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2 Medal Of Honor Winners Added To MacDill Memorial

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2008

TAMPA - Save for a few relatives, probably no one at the commemoration ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base this morning really knew Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor or Lt. Michael Murphy.

The two Navy SEALs weren't from Tampa; they grew up on opposite sides of the country. They had different interests.

Murphy, of New York, loved to read and graduated with honors from Penn State with degrees in political science and psychology.

Monsoor, a California boy, relished riding around in his Corvette and snowboarding.

The two probably never met, but they are together now -- forever. Their names are etched in granite at a Special Operations Command memorial at MacDill Air Force Base. The two were remembered as true American heroes, each having earned, with his life, the Medal of Honor, the highest award for courage the military has to offer.

Today's ceremony drew more than 1,000 people, including civilians and service personnel from every branch, even Gen. David Petraeus, head of Central Command, which has its headquarters at MacDill.

A slide-show montage was preceded by the landing of three paratroopers, each carrying U.S. flags that had flown over the Pentagon, two of which were presented to the families of the medal recipients.

It's been more than three years since Murphy was killed. Still, his father's eyes tear up with grief and pride when he talks about his son. As he set the wreath of yellow daisies and carnations in front of the granite tile, Dan Murphy, who was wounded in Vietnam 40 years ago, wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief. He kissed his fingertips before touching them to the etched stone bearing his son's name.

"What's significant," Murphy said after the ceremony, "is that Michael was true to himself right to the end. We've always taught him to protect others, and that was always his nature.

"So it didn't surprise us when we heard what he did."

Murphy, 32, was killed during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. The Navy said that Murphy was leading a four-man team looking for a key Taliban leader in the mountainous terrain near Asadabad "when they came under fire from a much larger enemy force with superior tactical position," the official citation states.

"Mortally wounded while exposing himself to enemy fire, Murphy knowingly left his position of cover to get a clear signal in order to communicate with his headquarters. While being shot at repeatedly, Murphy calmly provided his unit's location and requested immediate support for his element. He returned to his cover position to continue the fight until finally succumbing to his wounds."

Murphy was raised on Long Island, N.Y., and excelled at ice hockey. His Navy biography states that he was an avid reader, with tastes that ran from the Greek historian Herodotus to Tolstoy's "War and Peace." His favorite book, the biography says, was Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire," about the Spartan stand at Thermopylae.

His father said he didn't push his son into the military.

"I wanted him to be a lawyer," he said.

Murphy was the first Navy service member to receive the Medal of Honor in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Monsoor, 27, grew up on the West Coast.

He attended Garden Grove High School, where he played tight end on the Argonaut football team and graduated in 1999. He enjoyed snowboarding, body boarding, spearfishing and motorcycle riding, according to the Navy biography.

"His quiet demeanor and dedication to his friends matched the 'silent warrior' SEAL mentality that was to become his calling in life," the bio states.

Monsoor fell to the enemy in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, while on a sniper detail with three other SEALs on Sept. 29, 2006, according to the official citation.

"An insurgent closed in and threw a fragmentation grenade into the over-watch position," the account states. "The grenade hit Monsoor in the chest before falling to the ground. Positioned next to the single exit, Monsoor was the only one who could have escaped harm. Instead, he dropped onto the grenade to shield the others from the blast. Monsoor died approximately 30 minutes later from wounds sustained from the blast. Because of Petty Officer Monsoor's actions, he saved the lives of his three teammates."

His Medal of Honor was the first given to a Navy service member for actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the second, after Murphy, awarded for actions by a Navy SEAL in the global war on terror.

Relatives of Monsoor's family were at the ceremony today but declined to be interviewed.

A RARE THING

109: Living recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military award for courage.

60: Medals of Honor awarded posthumously since World War II.

626: Special Operations Command service members killed in action whose names are etched into the memorial at MacDill Air Force Base.

38: Special Operations Command service members who have won the Medal of Honor, with military actions ranging from Vietnam to Somalia to Afghanistan to Iraq.

3: Australian service members who while serving with Socom earned the Victoria Cross, Australia's equivalent of the Medal of Honor.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the ranks of Murphy and Monsoor.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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