This week we will honor two heroes who share a connection.
They are...
Sgt. John Kiggins and Lt. Michael Murphy!
These two men came from different times and different backgrounds. However they have some major things in common. They both served in the US military, and showed amazing courage in the face of battle.
Part 1
John Kiggins was born on February 2, 1837 in Syracuse, New York. He enlisted in the Union Army in September of 1862 and was assigned to the 149th New York Infantry. Kiggins eventually rose to the rank of Sergeant. He saw combat at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. His defining moment however, would come during the 149th regiment's assault on Lookout Mountain.
In November of 1863, the 149th New York was part of the Union Army of the Cumberland (the Union army on the western front). By then, the army had been besieged in the city of Chattanooga Tennessee by the opposing Confederate Army for over two months and was on the verge of collapse. Their supplies were running low, many soldiers were sick with disease, and morale among the rest of them had severely plummeted. If something was not done to lift the siege, the Federals would be forced to surrender the city to the Confederates. The Union commander (Ulysses S. Grant) decided to prepare the Army of the Cumberland to launch an attack on the Confederate siege lines that were positioned at Missionary Ridge.
However, to get to the ridge, the Federals needed to seize a key position that blocked their advance: Lookout Mountain. Lookout Mountain was part of a mountain range that ran from Georgia to Tennessee. It's peak elevation was 2,389 ft above sea level. The mountain's height made it a very strategic position that needed to be taken if the Federals were going to break the siege. Therefore, General Grant gave the authorization to launch an assault on the mountain. The 149th New York Infantry (Sergeant Kiggins included) would take part. Early on a foggy morning on November 24, the Federals began their assault. Due to the thick fog and clouds that covered the slopes of the mountain, the battle would later be referred to as, "the Battle above the Clouds".
At first, progress was painfully slow. The attackers found themselves at a major disadvantage due to the Confederates holding the high ground and the thick fog which caused many of them to be subjected to friendly fire. The first regiments to assault the mountain were beaten back with heavy casualties. The 149th was one of the few to gain a foothold on the mountain. Just when it seemed that the regiment was about to reach the Confederate line they were hit from behind by their own artillery. The men of the 149th were now pinned down between the Confederate guns and the Union artillery.
Sgt. Kiggins knew something needed to be done to stop the friendly fire and save his comrades. He knew that the only way to do was to get the artillery to see the regiment's flag. In an act of amazing courage, Sgt. John Kiggins grabbed the flag, ran to a nearby tree stump, stood on top of it, and frantically waved the flag to the artillery below him. This left Kiggins in a dangerously exposed position to the Confederate defenders who began to train their fire on him. He was shot numerous times and yet continued to wave the flag until he was noticed by the Federal artillery men who quickly ceased fire. After this, Sgt. Kiggins collapsed from his wounds (doctors would find a total of nine bullet holes in his clothing).
Part II
Michael Patrick Murphy was born on May 7, 1976 in Smithtown, New York. Early in his life, he was known for defending those who were close to him. This is probably what led to his choice to become a Navy Seal. He enlisted in the Navy in 2000. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 only served to further inspire his determination. After years of rigorous training and preparing for the fiercest and most secretive combat, Murphy earned his Navy Seal trident in July of 2002. Following this, he was deployed to Afghanistan.
While he was serving in Afghanistan, Murphy was given a highly dangerous counter-insurgency mission in the Kunar Province. The mission was to locate a high ranking leader of the Taliban (Ahmed Shah) and assassinate him. The operation was codenamed: Red Wings. One June 27, 2005, Murphy along with three other Navy Seals (Matt Axelson, Danny Dietz, and Marcus Luttrell), were all inserted deep into enemy territory out to carry out the operation. For the next day and a half the four-man squad stealthily made their way to their target's alleged location. This was deep within the forested mountains and out of contact with the rest of the Coalition forces.
As the team was nearing their target, the mission took a turn for the worse. They were discovered by three goat herders who happened upon them by chance. The four seals quickly detained the Afghans and pondered what to do with them. One of the seals (Matt Axelson) suggested executing the Afghans due to the risk of the latter alerting the Taliban to their presence. However, Murphy made the decision to allow the Afghans to go free. It was a decision that would have dire consequences.
Immediately after letting the goat herders go, Murphy and his team quickly abandoned their mission and began to vacate their position. Unfortunately, Murphy and his team were attacked by more than 100 Taliban fighters within an hour of releasing the goat herders (they likely ratted them out). Despite being severely outnumbered, the four seals managed to kill at least 35 of the Taliban attackers. However all four of them were shot numerous times and it became clear without help, they would all be killed. Their situation became even more dire when Danny Dietz (the radio man) was killed and his radio destroyed. Despite being shot numerous times Michael Murphy made a brave decision. He decided to climb up onto a large rock in order to get a cell phone signal. It was a near-suicide decision but hopefully he would be able get in contact with American forces. With some cover from Marcus Luttrell and Matt Axelson, Murphy ran into the open and climbed the large rock. Once he was there he finally got a signal on his cell phone and made contact. Murphy then collapsed from blood loss after being shot multiple times.
Epilogue
As a direct result of John Kiggins' actions, the 149th New York was able to continue its attack until it pierced the Confederate line. Soon the whole line collapsed under the weight of the attacking Federals and the battle of Lookout Mountain ended in a victory for the Union. Despite suffering multiple wounds (luckily most of them were graze wounds) Kiggins survived. He continued to serve with the 149th New York until the regiment was mustered out on June 12, 1865 at the end of the Civil War. Nearly 30 years later, Sgt. John Kiggins received the congressional Medal of Honor for his amazing heroism at the battle of Lookout Mountain. He worked as a nightwatchman in Syracuse until his death on September 29, 1914. He was 77 years old.
Despite the heroism of Michael Murphy, Operation Red Wings ended in tragedy. His call for help did make it through to Navy Seal headquarters. As a result, a Chinook helicopter (carrying 8 Navy Seals, and 8 Army Night-Stalkers) came to aid of their trapped comrades. Sadly, the helicopter was shot down by a Taliban RPG. All 16 men on board were killed in the crash. All in all, Operation Red Wings had resulted in the worst loss of life for American Navy Special Warfare since World War II. As for Murphy's two remaining comrades, Matt Axelson continued to fight back against the Taliban until he died of blood loss. His body was later found with many dead Taliban fighters lying near by. Marcus Luttrell was severely wounded but managed to evade the Taliban before he was found by local villagers who sheltered him and eventually transferred to American forces (he made a full recovery from his wounds). Lt. Michael Patrick Murphy died of his wounds just minutes after he made that phone call. He was only 29 years old. For his selfless and heroic sacrifice in making a desperate call for help he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Despite the differences in time and conflict, both of these men displayed incredible valor and dedication to their comrades. Regardless of the end result of the battle or whether they lived to receive the praise they so rightfully deserved their acts were no less heroic. John Kiggins and Michael Murphy both put their lives on the line to save their brothers-in-arms. What this should show us is that for those who serve in our military, one thing has never changed. That is the dedication that they have to protecting each other and the country the love. That is something that will always remain in our nation's military. For me, there is no greater heroism.
Further Information:
https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=John+Kiggins
https://books.google.com/books?id=wk48AAAAMAAJ&q=%22John+Kiggins%22&dq=%22John+Kiggins%22&num=100&client=firefox-a&pgis=1#v=snippet&q=%22John%20Kiggins%22&f=false
https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/149thInf/149thInfMain.htm
https://sofrep.com/84722/remembering-navy-seal-michael-p-murphy-medal-honor-6282005/
http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/moh/murphy.html
Luttrell, Marcus (2007). Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. Little, Brown and Company.
No comments:
Post a Comment