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Police Searching For Vandals Who Smashed Memorial For Navy SEAL Who Made Ultimate Sacrifice

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A public memorial to fallen Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Michael P. Murphy was smashed into more than a dozen pieces by vandals, according to a Thursday police report.

The memorial is a flat, circular piece of granite with the New York native’s image embossed on it. The stone has been on display at a park in Long Island that was dedicated to Murphy’s memory in 2006, reported ABC 7. Suffolk County Police are investigating the “act of vandalism” and are offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible, reported Stars and Stripes.

Murphy lost his life while leading a mission during the War in Afghanistan in 2005. His heroism when his team was surrounded by Taliban soldiers earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2007. One of the four members of the team to survive the Taliban ambush, former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, commemorated Murphy in his book “Lone Survivor.”

Luttrell posted on his Instagram account on Thursday that he would match the Crime Stoppers Award for any individuals with information about who vandalized the memorial.

Only a coward would do this. We are matching Crime Stoppers Reward to anyone who turns in the low life who did this. To donate towards repairs go to MurphFoundation.org.

A post shared by Marcus Luttrell (@marcusluttrell) on Jul 19, 2018 at 8:31pm PDT

Part of Murphy’s Medal of Honor citation is on the memorial stone.

“On June 28, 2005, during Operation Redwing, Lt. Michael P. Murphy made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and our freedom,” reads part of the inscription.

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