PDA

View Full Version : Family 'couldn't be more proud' of Marine



thedrifter
10-12-09, 10:03 AM
October 12, 2009
Family 'couldn't be more proud' of Marine

By Frank Konkel
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Jason Murphy was a junior at Stockbridge High School the first time he thought about becoming a Marine.

He'd been challenged by his high school basketball coach to a push-up contest, which Murphy quickly won by doing 100 consecutive repetitions.

That was back in 2001. After his performance, Murphy recalls vividly what his coach told him.

"He told me I was strong and should be a Marine or something," Murphy said. "I guess he was right."

A Marine recruiter came to Stockbridge High School later that day and the rest, as Murphy said, is history.

Murphy, now a Marine staff sergeant, has served three combat tours since 2003, including his most recent tour in Afghanistan, where he served as an embedded trainer to the Afghan army.

On leave, he visited his Unadilla Township home from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4 with his wife, Erika, who is also a Marine. He and Erika met in 2003 when they were part of the same Marine unit in Beaufort, S.C. They've served together in two of Murphy's three combat tours and were married in 2006.

"I couldn't be more proud of him," said Frank Olejziczak, Murphy's grandfather. "He's my man, and he's always been my best friend. Two things I always tried to teach him were no excuses, and that being good enough was never enough. He took it to heart, and now look at him."

One of the highlights of Murphy's visit to Michigan was when he delivered the game ball at Comerica Park when the Detroit Tigers played the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 29.

For the rest of his stay, Murphy and his wife visited old friends and caught up with the family.

"It was great," Murphy said of his time home. "But now it's back to work."

Murphy and his wife returned to their home in Hawaii. Murphy is stationed in Kaneohe Bay, where he does tactical data networking for his unit, Combat Logistics Battalion III. In his free time, Murphy is a Marine martial arts instructor. He also enjoys snorkeling with his wife.

Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Frank Konkel at (517) 552-2835 or at fkonkel@gannett.com.
Additional Facts
At a glance


Since becoming a Marine in 2002, Staff Sgt. Jason Murphy has served three combat tours.

* September 2003-February 2004: Murphy served in Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa. Murphy's primary goals were security, though he and his fellow Marines often found themselves highly outnumbered by Taliban fighters.

* February 2004-September 2004: Murphy served in Iraq. His primary job involved his specialty, tactical data networking. Murphy ended up doing communications work for the Marines and a number of other military branches in the field.

* November-September: Murphy served in Afghanistan. He was an embedded trainer for the Afghan army and served as an infantry adviser. Though an embedded trainer for the Afghan army, Murphy simultaneously acted as a communications chief for the Marines.

Ellie