Maureen Murphy, mother of Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Navy SEAL, Lt. Michael Murphy, christens the ship baring his name during a ceremony at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine on Saturday, May 7, 2011, what would've been Murphy's 35th birthday. The mother of a Navy SEAL from Maine killed in Afghanistan said "Happy birthday, baby" before smashing a bottle of Champagne against a Navy ship that bears her son's name.
BATH, Maine -- The mother of a Navy SEAL from New York killed in Afghanistan said "Happy birthday, baby" before smashing a bottle of Champagne against a ship in Maine that bears her son's name.
The destroyer under construction at Maine's Bath Iron Works bears the name of Lt. Michael Murphy, a Long Island resident who was killed in a firefight on June 28, 2005, in eastern Afghanistan. The ceremony was held Saturday on what would've been Murphy's 35th birthday and nearly a week after Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
Murphy's mother, Maureen, asked for a moment of silence before reading the names of all 19 service members who died in the firefight and rescue attempt.
Joining 3,000 spectators were New York firefighters, SEALs from Hawaii and the Special Operations Command's leader.
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