They’re a force to be reckoned with.
Hundreds of military members and Long Islanders took part in a grueling, emotional event Saturday to commemorate the extraordinary grit of Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, a slain SEAL from Patchogue whose heroics were worthy of Hollywood.
Participants of the annual Suffolk County gathering took on the punishing workout routine of the 29-year-old Navy SEAL, who was killed in action in 2005, deliberately sacrificing himself to Taliban gunfire to call in reinforcements during a famous mission portrayed in the Peter Berg film “Lone Survivor.”
“It’s a 1-mile run followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, capped off with another 1-mile run,” said former SEAL Kaj Larsen, who was Murphy’s roommate during Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training, or BUD/S, to The Post.
“To do it at the full expression of the Murph, you do it wearing a 20-pound bulletproof vest,” Larsen said.
Larsen and Murphy, who Taylor Kitsch portrays as a main character in the 2013 flick, first concocted the daunting exercise on their base in Coronado, Calif.
Larsen, now 47, re-enacted it Saturday along with nearly 350 other people at the LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum in Sayville, running his first mile with an American flag in hand in honor of his dear friend.
“I know if Mike were down here, we’d be right next to each other, pushing ourselves, seeing who could win,” said Larsen, who knew many of the other 18 service members who perished along with Murphy during “Operation Red Wings” in Afghanistan in late June 2005.
Since the museum opened in 2022, the annual Memorial Day Weekend event has exponentially increased in local popularity, according to Executive Director and former SEAL Chris Wyllie.
He noted that one woman flew in from Italy just to do “The Murph” challenge.
“My big focus is making this an emotional experience that’s so positive and fun that people want to come back and want the news to spread,” Wyllie said.
For Murphy’s brother, John Murphy, a 37-year-old SUNY police officer stationed in Stony Brook, it represents a bigger picture.
“It’s very moving and very nice to see that people appreciate and have not lost sight of the meaning behind this weekend,” he said.
A hero’s memory
The beginnings of the event date back to 2007, when Air Force Capt. Joshua Appel — the man who recovered Murphy’s body from the horrific firefight — first tried it in a Tucson, Ariz., gym to venerate the sacrifice of the SEALs and the Army Night Stalkers, the nickname for an elite military air group, that day.
“The Murph” went on become a Memorial Day Weekend tradition done by athletes around the globe.
“Michael could do it in about 32 minutes, but once in Iraq, he was able to in 28,” said his father, Daniel Murphy, a Vietnam veteran heavily involved in the museum.
A few years ago, the dad moved to Wading River, LI, to be closer to Calverton National Cemetery to visit Michael’s grave about twice a week. During visits there, he talks to his son, updating him on what’s happening in the museum and lets him know who stopped in.
“I’m going to tell him how competitive it was this year,” Daniel Murphy said. “We’ve had two people who did it in 33 minutes and 34 minutes. I’ll explain to him that, and how many people came through this time.”
Muprhy’s mother, Maureen Murphy, who regularly gives tours at the museum, appreciates that the event helps more people “get to know” her son.
“He had a big heart, and honestly, he could have his leg or his arm torn off and not cry,” she said of her son, who was a lifeguard and Penn State graduate before becoming a SEAL.
“But if his friends were having a hard time, he’d cry with them,” she said.
Larsen remembers how Murphy’s call to duty was only rivaled by his caring for his buddies, even in just the littlest ways, such as when Larsen had to go through SEAL hell week after he did.
“I was like, cold, almost hypothermic, on just the hardest, hardest night,” Larsen recalled.
“Out of nowhere, I see this figure in camouflage sneak around the corner of the barracks with a Snickers bar — and it was Murph. He took care of his brothers,” he added of the beloved man widely nicknamed “the protector.”
Nearly two decades since his death, Murphy — who posthumously awarded the medal of honor — is still changing lives, including 16-year-old Finn Schiavone of Bay Shore, who was paralyzed in middle school from a wrestling accident.
The wheelchair-bound teen met Dan Murphy at the museum and credits the family for helping him find the strength to recover fully through rigorous physical therapy.
“I don’t even know how to explain it. They instilled a sense of drive into me,” said the high-schooler, who marvelously completed the challenge this year.
“I want to apply to the Naval Academy and hopefully become a SEAL,” said Schiavone, who wore a weighted vest signed by Robert O’Neill, the SEAL who killed Osama Bin Laden.
