Army Capt. Brendan Murphy Distinguished Flying Cross

Pilot earns DFC for leading mission under fire
By John Ryan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 17, 2012

SGT. JONATHAN SHAW / ARMY Maj. Brendan P. Murphy receives the Distinguished Flying Cross from Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick in a ceremony Feb. 6 at the 82nd Airborne Division Museum at Fort Bragg, N.C. Murphy was honored for leading helicopters on repeated trips under fire to resupply and extract about 130 besieged soldiers in Afghanistan.

On a dark day in Afghanistan in September 2010, Army Capt. Brendan Murphy led helicopters on repeated trips under fire to resupply and extract about 130 besieged soldiers.

The Army recognized Murphy’s heroism Feb. 6 at Fort Bragg, N.C., with a Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest aviation award for valor.

Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, presented the medal to Murphy, who is now a major.

Murphy was serving with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, of Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in Afghanistan in September 2010.

The night before the rescue, Murphy’s unit dropped off about 130 soldiers of a planned 350-soldier air-assault force in a remote valley before harsh weather grounded the choppers.

The next morning, Murphy heard far-off echoes of howitzer fire and volunteered to help the dislocated soldiers, who were suffering injuries “faster than they could report on the radio,” according to Murphy’s award documents.
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