OPERATION RED WING

NAVY SEAL TO BE AWARDED CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

U.S. Navy SEAL, Lt. Michael P. Murphy will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony Oct. 22nd. His family will be receiving the award in his honor.

Lt. Murphy was leading a four man SEAL team on a special reconnaissance mission deep behind enemy lines east of Asadabad in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan June 27-28, 2005.

The operation, code named "Red Wing", tasked the SEAL element with locating a high-level Taliban militia leader to provide intelligence for a follow-on mission to capture or destroy the local leadership and disrupt enemy activity. Local Taliban sympathizers discovered the SEAL unit and immediately revealed their position to Taliban fighters. The SEALS later found themselves besieged on a mountaintop by scores of enemy fighters.

The SEALS fought the enemy fearlessly despite being at a tactical disadvantage and outnumbered, facing more than fifty enemy fighters. Lt. Murphy, understanding the gravity of the situation, and already wounded, moved from cover into the open where he took and returned fire while transmitting a call for help for his teammates. While being shot at, Murphy provided his units location and requested immediate support. He returned to cover and continued to engage the enemy until finally succumbing to his wounds. Murphy's action led to the rescue of one severely wounded SEAL and the recovery of the remains of his fallen teammates.

Lt. Murphy will be inducted into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon on Oct. 23. His name will be engraved beside the names of some 3,400 other service members who have also been awarded the nation's highest honor.

Complete details may be read at http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=32528