Memorial Day Murph

The Memorial Day Murph honors Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was killed during service in Afghanistan and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor -- the first Navy sailor to earn the distinction since Vietnam.

This event is a timed event with the goal of finishing in one hour. Activities include:

• A one-mile run (1600 meters)
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 air squats
• Another one-mile run

Those who want to help pay tribute and participate, but not able to do the full exercise can scale this down with modifications.

If you have a 20-lb. weighted vest or body armor wear it (optional). Partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats as needed. Start and finish with the runs.

Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy's story:

Murphy was a Navy SEAL who was thrust into the spotlight after his life had ended. The upstate New York native was part of a four-man team scouting a Taliban-aligned militant while high in the Afghan mountains on June 28, 2005, when all hell broke loose. The team was spotted by some locals, who reported their position to the Taliban, and a fierce firefight ensued.

Murphy and fellow SEALS Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz and Marcus Luttrell were outnumbered, wounded and forced into a ravine. They couldn’t get a good signal under cover, so Murphy put his own life on the line, going out into the open to transmit a call for help. He got shot in the back during this time, but finished the call and still made it back to cover with his men.

He eventually died, as did Dietz, Axelson, and 16 service members who were shot down in a Chinook helicopter while trying to rescue them. Luttrell was the only survivor, who managed to escape and get help from friendly villagers, who took him in, nursed his many injuries, kept the Taliban away and eventually got him rescued.

The incident was the single largest loss of life for the SEALs since World War II. Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, was the first Navy sailor to earn the distinction since Vietnam.