel for Murphy is the greatest of a slew of tributes to the slain Navy SEAL
since his death, said his father, Daniel Murphy. The former lifeguard
has a park named after him on Long Island; the Patchogue post office in
his hometown bears a monument to Murphy and the others who died; and
Penn State University paid tribute to the 1988 graduate last month when it dedicated a veterans' plaza in his name.
Navy
vessels traditionally bear the names of states or cities or noted
Americans, such as former presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and
Theodore Roosevelt. Others have been named for notable leaders like
former senator and astronaut John Glenn or naval titans like former Adm.
Hyman Rickover. The Navy announced this year
that it would name a combat ship in honor of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords, who survived a mass shooting in Arizona in 2011.
Murphy
was leading a four-man team hunting a key Taliban leader in mountainous
terrain near Asadabad in an encounter known as Operation Red Wing when
they were ambushed by about 50 combatants. A wounded Murphy was credited
with risking his own life by moving into the open for a better position
to transmit a call for help.
He was shot in the back, causing him
to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call
and continued firing. After a two-hour gunfight, Murphy and two fellow SEALs
were dead. About 35 Taliban were also killed. The fourth member of
their team escaped and was protected by local villagers for several days
before he was rescued.
Eight other Navy SEALs and eight members of the Army's elite Night Stalkers were then killed when their helicopter was shot down.
Daniel
Murphy spoke at a memorial service this week at Calverton National
Cemetery on Long Island, where his son is only Medal of Honor recipient
buried there. The service was attended by two busloads of crew members
from the USS Michael Murphy who placed leis in honor of all those killed
in the battle. The ship's commander said leis were chosen because the
$1.1 billion warship's home port will be in Hawaii.
"The crew has
so much pride in the fact that they carry on their patch the name USS
Michael Murphy," Dan Murphy said. "You know Michael grew up as an
ordinary young man on Long Island and became a national hero. It's
emotionally trying but fulfilling at the same time."
Murphy's
mother, Maureen, who will preside at the Saturday ceremony commissioning
the ship on the Hudson River, has received the honorary title of the
ship's sponsor. "He was very humble, no matter what he did," she said of
her son. "Michael would be very proud. He was always a very patriotic
boy and respectful to people."
Her message to the crew: "I tell them you're family and you have to watch each other's backs."
Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare's SEALs, also attended the memorial service honoring Murphy.
"Michael Murphy is a hero in our community. He's a hero in our Navy," Bonelli said. "But what's tremendous about having a ship named after him is his legacy will live on forever."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
In this undated photo provided by the United States Navy, SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy of Patchogue, N.Y., is shown while deployed in Asadabad, Afghanistan.
Daniel Murphy, the father of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, notes some of the tributes left at the gravesite of his son at Calverton National Cemetery on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012.
