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Medal Of Honor Ceremony At MacDill Salutes 2 SEALs

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TBO.com

Published: November 17, 2008

TAMPA - Medals of Honor will be awarded today to two Navy SEALs killed in action overseas.

The ceremony today will be at the Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, 27, of Long Beach, Calif., died during a firefight in Iraq when he threw himself on a live grenade to save his teammates.

He was stationed in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, and was assigned to a sniper detail on Sept. 29, 2006, with three other team members, according to a news release issued by the Navy.

"An insurgent closed in and threw a fragmentation grenade into the overwatch position," the release said. "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."

The second sailor being honored is Lt. Michael P. Murphy, 29, from Patchogue, N.Y.

Murphy was killed by the enemy 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 release said.

"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."

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