From David Whitley ('67) of VA - 12/11/06:

I'll be leaving (the office) in a few minutes. (My daughter)     Drew (Whitley - Heritage HS - '03) just got a call that the boy she dated for years, and the one we came to your town for his return from his mission,     Shawn Murphy (York HS - '01), was killed in Baghdad last night. He joined the Army after his mission....

   Oh, David, I am so very sorry! Please give Drew my deepest sympathies......  As Shawn started attending the Singles Branch soon after his return from Africa, I never got to know him very well. But how I loved his family - especially his mama, Tonia, and his sister, Malia, and her adorable little baby boy!

From GlobalSecurity.org - 12/14/06:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties_current.htm:

From the Virginian Pilot - 12/14/06:

Associated Press
© December 14, 2006

Murphy grew up on bases all over the country and world. He graduated from Yorktown High School in Yorktown, Va., followed by two years of Mormon missionary work in Uganda and Kenya. His family lives in Alaska.

Murphy returned to the United States and found out he had been exposed to tuberculosis. He followed a medical regimen and then signed up for Special Forces training at Fort Bragg. He became a paratrooper after a bout with mononucleosis and a back injury kept him from joining Special Forces, his father said.

Mark Murphy said he tried to persuade his son to join the Air Force or attend college so he could become a military officer, but Shawn wanted no delay in serving his country.

Murphy was on his first deployment to Iraq when he was killed.

"He'd e-mail back that he was living the dream," his father said. "You could tell that it really gave him a sense of fulfillment. I'm sure that when he passed away, he was happy."

Other survivors include his mother, Tonia, a sister and four brothers, all of Alaska.

Murphy, Gibson and Ford were assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

The deaths came three days after two paratroopers from the same unit were killed by a roadside bomb. They were Staff Sgt. Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kan.; and Spc. Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, Calif. Their deaths were the brigade's first casualties since its 3,500 paratroopers left Alaska in the fall for a yearlong tour in Iraq.

The paratroopers are based in Baghdad, where they are working with Iraqi security forces to patrol streets, look for roadside bombs and battle insurgents, said Army spokesman Maj. Kirk Gohlke.

From the Anchorage Daily News - 12/14/06:

The names of three paratroopers from Fort Richardson who died in a roadside explosion in Iraq were released Wednesday.

The Department of Defense identified the three soldiers killed Sunday in Baghdad as:

• Sgt. Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Ore.

• Spc. Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas.

• Pfc. Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, N.C.

				All of the soldiers were assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Richardson in Anchorage. The deaths came three days after two paratroopers from the same unit were killed by a roadside bomb. They were Staff Sgt. Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kan., and Spc. Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, Calif. Their deaths were the brigade's first casualties since its 3,500 paratroopers left Alaska in the fall for a yearlong tour in Iraq. The paratroopers are based in Baghdad, where they are working with Iraqi security forces to patrol streets, look for roadside bombs and battle insurgents, Army spokesman Maj. Kirk Gohlke said. -- The Associated Press
Spc. Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas, was an infantryman who joined the Army in October 2004 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in June 2005.	Sgt. Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Ore., was an infantryman who joined the Army in July 2004 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in May 2005.	Pfc. Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, N.C., was an infantryman who joined the Army in March 2005 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in January 2006.

From Shawn's Page on MySpace.com:

.

From the Daily Press - 12/15/06:

York High graduate killed in Iraq

Shawn M. Murphy, 24, died when a roadside bomb exploded near a Humvee he was riding in.

As a child, Shawn M. Murphy dreamed of following in the footsteps of his Air Force father.

But he would go in the Army, he'd say, because he wanted to be part of their fight. To be on the front line.

As a teenager, putting his career goals on hold to spend two years in Uganda and Kenya doing Mormon missionary work, he learned humility. He saw firsthand that "the only difference between pestilence and a blessing was perspective," said his father, Lt. Col. Mark Murphy, in recalling a story his son once told him of an infestation of flying termites that locals fried up to eat.

And as an Army private first class serving in Baghdad, he came to feel that his purpose in Iraq was not just to serve his country. He was fighting for people to worship how they chose just as he had throughout his life, Mark Murphy said.

Shawn Murphy died in that fight Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Baghdad.

The 24-year-old, who graduated from York High School in 2001 and lived in York County for two years while his father was stationed at Langley Air Force Base, was on his first deployment to the war-torn country.

He left in October with the Alaska-based 3rd Battalion, 509th Airborne Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.

Shawn, the oldest of six children, is survived by a family he always put first, a younger sister said, and proud parents, who are now stationed in Alaska.

While they are still working out Shawn's funeral arrangements, his father said, it's likely he'll be buried in Montana, the Murphys' home of record.

"He was really loved," said Malia Bond, Shawn's 22-year-old sister, during a phone interview from her home in Utah.

"I'm so grateful that he sacrificed himself for all of us here so that we can have what we have and that I knew someone that was so amazing and willing to do that."

And she's grateful for her memories, she said.

Her brother was one of the smartest men she'd known.

"He didn't use those powers for good."

He used them to lovingly tease a baby sister, she said with a smile in her voice.

On MySpace.com, a popular Web site that allows people to create their own Internet profiles and blogs, Murphy was known as "crazyhotguy," a name that was typical of the humor she loved in her brother, Bond said.

In his online biography there, he wrote that he'd kissed someone in the rain, had often gone out of his way to befriend people and had, perhaps, been in love.

He loved to laugh, writing that the last time he remembered crying was after laughing so hard tears came out.

Pictures of Murphy posted on MySpace showed a skinny teenager in Africa, sporting a button-up shirt and tie, and of a happy man, beefy and muscular from bodybuilding. Some were of him in uniform, posing for the camera with a group of smiling comrades.

And one was of, according to the caption, Shawn and his last girlfriend. In that shot, he was kissing a giraffe.



While in Iraq, he wasn't able to call home, family members said, so he often used MySpace and e-mail to let his family know he was OK.

Through those final writings, his father said, Shawn showed that "he was driven. He was enthusiastic."

And because of that, and "because of our faith, we know where he is now," Mark Murphy said Thursday. "We have every confidence that he's in a good place, and we know that Shawn died doing what he loved.

"When he left this world, he left with no regrets and with a feeling he had done what he needed to accomplish in this life."

Murphy was the second area serviceman killed in Iraq this month. Marine Cpl. Joshua Sticklen, 24, died Dec. 3 in a helicopter crash in the al-Anbar province.

Sticklen, a 24-year-old from Virginia Beach, was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.

He was buried this week following a memorial service at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.

Sticklen was one of four Marines killed when a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed.

Staff researcher Tracy Sorensen contributed to this report.
 

From the Montana Standard - 12/17/06:

  Spc. Shawn M. Murphy

  From David Whitley ('67) of VA - 12/18/06:

What a wonderful job you did for   Shawn.   Drew (Whitley - Heritage HS - '03) especially thought it was great and so did everyone else.....

Okay, I'll close for now, but I did want to tell you again how much your sweet spirit and kindness has meant. You really are a beautiful gal in every way, Carol. Thanks, you sweet thing, you.

Love you lots, d

   Thank you, David.  It was my privilege to make this memorial newsletter for Shawn.  I only wish I could have done more.

   Love y'all, too.  You remain in my prayers - all of you.