thedrifter
05-22-09, 08:32 AM
May 22, 2009
Street dedication set for Marine test pilot
Ben Rubin
bfrubin@lohud.com
BLAUVELT - On his key chain, John Murphy keeps his son Lt. Col. Michael Murphy's dog tag. In their home, the Murphys display a framed picture of him in uniform next to an American flag they were presented after he was buried.
With Orangetown naming a new street in Michael's honor, they now have another token to remember their son, a Marine test pilot who grew up in Blauvelt. In December 2000, he died in a V-22 Osprey aircraft crash near his North Carolina air base.
The road, Murphy Court, will be dedicated in a ceremony hosted by the Blauvelt Lions Club at noon on Memorial Day.
"It's very nice of the town to do something like that, but not only for him but others," John Murphy, 80, said yesterday, sitting in his kitchen next to his wife, Anne.
The street, part of a small housing development ending in a cul-de-sac, is just down the road from the Murphys' longtime Hayes Street home and is a place where all three of their children once played when it was still woods.
The street sign was posted more than a year ago when the development was completed and includes a plaque describing Michael Murphy's life and how he died.
James Dean, Orangetown's Highway Department superintendent, said Murphy Court now joins a list of about 60 roads in town named after veterans, many killed in action.
The town has made an informal tradition of naming new streets after local veterans, police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty, and officials encourage developers to continue the practice, Dean said.
"We have adopted a tradition of honoring those that have given the ultimate sacrifice," Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner said. "Certainly Lt. Col. Murphy not only did that, but was particularly heroic because he was engaged in a dangerous, untested mission.
"Unquestionably, his sacrifice saved the lives of servicemen and -women who would come after him."
Over the years, there have been several other projects to remember Michael Murphy, who was 38 when he died.
His parents helped create a monument honoring eight Marines killed in two Osprey crashes, which was dedicated last year at the Marine Heritage Center, outside the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
In 2007, the Blauvelt Lions Club created memorials at the hamlet's Lions Park for Michael Murphy and victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"It's quite amazing," Anne Murphy, 75, said about the different projects created to remember her youngest son. "I guess my feeling is bittersweet. I guess I'm happy it's happening, but the feeling is bittersweet because when you lose a child there's really nothing worse."
Murphy was survived by his wife, Patricia, and two children, Michael Jr. and Grace, who now live in Virginia. During his career, he piloted President Bill Clinton's Marine One helicopter for three years.
Nearly nine years after the accident, Anne Murphy has become a peer mentor through the nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and sometimes meets with other local military mothers whose sons were killed in action.
"It gets better," John Murphy said. "But there isn't a day that goes by that you don't think of something about him."
Additional Facts
If you go
What: Street dedication of Murphy Court, in honor of Michael Murphy, a Marine test pilot who grew up in Blauvelt.
Following the ceremony, the Blauvelt Lions Club will host a barbecue at Lions Park in the hamlet in honor of all veterans.
When: Noon May 25.
Where: Murphy Court in Blauvelt.
Ellie
Street dedication set for Marine test pilot
Ben Rubin
bfrubin@lohud.com
BLAUVELT - On his key chain, John Murphy keeps his son Lt. Col. Michael Murphy's dog tag. In their home, the Murphys display a framed picture of him in uniform next to an American flag they were presented after he was buried.
With Orangetown naming a new street in Michael's honor, they now have another token to remember their son, a Marine test pilot who grew up in Blauvelt. In December 2000, he died in a V-22 Osprey aircraft crash near his North Carolina air base.
The road, Murphy Court, will be dedicated in a ceremony hosted by the Blauvelt Lions Club at noon on Memorial Day.
"It's very nice of the town to do something like that, but not only for him but others," John Murphy, 80, said yesterday, sitting in his kitchen next to his wife, Anne.
The street, part of a small housing development ending in a cul-de-sac, is just down the road from the Murphys' longtime Hayes Street home and is a place where all three of their children once played when it was still woods.
The street sign was posted more than a year ago when the development was completed and includes a plaque describing Michael Murphy's life and how he died.
James Dean, Orangetown's Highway Department superintendent, said Murphy Court now joins a list of about 60 roads in town named after veterans, many killed in action.
The town has made an informal tradition of naming new streets after local veterans, police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty, and officials encourage developers to continue the practice, Dean said.
"We have adopted a tradition of honoring those that have given the ultimate sacrifice," Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner said. "Certainly Lt. Col. Murphy not only did that, but was particularly heroic because he was engaged in a dangerous, untested mission.
"Unquestionably, his sacrifice saved the lives of servicemen and -women who would come after him."
Over the years, there have been several other projects to remember Michael Murphy, who was 38 when he died.
His parents helped create a monument honoring eight Marines killed in two Osprey crashes, which was dedicated last year at the Marine Heritage Center, outside the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
In 2007, the Blauvelt Lions Club created memorials at the hamlet's Lions Park for Michael Murphy and victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"It's quite amazing," Anne Murphy, 75, said about the different projects created to remember her youngest son. "I guess my feeling is bittersweet. I guess I'm happy it's happening, but the feeling is bittersweet because when you lose a child there's really nothing worse."
Murphy was survived by his wife, Patricia, and two children, Michael Jr. and Grace, who now live in Virginia. During his career, he piloted President Bill Clinton's Marine One helicopter for three years.
Nearly nine years after the accident, Anne Murphy has become a peer mentor through the nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and sometimes meets with other local military mothers whose sons were killed in action.
"It gets better," John Murphy said. "But there isn't a day that goes by that you don't think of something about him."
Additional Facts
If you go
What: Street dedication of Murphy Court, in honor of Michael Murphy, a Marine test pilot who grew up in Blauvelt.
Following the ceremony, the Blauvelt Lions Club will host a barbecue at Lions Park in the hamlet in honor of all veterans.
When: Noon May 25.
Where: Murphy Court in Blauvelt.
Ellie