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MEDAL OF HONOR
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Michael Patrick Murphy, Lieutenant United States Navy SEALs was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom is the official name used by the government for its War in Afghanistan, together with three smaller military actions under the umbrella of its Global War on Terrorism. The war began October 7, 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks on U.S. soil. Murphy, a U.S. Navy Seal, was deployed to Jordan as the liaison officer and was later assigned to Special Operations Command Central in Florida and deployed to Qatar in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In early 2005, Murphy was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE as officer in charge of Alpha Platoon and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. An elite four-man team was searching for Ahmad Shah, a militia leader aligned with the Taliban, as part of a mission dubbed Operation Red Wings, in the remote mountains of northeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. Dropped off by a Chinook transport helicopter the four men soon found themselves alone in the pitch darkness of a desolate war zone. The SEALs, rain soaked and cold, hiked for hours through the night struggling to keep their footing on the steep mountain ridges. When day broke on June 28, 2005, the men burrowed behind rocks and tree stumps on an outcropping overlooking Shah’s suspected location. Laying in wait, the sound of soft footsteps were heard, and coming into view was a turbaned man carrying an axe. The SEALs had been discovered.
Read the article in its entirety in the April 2015
Bevil newsletter, which accompanies the cover.
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First Day of Issue
July 26, 2014
Arlington, VA 22201
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Medals of Honor are awarded to those serving in the armed services when they go beyond the call of duty. That's how the citations read. When one joins the Navy, it is because he heard a call. When he becomes a Navy Seal, it is because he heard another call. Most of his comrades didn't hear the second call. We all hear calls that those around us don't hear. There comes a call that a soldier will hear, in the dark moment of battle. He knows he doesn't have to answer that call, but he does. It is a call that is heard beyond the call of duty. Michael Murphy answered that call.
Released to collectors April 20, 2015, along with
"Chief" Anderson, Jimi Hendrix, Army Medal of Honor, and Ernie Banks
When producing an issue, it's generally divided in two portions- the ink rendering and the painting process. It's during the ink drawing task that I'm more emotional and sensitive to the subject. Clearly, this was the case here, as, while I inked, I watched the movie, Lone Survivor. Taken from the book written by Michael Murphy's comrade, it did impact me as I inked. Watch the movie. Enough said.