Died the same day as Petty Officer Danny Dietz. Another guy you should know about:
Murphy and his reconnaissance and surveillance team were 9,000 feet up in the forested mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, in the Hindu Kush region, sent there to capture or kill high-value Taliban target Ahmad Shah, known as Ismail.
On June 28, 2005, the four-man field team, in camouflage and scruffy beards, encountered a pair of Afghan goatherds, one of them a young boy. Their lives and the classified mission to find Ismail were now at risk.
Murphy decided to let them go, rather than kill or capture them.
Military sources said it was not clear that the goatherds intentionally alerted anyone to the SEALs’ presence, but two hours later Taliban militiamen headed toward their position.
A running firefight began as the Taliban attacked from three sides. The SEALs leapfrogged backward down the steep slope, covering each other as they moved.
For about 30 minutes, the four men fought on, as ammunition ran low, according to military officials.
Three SEALs were wounded by gunfire or rocket-propelled grenades. One screamed, “I’m hit!” Murphy yelled back, “We’re all hit! Keep moving!”
Forty-five minutes into the harrowing battle, Murphy decided to radio for a quick-reaction force to get the team off the mountain. He crept into the open to get a clear signal.
“Troops in contact!” Murphy radioed, according to a source who heard the transmission.
Murphy was bleeding from severe wounds in his arm and stomach, but still firing his M-4 rifle at the enemy and exhorting his men to escape while he held off their attackers.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colo., was the first to die as they tumbled 2,600 feet downhill, firing the whole way. Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, Calif., fell next.
Murphy’s radio call reached Bagram, about 100 miles west of Asadabad and the military’s hub for Operation Red Wing, the campaign against Taliban militia and Al Qaeda terrorists along the border.
Two Chinook helicopters raced to save the team. One, carrying eight SEALs and eight Army Special Forces troops, was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed, killing all 16 aboard.
With the deaths of Murphy, Dietz and Axelson, it was the worst loss of life for the elite Navy commando group.
I suspect that in the next few days we’re going to hear a lot about the monster who killed 29 32 students today in Blacksburg, VA, for reasons that no matter how well they are explained will never be fully comprehensible. We’ll never hear very much about Danny Dietz, or Mike Murphy or the rest of them who fought and died for us and for reasons that, for most of us at least, seem crystal clear.
I guess that’s just the way things are.
Lex,
Now that I open the comment, words fail me. This one was personal, although it was my sister unit, not my own. The bravery of these four is unquestioned, and was unfailing. The terrain they were in, however, was simply the most horrendous terrain for any sort of maneuver, on foot or by helo, and yet their rescuers plunged in with everything they had, and Special Operations Forces paid a dear, dear price. That was almost two platoons of SEALs KIA, total, plus scarce national assets in the incredible helo drivers and the bird itself (no offense, but after spending time with SOF helo drivers, all wearing multiple Purple Hearts, the pointy nose business just doesn’t do it for me anymore.) Hundreds of Rangers poured into that valley, steep ridges that you or I would discuss maybe scaling, but not hiking or climbing, yet they plunged in with full kit, hungry for contact with the SOBs who had taken some of ours, desperate to find anyone who could be saved. I wish I could tell you more, but it was just a very bad day.
As for Ahmad Shah, who orchestrated the downing of the helo, I do believe he finally got his reward from one of your fixed-wing brethren, along with a sizeable number of his clan. It took a while, but he only died tired.
I read the same story in the early bird about Murphy early this morning and then that Virginia Tech tragedy unfolded…
re- “I guess that?
I read the same story in the early bird about Murphy early this morning and then that Virginia Tech tragedy unfolded…
re- “I guess that’s just the way things are”
Goddammit, ain’t THAT the unfortunate friggin truth…
Zane- I’m derived from fixed wing but I do agree with you that the 160th SOAR is actually AT the point of the spear..not those flying Raptors or SuperHornets..for the remainder of this war.
b2
B2, not to mention their OPTEMPO, which I suppose I can’t actually say, but suffice it to say there has been pretty much zero downtime since 2003, and yet they still chafe to get to the fight.
For the unitiated who may read this, the 160th SOAR is the unit flying the helos, both the Blackhawks and the Little Birds, in the movie Blackhawk Down. Nothing shown in the movie is made up, or even hints at what those incredible men, their machines and their maintainers (who also haven’t had time off in the last four years) are capable of. May God bless them all and bring them all back safe.
You know, I have never thought of myself as a great parent but, I managed to raise two pretty good people. One is currently serving and the other is a crazy language wiz that just this Christmas asked me “Mom, do you think the military would want me after I graduate?” Ah, cough…
I simply can’t imagine what would have had to go on to turn my boys into psycho killers rather than upstanding citizens… I just can’t imagine. How many cub scout meetings do you have to blow off or, parent teacher get togethers to make an insane lunatic from your own flesh and blood?
I will be watching this closely. The contrast of those that lost their lives defending their country and one lone gunman slaughtering young civilians is something we should all pay attention to.
Once we get a line on that, we all need to talk about it, even if it isn’t PC.
Their story may not be told by the MSM, but the important thing is that it was told by somebody. As long as people like you and me do that, their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
God bless our men in action, may they ever be victorious.
Zane,
Off thread, but I’d also like to include those Apache and BlackHawk folks flying for the AirCav, as right behind the elite in the SOAR and also all those Cobra and H-46 folks flying Marine helos! They and the warriors they deliver, and provide CAS for, are all the best of America.
As mainly CWO’s in SOAR and AirCav they fly till they retire unlike the Naval Aviation pryamid where guy like Lex gotta hang up the g-suit as relative youngsters…Back in the 90′s when I was in a staff job on desk duty, before retirement, I met my 1st SOAR warrant pilot. He was 2 years older than me and was still doing it! He was in BlackHawk Down. That high and tight he wore was over the top for my tastes but he was 45 years old fer crips sake!
b2
“…died for us.” Amen.
I was scared exactly one time in a military aircraft and that was on a helo ride with D/160th operating out of Fort Kobbe, Panama. What I later learned was SOP, I labeled as outrageous and “flathatting” at the time.
Best helo pilots. Ever.
B2, dead on. Big brass balls on all of ‘em. They fly every tour, nonstop. And advancement? The billets are in such demand and those who get in never leave. But they’re happy as clams flying for 20 years and getting promoted once or twice, so long as they are flying and fighting.
BigFred, 160th SOAR is clear to mention, but not to identify companies and the airframes they fly, and where they fly. Not like anyone who wants to know doesn’t already know, but rules is rules.
Unfortunately, you are correct.
Those that die in this war on terror, will likely be remembered by those of us who have been there, or have known them personally.
RIP