Long Island Family Proud Of SEAL Team That Killed Osama Bin Laden
WADING RIVER, NY (CBSNewYork/AP) - The Murphy family of Wading River is beaming with pride over the death of Osama Bin Laden.
1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports: Daniel Murphy Is Proud Of His Son And The Seals
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Daniel Murphy said as soon as he heard a special operations force captured and killed bin Laden, he knew the attack was carried out by the Navy SEALs.
"I am elated that the SEALs were involved in killing Osama bin Laden," said Daniel. "It's almost like it's payback."
His son, 29-year-old Lt. Michael Murphy, was killed in action six years ago in Afghanistan hunting the Taliban.
Murphy, a graduate of Patchogue-Medford High School, was the first Navy SEAL to be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously since the Vietnam War. He received the honor in 2007.
Daniel is calling the killing of bin Laden payback and said that the deaths of his son and other Navy SEALs have finally been avenged.
"Michael would've been proud," Daniel told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera. "The fact that the SEAL DEVGRU was involved in capturing and killing bin Laden is payback for those 43 Navy SEALs that they've lost since 9/11."
WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs With The Story
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He says he always believed his son or his son's team would get bin Laden.
"I take it with a sense of pride that Michael, in a way, and teammates and colleagues of his were responsible for removing this man," Daniel told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan. "I think it's a great day for America."
Lt. Murphy's mother Maureen however, calls it bittersweet, saying there's a hole in her heart from the loss of her son. Killing bin Laden she says, won't bring Michael back.
On Saturday, Navy SEAL commanders are scheduled to appear with Murphy's parents in Bath, Maine where a Navy ship named after Murphy will be christened.
WCBS 880's Alex Silverman With More On The Navy SEALs
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The Navy SEALs won't confirm they carried out the attack, but their current chief, Rear Adm. Edward Winters, at Naval Special Warfare Command in California, sent an email congratulating his forces and cautioning them to keep their mouths shut.
It was a warning few needed in the secretive group, where operators are uncomfortable with media coverage, fearing that revealing details could let the enemy know what to expect next time.
Somewhere, maybe still in the Middle East, there's a Navy SEAL who knows he killed bin Laden, but he can't tell anyone, not yet.
"We're going to get bits and pieces, but we're not going to get the whole story. [We're] probably not going to ever get the name, or not get for a long time, the name of the actual person who did it," the National Journal's Mark Ambinder told WCBS 880 reporter Alex Silverman.
Ambinder says that's how the Joint Special Operations Command, which includes the SEALs, works.
"They exist as the President's secret army," he says.
The Pentagon doesn't talk about them, even though the unit has quadrupled in size since 9/11.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
