Long Island Family Gets Fallen U.S. Navy SEAL's Hydration Pack From Afghanistan

WEST SAYVILLE, NY — In the aftermath of the slaying of U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy and his teammates during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in 2005, the Taliban rebels stripped their bodies of anything of value.

Personal items like Murphy's watch and Oakley sunglasses were all swiped, disappearing with the combatants off into the mountains.

The three sailors' bodies were dressed in only the uniforms they were slain in, and some of the gear that the rebels might have deemed useless — all captured on video for propaganda purposes.
When the Patchogue native's body returned to the states, his family did not receive anything from his time in Afghanistan.

In the 18 years since he died, his family has thought nothing was left. But there was, his family and supporters believe.

A CamelBak personal hydration system, a backpack containing a bladder for electrolytes, along with a long, narrow straw, was recently donated to the Navy SEAL museum dedicated in Murphy's honor in West Sayville.

The packs were first used by civilians for hiking, but then the military caught on and decided to use them because they are more efficient than canteens, which sit on the hip.

The khaki-colored pack, which is emblazoned with the word "Murphy" in black magic marker, is similar to a vest and is held together at the sides by straps stretching from the shoulder to the hips.

"It was a piece of equipment that was on that Michael wore during Operation Red Wings," his father, Dan Murphy, told Patch. "Normally, what happens when they recover the body is they take off the equipment and they throw it in the corner in a locker, and it appears someone decided to hold on to it for some historical significance, and it eventually made its way down to us."

The most recent owner of the pack had it in his office next to a picture of Murphy for "quite some time."

The pack was donated by a man who planned to donate it to a Veterans of Foreign Wars, until a friend who was a retired SEAL mentioned the museum and suggested he donate it to the museum.

How he came in contact with the artifact is not clear, but nonetheless Murphy's family are happy to now have it in their possession.

It is suspended in time, displayed in glass, arranged as though its rightful charge cannot be seen.

"When you see it, it's almost like it's on Michael's back," Dan said, adding that the designer, Sue McCoy from WL Concepts of Freeport, has it displayed in a case "that displays it as if you're wearing it."

To Murphy's family, the donation is significant.

"We don't have anything of Michael from his time in Afghanistan," he said.

The museum has only two original items, including his Basic Underwater Demolition helmet from his training with the SEALs, a moniker for Sea, Air, and Land, in Coronado Beach, CA, and his trident, which he received upon graduation.

"Other than that, everything else is replicas," Dan said. "This is quite significant to have a piece of equipment that he was wearing in Afghanistan."

One of the replica items on display at the museum is a pair of similar Oakley sunglasses that Murphy had, but are no longer made. They were found by a good Samaritan on eBay and donated to the museum.

Museum Director Chris Wyllie, himself a retired SEAL, said it is believed that the CamelBak was still on Murphy and it was cut off him "when they were preparing him to come back home."

It has scissor cuts, which would have been used to remove clothing and gear for preparation of Murphy's body.

The gear, which was received over the summer, was unveiled Monday.

"It was emotional yesterday, to be honest with you," Wyllie said. "It seems like it's just a little bladder thing and then Mr. Murphy was standing next to it, and then I got choked up because it looked like he was standing next to him — Michael, kind of."

The way the gear is displayed, "it's almost floating in the case."

It is displayed in Operation Red Wings Hall amid photos from the region in Afghanistan where Murphy and his teammates died, as well as a replica of the area of the firefight.

Murphy, who forwent law school, inspired to join the SEALs after the terror attacks of 9/11, was attacked by the Taliban, along with Daniel Dietz and Matthew Axelson on June 28, 2005, in the Kumar Province, while conducting surveillance.

While under attack, Murphy went out on a ledge in the open air, exposing himself to gunfire, and he was killed.

A helicopter carrying 16 personnel, including SEALs and Army Nightstalkers, was shot down, killing everyone on board.

A fourth teammate, Marcus Luttrell, was the only man to survive the mission. His best-selling book was later made into a movie, "Lone Survivor," starring Mark Wahlberg as Luttrell, and Taylor Kitsch as Murphy.

Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor and given the rare honor of having a Navy destroyer named in his honor, the U.S.S. Michael Murphy. The U.S. Post office is named in Murphy's honor, as well as the campus of the high school he graduated from, Patchogue-Medford High School.

There is also a Naval Sea Cadet unit named after him.

The museum was dedicated in 2022.

There, visitors can find examples of gear, as well as training apparatus, and even a simulation ride.

There's photos and video, depicting SEAL life, as well as intimate clips from family and friends.

A new video screening in the lobby shows the three ceremonies for Murphy's Medal of Honor, including at the White House in Washington, D.C., and the public ceremonies at the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon and the presentation of the Medal of Honor flag at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Museum officials plan a memorial to the 11 SEAL K-9 units that were killed while attached to SEAL teams for Memorial Day weekend.

It will be a black granite wall with a bronze dog on top with the names and dates of death for the 11 SEAL dogs that were killed.

The event will coincide with the Murph Challenge, an annual event featuring strength and longevity exercises. Last year, the event drew around 180 participants, with another 200 spectators, but museum officials expect there will be more in 2024.

Dan Murphy, a U.S. Army veteran himself, always makes it a point that the museum is not just for his son, though, but more for all who are part of the SEALs' journey.

"The museum itself tells a story of the Navy SEALs from World War II to the present day," Dan Murphy said.

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