thedrifter
07-08-05, 12:34 PM
SEAL'S TRAGIC LOVE
By SELIM ALGAR
NYPOST
War didn't scare heroic Navy SEAL Michael Murphy. What really scared him was popping the question to his girlfriend of five years, Heather Duggan.
Murphy, a Long Islander who achieved his childhood dream of becoming a SEAL only to be killed last month in Afghanistan, had carried the Tiffany engagement ring in his pocket for four months.
He finally got down on bended knee before Duggan at the tree in Rockefeller Center on the day after Christmas 2003.
The all-American couple were inseparable, sharing a love of the outdoors. Only war could tear them apart. And that's just what it did.
"She's in no condition to say anything right now," Daniel Murphy, the SEAL's father, said yesterday.
When Daniel and his wife drove down to Dover Air Base in Delaware Wednesday to identify the body, Duggan didn't go with them. "She was too distraught to make the trip," Daniel said. "She just couldn't do it."
Daniel himself wrestled with his own grief at a press conference yesterday — but finally gave in to it in his parting words.
"We are going to miss him an awful lot," he said, his voice breaking down.
Daniel and his wife, Maureen, described their fallen son as a proud, unassuming soldier whose primary instinct was to serve others.
From his youthful days as a lifeguard to his blossoming in the military, their son seemed to thrive when faced with challenges and danger.
And they said he had calmly prepared them for the worst as his missions intensified in recent months.
If he were killed in combat, he told them, they should rest assured that he died doing what he loved.
Lt. Murphy, 29, and three other SEALs came under insurgent fire during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan last month. The Patchogue native and a comrade were killed and a third was later rescued.
Yesterday, a purported Taliban spokesman claimed his group was holding the fourth SEAL and had decided to kill him, although the spokesman offered no proof to back up the claim.
The crew became the focus of a large-scale search effort that led to a helicopter crash on June 28 that claimed the life of 16 American soldiers. Murphy's body was finally recovered Monday in a rugged mountain gorge.
Murphy, a Penn State graduate, earlier flirted with a career in law but eventually chose the path of a soldier. He joined the SEALs in 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant this year.
"Becoming a Navy SEAL fit the pattern of his life," his dad said.
Lt. Murphy was on his fourth deployment to the Middle East and would return home to see family and friends when he could. But the restrictions that came with his elite status prevented him from discussing his secret missions.
He would offer only the occasional anecdote, like the time he had to fight off a pack of wild hyenas in some remote location.
Murphy was a student of his craft and devoured books on the art of war in addition to other classics. He impressed his superiors with his love of reading and even recommended books for them.
Murphy was rooted in a tradition of service to community and country. His father served in Vietnam, and other relatives still serve as policeman and firefighters. He had friends who were at Ground Zero immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks.
"He was very inspirational," said his younger brother, Daniel. "He was someone I look up to."
Murphy's parents never had any idea where there son was serving and said they could only assume he was somewhere in the Middle East. He would send pictures home of his SEAL team but the backgrounds offered no concrete clues about his location.
Lt. Murphy will be buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk Country. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Ellie
By SELIM ALGAR
NYPOST
War didn't scare heroic Navy SEAL Michael Murphy. What really scared him was popping the question to his girlfriend of five years, Heather Duggan.
Murphy, a Long Islander who achieved his childhood dream of becoming a SEAL only to be killed last month in Afghanistan, had carried the Tiffany engagement ring in his pocket for four months.
He finally got down on bended knee before Duggan at the tree in Rockefeller Center on the day after Christmas 2003.
The all-American couple were inseparable, sharing a love of the outdoors. Only war could tear them apart. And that's just what it did.
"She's in no condition to say anything right now," Daniel Murphy, the SEAL's father, said yesterday.
When Daniel and his wife drove down to Dover Air Base in Delaware Wednesday to identify the body, Duggan didn't go with them. "She was too distraught to make the trip," Daniel said. "She just couldn't do it."
Daniel himself wrestled with his own grief at a press conference yesterday — but finally gave in to it in his parting words.
"We are going to miss him an awful lot," he said, his voice breaking down.
Daniel and his wife, Maureen, described their fallen son as a proud, unassuming soldier whose primary instinct was to serve others.
From his youthful days as a lifeguard to his blossoming in the military, their son seemed to thrive when faced with challenges and danger.
And they said he had calmly prepared them for the worst as his missions intensified in recent months.
If he were killed in combat, he told them, they should rest assured that he died doing what he loved.
Lt. Murphy, 29, and three other SEALs came under insurgent fire during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan last month. The Patchogue native and a comrade were killed and a third was later rescued.
Yesterday, a purported Taliban spokesman claimed his group was holding the fourth SEAL and had decided to kill him, although the spokesman offered no proof to back up the claim.
The crew became the focus of a large-scale search effort that led to a helicopter crash on June 28 that claimed the life of 16 American soldiers. Murphy's body was finally recovered Monday in a rugged mountain gorge.
Murphy, a Penn State graduate, earlier flirted with a career in law but eventually chose the path of a soldier. He joined the SEALs in 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant this year.
"Becoming a Navy SEAL fit the pattern of his life," his dad said.
Lt. Murphy was on his fourth deployment to the Middle East and would return home to see family and friends when he could. But the restrictions that came with his elite status prevented him from discussing his secret missions.
He would offer only the occasional anecdote, like the time he had to fight off a pack of wild hyenas in some remote location.
Murphy was a student of his craft and devoured books on the art of war in addition to other classics. He impressed his superiors with his love of reading and even recommended books for them.
Murphy was rooted in a tradition of service to community and country. His father served in Vietnam, and other relatives still serve as policeman and firefighters. He had friends who were at Ground Zero immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks.
"He was very inspirational," said his younger brother, Daniel. "He was someone I look up to."
Murphy's parents never had any idea where there son was serving and said they could only assume he was somewhere in the Middle East. He would send pictures home of his SEAL team but the backgrounds offered no concrete clues about his location.
Lt. Murphy will be buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk Country. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Ellie