SEAL of Honor by Gary Williams Read Free Book Online Page A

passed. Dan and Maureen were unable to control their emotions. They were in awe of the fact that total strangers would have so much respect for their son. Dan tried to describe the scene to Michael, but was unable to do so through his tears. At the Nassau County line, six cruisers from the Nassau County Police Department escorted them to the Suffolk County line into Kings Park, where additional local police cruisers joined the escort. As they waited outside the funeral home, Eddie McElhone and a Navy honor guard from the Naval Operational Support Center in Plainville, Connecticut, heard the sirens even though the motorcade was still several miles away.

Clayton Funeral Home
    After the hearse backed into position, Michael’s casket, with three members of the honor guard at each end, was carried through the front doors and placed on a church truck. From there it was wheeled into Chapel C, and the double-wide white doors were closed. The casket was taken to the front of the chapel, where the honor guard centered it on the bier. Members of the honor guard then faced the casket, saluted, and retired. Eddie then quickly prepared the room by placing a red lighted votive candle at each end of the casket and next to each votive a taller lighted torchère. He then centered the brass Resurrection Cross behind the flag-draped casket and escorted the family in from a nearby room.

    As the family approached the casket and knelt at the prayer rail, Eddie walked slowly to the back of the room. After several minutes, Dan and Maureen stepped back and sat in the center of the front row, along with John. They couldn’t help feeling the unfairness of it all. Michael’s death violated the natural order of life. Children bury their parents. Parents should not have to bury their children.
    After about ten minutes, the Duggan family was escorted into the chapel. They also knelt and prayed. After several minutes at the prayer rail, they joined the Murphys in the front row. The chapel was quiet, except for the sound of soft cries and sobs of parents and family.
    Afterward, Dan pulled Eddie aside and asked to view Michael’s remains. Even though Dan was a longtime homicide prosecutor, Eddie was strongly against it. Maureen then asked that Michael’s beard, grown for the Afghanistan mission, be shaved before viewing. Delicately, McElhone explained that because of the manner in which Michael died, coupled with the time it took to recover his remains, he could not be viewed. He further explained that Michael had been tightly shrouded and his uniform pinned to the shroud. Undeterred, Heather asked that the wedding ring she had bought for Michael be placed on his hand. Reluctantly, McElhone agreed, which renewed Dan’s desire to view Michael, or at least hold his hand before he was buried. Eddie again explained that he was strongly against this, and Dan finally relented.
    When the family left the funeral home, they were met by a large crowd of people waving flags in the parking lot. Several called out words of sympathy and support, many politely applauded, and some just stood in solemn reverence. Dan and Maureen nodded and acknowledged them while they walked toward the waiting limousine.
    After the family left, the members of the honor guard took their positions at each end of the flag-draped casket, where they remained until the funeral.

CHAPTER THREE
    Funeral for the Fallen
    It’s not an ending. It’s not a period at the end of their lives. It’s a semicolon. The story will continue to be told.
    —MAJOR STEVE BECK, Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO), United States Marine Corps, quoted in Jim Sheeler, Final Salute
    Long Island Newsday , Monday , July 11, 2005: Michael Patrick Murphy
    MURPHY—Lt. Michael Patrick. U.S. Navy SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One. Pearl Harbor, HI of Patchogue, NY on July 4, 2005 in Afghanistan. Devoted son of Maureen T. (née Jones) and Daniel J. Murphy. Dear brother of John. Loving Fiancé of Heather L. Duggan.