Michael Murphy

A few years ago I sat down with my dad for a few days to interview him for his life story.

I was not prepared for what I heard and many moments from those interviews still move me to tears, all these years later.

My dad was born in South Korea in the 1930′s which means he survived Japanese colonial rule, World War II and the Korean War.

Some of my father’s family did not survive those years.  He lost a little brother and sister to starvation. Imagine that. What would it be like to live in a world where there aren’t enough calories to sustain human life?  What would it be like to live in fear that your entire family is going to be slaughtered in a mass purge of Christians?

But for the intervention of the United States military that could have been my father’s fate.  Look to the Orwellian hellscape of North Korea if you want to know what life is like in a world where nobody stands up to the bully.

Nowadays college kids who have never known a day of hunger in their lives march through Seoul to protest “American Imperialism” whatever that’s supposed to mean.

But Koreans of my father’s generation are different. They are deeply and truly grateful for the sacrifice that American servicemen made in Korea. My father still talks about the GI’s with a sense of wonderment at their bravery, fortitude, and above all their generosity.

This weekend TwinTown CrossFit observes Memorial Day by doing the “Murph” WOD. This workout is named for Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal, a CrossFitter and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“Murph” personified the valor that all of our servicemen and women represent. As a nation, it is to our great credit that we can still produce men and women like Michael Murphy.  How sad it is to live in an age when we must still memorialize the loss of our very finest.