(Full disclosure: I used one up until 1979 or so...:)
Posted on 10/06/2012 2:14:18 PM PDT by Evil Slayer
The U.S. Navy's newest destroyer class warship, the 510-foot USS Michael Murphy, recently laid anchor at New York City's Pier 88 for its commissioning ceremony.
On Saturday, the ship will participate in a long standing naval tradition, the commissioning ceremony, which marks the moment a new ship is formally placed in active service. Of course, we will be there tomorrow to cover the action. The US Navy will also be live streaming the event.
The new ship consists of a crew of 290 well-trained Navy service-men and -women led by Commander Thomas E. Shultz. The ship is named after Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, who risked and lost his own life in 2005 in an effort to call for aid for his men and himself after being ambushed by over 50 anti-coalition militia fighters in Afghanistan.
Lt. Murphy and his team were doing reconnaissance as part of Operation Red Wing, 3 members of the 4 person team, including Lt. Murphy, died in an intense firefight, and an additional 8 Navy SEALs and 8 Army Stalkers died when their helicopter was shot down as they rushed to the aid of Lt. Murphy and his team. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell was the lone survivor of the mission.
While ships are usually named for cities or states or famous and notable Americans, this ship was named after Murphy because of the bravery and commitment to others he displayed in the 2005 mission.
The ship relies on the Aegis Combat System and is capable of multi-mission, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Anti-Surface Warfare. It is a deadly beauty.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
That’s amazing...I think I might have shaved this morning with steel from the Ault.
I think you meant the 39th anniversary.
Great story.
(Full disclosure: I used one up until 1979 or so...:)
I never heard the story of their first date until a couple of years before my Mom passed away. I got my mom to sit down and tell me about her life while I videotaped her for a few hours, and that was where I heard about their first date.
My mom was in Nursing School in Boston, and my dad came to pick her up at her dormitory (women only) for their date, it was some kind of formal. He was in his full formal dress blues with his cover under his arm and a corsage in a box for her. All the other girls were going out to look down at him while he waited below, and my mom said they were whispering "It's a real man!' and stuff like that...:)
Here they are at my brother's graduation at George Dewey High in Subic Bay:
I admit I am biased, but I always thought my parents were an attractive couple...:)
Any man who served on tincans in war is a real man.
I can recommend two EXCELLENT books that touch on a lot of that sentiment you voiced. One of them is "Halsey's Typhoon" and the other is "Neptune's Inferno"."Neptune's Inferno"
(check out the link for a WSJ review of "Neptune's Inferno"...very good. The NYT probably never heard of it.)
If you are interested, both stories are extraordinary.
I apologize...I just realized I was unknowingly trying to hijack your thread.
I DO have a story that involves Michael Murphy indirectly via the book “Lone Survivor”.
I was out in Buffalo a few years back with a bunch of friends, and we got to know a cab driver quite well, so every year we went out, we would always try to get him when in town. We took him out to eat a few times, and he came to a few of our parties. Great, hardworking American guy.
A few years back, I was in the front seat talking with him, and I had just finished reading “Lone Survivor”, and it had impressed me with the nearly biblical moral choices those guys made.
If you made up some kind of reality show and gave a bunch of writers a month or so to think the scenarios up, those writers would likely not have been able to even stumble on them.
The reason we were on the subject was that his 13 year old daughter was stuck on an important book report assignment, and she couldn’t select a book. He was having a tough time helping her. I had just read “Lone Survivor” and suggested she read that and do a report on it.
I haven’t seen the guy since, but via correspondence he said she had read the book, and was drawn into it to such a degree that her book report was the best one received in the class (if I recall correctly)
I thought that was fitting. This daughter of a good, hardworking man had seen in that book something that she and her dad both connected on.
God Bless Michael Murphy for how he lived his life, and how he died.
I think I did. You are correct sir!
That’s awesome. I need to figure out a low-key way to ship that to some black motorcycle types at a current consulting gig. Hmmmm . . .
Thanks, I’ve had Neptune’s Inferno in my amazon shopping cart for weeks.
Great read. You won’t be able to put it down.
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