| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 5:43 am |
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Local News 
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Benefit to help injured soldier, his family Life has taken Matt Murphy far from Camano Island, where his family’s roots run deep.His great-grandparents, Spud and Vangie Murphy, settled on the island decades ago. He spent summer days there as a boy. His parents and uncle have homes on Camano. And Army Staff Sgt. Matt Murphy, now 25, was on the island last Fourth of July. On Sept. 14, Murphy’s life took a terrible turn. Serving in Afghanistan with the 5th Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis, he lost his right leg when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle. Two other soldiers, 1st Lt. David Wright and Sgt. Andrew McConnell, died in the attack. Today, Murphy is in Texas, at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. His wife, Ka-Lah, and two small children are there as he recovers and undergoes physical therapy. They have a 5-year-old daughter, Rylee, son Connor, 2, and a baby due in December. “He has a rough, rough road ahead of him,” said Tim Murphy, Matt’s father, who lives in the Randle area near Mount Rainier where Matt grew up. Although Matt Murphy is about 2,000 miles from the Stanwood-Camano community, many there keep him close to their hearts. On Saturday, they’ll open their wallets to help the wounded solider. The American Legion Post 92 in Stanwood will host an auction and dinner to benefit Murphy’s family from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday. “We had to raise money to help them out,” said Lorri Garske, of Camano Island. A friend of Tim Murphy and Matt’s uncle, Joe Murphy, Garske and several others organized the event and solicited donations of food and auction items. “The first day I went out in the community, all the food was donated in two hours,” she said. Sailing trips and golf outings are among the auction items. Garske said many locals recalled the late Vangie Murphy volunteering to help veterans through the American Legion women’s auxiliary. “Oh my gosh, Vangie Murphy, she was well known in this community,” Garske said. “People need to know how easily something like this can hit home.” Speaking from Texas on Thursday, Matt Murphy recounted the nightmarish attack. His group’s Stryker vehicle was hit in the Maywand District, about 30 miles west of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. “It was roughly 1,000 pounds of explosives,” he said. “My right leg was amputated above the knee. I had two big flesh wounds, the inside calf and inside thigh of my left leg.” Murphy said he was given 14 units of blood in Afghanistan, “a crazy amount.” He was flown to the Army’s medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany, and within days was sent to Texas. In Germany, he was cheered by the sight of his brother, Army Spc. James Murphy, who was allowed to leave duty in Iraq to be at Matt’s side. “He was in my room when other members of the squad and I, we all got our Purple Hearts,” Murphy said. A graduate of White Pass High School, Murphy attended Centralia Community College before joining the Army. He knows of other amputees who have stayed in the military, but hasn’t decided his future. He and his wife have a house near Olympia. “Matt was student body president in high school, and has always been a leader,” Tim Murphy said of his son. “He was always a hard-working kid,” said Joe Murphy, of Bothell, Tim’s brother and Matt’s uncle. Matt Murphy worked for his uncle’s business, Bob’s Flooring, when the store was on Broadway in Everett, now the location of Comcast Arena. Joe Murphy recently visited Matt in Texas. “He’s doing amazingly well. He’s in good hands,” he said. Matt Murphy loves visiting the family cabin off W. Camano Drive. He can’t be in Stanwood for the event in his honor, but is filled with gratitude. “I don’t know what to say — a big thank you to everybody who donated,” he said. Tim Murphy will be there for his son. “We’re hoping to have one or two of his soldier buddies there,” the father said. “I would not miss it.” Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com. Help soldier An auction to benefit Army Staff Sgt. Matt Murphy, who lost his leg in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the American Legion Post 92 in Stanwood. Admission is $10; chili, chowder and salad will be served. Donations will help Murphy’s family with transportation and other expenses. The American Legion is at 26921 88th Ave. NW in Stanwood. Information: tinyurl.com/ykq3kpl. |
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