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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Navy to name ship after Lt. Michael Murphy (MOH) |
| 2008-05-08 |
| A U.S. Navy destroyer will be named after Lt. Michael P. Murphy, the Patchogue native who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005 while seeking help for his platoon members who had come under intense fire from the Taliban, officials said Wednesday. At a ceremony on the eastern shore of Lake Ronkonkoma -- in a Brookhaven Town beach previously named after Murphy, who was awarded the Medal of Honor last September -- Navy Secretary Donald Winter said the keel of the destroyer would be laid in June 2009 at a shipyard in Maine. He said the ship would be commissioned in 2011. Winter said Navy warships have traditionally been named after major historical figures, such as American presidents. He said the naming of the destroyer after Murphy was "an opportunity to recognize this new generation of heroes." Murphy had been a lifeguard on the same Ronkonkoma beach when he was growing up in Patchogue. The announcement pleased the slain sailor's family. "I am at a loss; what do you say?" said Murphy's father, Daniel Murphy, of Wading River. " 'Thank you' seems so trivial in light of such an honor to our son." Murphy and a four-man Navy SEAL team were hiding on a mountainside in eastern Afghanistan trailing a Taliban leader when they were surrounded by dozens of fighters. In receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award, Murphy was cited for exposing himself to enemy fire while trying to radio for help. Murphy and two others were killed; a fourth SEAL was saved when an Afghan herder came upon him and took him to his village for safekeeping. Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command under which Murphy served, said the ship's naming represents the pinnacle of naval honors. "His was a courageous act," Kernan said. "If you have a ship named after you, you've done something extraordinary." |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #12 Wait 10 years. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-08 19:32 |
| #11 None in the pipeline NS. Perhaps a Virginia, but unlikely. Maybe they'll rename one of the B-2's for him.... The Spirt of Chicago. |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-05-08 19:15 |
| #10 BHO will get a spook sub, just like Jimmah. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-08 19:10 |
| #9 And one is always named Enterprise. |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-05-08 19:03 |
| #8 the Tower "ears" would give too much of a radar signature |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-05-08 17:36 |
| #7 Somehow the CVN "B. Hussein Obama" doesn't carry quite the smack one would like, though it might be somwhat amusing/ironic given likely targets |
| Posted by: Shimble the Eponymous9940 2008-05-08 17:13 |
| #6 Over time, the naming of US ships has changed. Battle ships used to be named after states, cruisers after cities, submarines after marine animals. Nowadays, we don't have battle ships, so we name cruisers and ballistic missile submarines after states or presidents (USS Jimmy Carter (!!)), and attack submarines are named after cities and other things. Cruisers are named after famous battles (USS Lake Erie). Carriers lately have been named after presidents, but some are named after Congressmen and Secretaries of the Navy. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-05-08 16:10 |
| #5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hillary_Clinton |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-05-08 14:47 |
| #4 yup, and carriers after presidents. Sad to say, the prospect of the CVN USS Hillary Rodham Clinton is receding into the distance. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-05-08 14:44 |
| #3 Destroyers and destroyer escorts/frigates have traditionally been named after individuals, usually admirals or or heroes. (E.G. DDG 56 John S. McCain, DD 850 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., FF1093 Cappodanno) |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-05-08 14:42 |
| #2 One of my multiple personalities was coming through. I posted as HRC. WTF was I thinking? I didn't mean to dishonor anyone. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-05-08 11:45 |
| #1 The announcement pleased the slain sailor's family. "I am at a loss; what do you say?" said Murphy's father, Daniel Murphy, of Wading River. " 'Thank you' seems so trivial in light of such an honor to our son." The father is a humble man. It's seems like the truth is the other way around; it seems modest in light of Murphy's actions to name a Destroyer after him. |
| Posted by: HRC 2008-05-08 11:42 |