Get up! We're Wheels up at 1800 tonight. We got a new assignment. We walk into the Command Center. Four elite agents of SEAL are tasked to capture or kill Ahmad Shahd, the most infamous leader of the Taliban. What would you do? Get the information? Or Kill the Killer?

I, Michael Patrick "Murph" Murphy, was a United States Navy SEAL officer who was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for my actions during the War in Afghanistan. I lost my life defending my country and my comrades in combat. In the famous battle, "Operation Red Wings". Operation Red Wings, informally referred to as Battle of Abbas Ghar. It was a combined/joint military operation during the War in Afghanistan in the Pech District of Afghanistan's Kunar Province.

A team of four Navy SEALs (Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunner's Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell), tasked for surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Shah and his men, fell into an ambush by Shah and his group just hours after inserting into the area by fastrope from an MH-47 helicopter. Three of the four SEALs were killed and a quick reaction force helicopter sent in for their aid was shot down with a rocket propelled grenade fired from an RPG-7, killing all eight U.S. Navy SEALs and all eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators on board.

Trying to reach safety, the four men, now each wounded, began bounding down the mountain's steep sides, making leaps of 20 to 30 feet. Approximately 45 minutes into the fight, pinned down by overwhelming forces, Dietz, the communications petty officer, sought open air to place a distress call back to the base. But before he could, he was shot in the hand, the blast shattering his thumb.

Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, I am credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. I made an intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for my own life moved into the open, where I could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for my men.

Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, I knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire. This deliberate and heroic act deprived me of cover and made me a target for the enemy. While continuing to be fired upon, I made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. I calmly provided his unit's location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point I was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. I picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in. Severely wounded, I returned to his cover position with my men and continued the battle.

As the Chinook raced to the battle, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter, killing all 16 men aboard. On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, Me, Luttrell, Dietz and Axelson, continued the fight. By the end of the two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Me, Axelson and Dietz had been killed. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead.

By my undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to my men in the face of certain death, I was able to relay the position of his unit, an act that ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle.

This was the worst single-day U.S. Forces death toll since Operation Enduring Freedom began nearly six years ago. It was the single largest loss of life for Naval Special Warfare since World War II.

The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005 and the heroic efforts and sacrifices of our special operators. We hold with reverence the ultimate sacrifice that they made while engaged in that fierce fire fight on the front lines of the global war on terrorism (GWOT).

(I wanted to write this as if you were in his boots.)