Father of Navy SEAL Michael Murphy has spent the last 20 years keeping hero son’s legacy alive: ‘A higher sense of purpose’

It’s been astir 20 years since Daniel Murphy was told his boy Michael, a Navy SEAL Lieutenant from Long Island, had been killed successful action successful Afghanistan — along pinch 2 squad members and 16 different subject personnel.

While the Medal of Honor recipient’s heroics were memorialized successful nan 2013 movie “Lone Survivor,” his proud dada has spent almost each time sharing his legacy at nan Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum successful West Sayville since its opening 2 years ago.

“If Michael’s communicative brings nan attraction of nan nationalist to our fallen heroes, past he has accomplished thing — moreover successful death,” Murphy, now 77, told The Post. “It was our extremity to show group and show group what these unthinkable young men do.”

The semi-retired Murphy, who moved to Wading River to beryllium adjacent Michael’s sedate astatine adjacent Calverton National Cemetery, makes nan 45-minute travel to nan depository astir days — not only to grant Michael’s legacy, but to talk nan sacrifices made by members of nan equipped services.

Along pinch giving visitors a profound consciousness of what life successful nan Navy SEALs and each subject work is genuinely like, it’s a infinitesimal to reconnect pinch his precocious son.

“I show him what’s going on, who is successful nan museum, who I met, what we’ve discussed, and things for illustration that,” he said.

‘Lone Survivor’

On a emblematic day, Murphy speaks to visitors and vividly describes what he and his ex-wife, Michael’s mother, Maureen — who besides visits nan depository aggregate times a week — person endured since their son’s death.

“We’ve had visitors from 47 states and 36 counties and conscionable astir each of them cognize Michael’s communicative coming in,” Murphy said.

The world knows of Murphy’s heroics from nan blockbuster movie successful which Taylor Kitsch depicted nan 29-year-old sacrificing himself arsenic his four-man squad was surrounded connected 3 sides by dozens of Taliban militia connected a 10,000-foot elevation — during a reconnaissance ngo gone incorrect successful June 2005.

“Michael was a leader earlier he was a hero,” he said. “He had specified a higher consciousness of purpose, location was this agleam statement betwixt correct and wrong. That is really he sewage nan sanction ‘the Protector.'”

But Murphy’s father, an Army seasoned who served successful Vietnam, remembers plentifulness astir his boy that nan nationalist whitethorn not know.

“In eighth people he sewage himself progressive successful an altercation pinch 3 bullies who tried to shove a typical needs student into a gym locker. He knew it wasn’t correct and he sewage involved,” Murphy said.

The Sayville depository — adjacent to Murphy’s puerility location successful Patchogue — focuses connected nan history of nan elite Sear, Air, and Land fighting unit since its World War II inception.

It spans to modern times, including an grounds connected nan sidesplitting of Osama Bin Laden and nan beyond-rigorous basal underwater demolition SEAL training (BUD/S) each recruits must walk — its brutality shown during nan opening of “Lone Survivor.”

There’s a abstracted room dedicated to Murphy and his 18 comrades who besides fell during nan notorious Operation Red Wings adjacent Asadabad.

Daniel and Maureen walk overmuch of their clip sharing heart-wrenching specifications of nan respective days they were waiting successful limbo, pinch Navy SEALs surviving pinch them to get real-time updates connected Michael’s fate.

Although nan charismatic connection Murphy was killed successful action came successful nan precocious hours of July 4, his begetter knew sooner.

“I retrieve [the SEAL] mentioning that an emergency beacon was going disconnected pinch respect to 1 individual being alive,” he recalled.

“I retrieve turning to Maureen astatine that constituent and conscionable saying, ‘You know, if there’s only 1 survivor, it’s not going to beryllium Michael. It’s not his measurement for him to past and suffer each his men.'”

Continuing nan mission

The creation of nan depository helped Michael’s begetter spot firsthand conscionable really beloved his boy was, particularly erstwhile tradesmen crossed Long Island reached retired successful unison to unpaid their services toward its construction. “We fundamentally built a $5 cardinal depository for nether $2 million,” Murphy, besides a committee member, revealed.

During building 7 years ago, nan thought of giving backmost was beardown successful nan mind of Chris Wyllie, a erstwhile SEAL and Special Warfare Combat Crewmen successful nan 1990s. Wyllie offered nan pro bono thief of an audio-visual institution he opened aft serving.

As he fostered a narration pinch nan Murphy family, learning much astir Michael’s life communicative inspired Wyllie to go its executive director.

“It’s a different type of depository for really individual it is,” Wyllie, 51, told The Post, adding that Marcus Luttrell, nan Navy SEAL lone subsister played by Mark Wahlberg, has attended immoderate of their awesome events.

“I tin speak astir what everyone is experiencing astatine nan museum. I deliberation that brings it to an wholly caller level,” he said.

About a twelvemonth earlier 9/11, Wyllie had medically retired from nan SEALs. Despite his champion efforts, he could not rejoin immoderate subject branch arsenic nan warfare connected panic began.

Although it took him a agelong clip to travel to position pinch his situation, Wyllie has learned that he tin supply a different benignant of work successful his existent domiciled — particularly to visiting veterans showing signs of struggling.

“I make a individual effort to spell complete to them and opportunity that I’m here, that they’re not unsocial successful this, that I still acquisition worldly connected to PTSD,” he said.

“Nine times retired of 10, I will springiness them my cellphone earlier they time off and say, ‘Listen, if you request anything, I don’t attraction if it’s 2 successful nan morning, you tin telephone me’ because I’d alternatively person personification aftermath maine up that I could talk to and help.”

Just arsenic nan surviving proceed to do bully activity successful Michael’s name, Murphy is reminded astatine times that his boy is location looking out, protecting — still.

In nan precocious 2000s, a New Jersey friend of nan family named a decommissioned Coast Guard vessel he bought nan Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy Medal of Honor.

“When nan Miracle connected nan Hudson happened, it was nan first vessel that sewage to nan plane,” Murphy said of nan sensational 2009 incident that rocketed pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger to stardom.

“On TV, personification said ‘It appears Lieutenant Michael Murphy is still connected duty, redeeming lives.’ It conscionable floored me.”