"Toughness" is a word that takes many forms and can apply to many people, but no one embodies that word better than the soldiers who have fought - and died - for America.
I learned that on a more personal level on this Memorial Day.
My gym hosted three separate heats for a "Murph" workout. As you may or may not know, a "Murph" is a workout that involves:
The workout was named after Lieutenant Michael Murphy, the man in charge of Operation Red Wings. You’ve probably seen - or at least heard - of the insane story of courage, sacrifice, and toughness portrayed in the movie "Lone Survivor," and the book of the same name. As the title suggests, only one man - Marcus Luttrell - made it home. On June 28, 2005, 19 total Navy SEALs died: 16 in the air on a rescue mission, and three on the ground, including Murphy.
To keep himself in shape, Murphy would do the above workout while in Afghanistan on the Red Wings mission.
In the dessert. With his combat gear on. And he could do it in 35 minutes or less.
Yeah, that's toughness.
Doing the Murph workout showed me just how much strength this takes, and it's far more than physical. I did 20 circuits of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats sandwiched between the runs.
I finished it in about 45 minutes, though my last 100 push-ups were pathetic, and I used a thick band to assist on all my pull-ups. My dad was able to do half of the workout, and he is 55 and crushed what he did.
Even though it wasn’t pretty, I was able to finish the workout.
Once. On a holiday. With no combat gear on. And with the promise of heading home and enjoying the blessed life I live.
The lifestyle that Murphy died to protect.
Murphy would do this workout in a foreign land, several continents from home, knowing that his life could be over on any given day. And on the last day of his life, he endured gunshot wounds, broken bones from falling down a cliff, and sacrificed the life I live today because of the American ideals he cherished.
That is toughness, the kind I learned that I will never, ever, be able to replicate. It’s the kind of toughness that makes me proud to call them my fellow Americans. It gave me a whole new level of admiration for the men and women who do - SEALs or otherwise.
Read: SEAL Team 6 Operator Shares Powerful Memorial Day Tribute For Fallen Teammates
As you go to enjoy time with family on this day, I’ll leave you with some words from George W. Bush’s address when he awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Murphy. They reflect the somber attitude we should have when remembering him and everyone else who died for our sake, and would be worth meditating on.
"For his courage, we award Lieutenant Michael Murphy the first Medal of Honor for combat in Afghanistan. And with this medal, we acknowledge a debt that will not diminish with time -- and can never be repaid."
May that inspire thankfulness in all of us this Memorial Day.
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