Veterans Voice: Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy, of Cameron, spent two tours of duty in Baghdad, Iraq. Those tours accounted for 27 months of his military service. When he advised his parents he was joining the military, they were not thrilled. But eventually accepted it, and his mother told him to “learn something”.

 

      Ryan joined the Army in 2004, taking Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, going on to the 3rdInfantry Division, at Fort Stewart, GA. He was assigned to a mechanized unit.

 

      His first deployment in Iraq began in January of 2006. The Army took over a large building in downtown Baghdad, while their Iraqi counterparts occupied another building in the same complex. Contractors built a 12 foot wall surrounding the complex. Ryan commented that since his unit was on the 2ndfloor, they were still visible.

 

      His first tour, like his 2nd, was all “urban warfare”, essentially house-to-house. He said there was a lot of “action” in his first tour, but he considers it “mild” when compared to the 2ndtour. In the first tour they had hot meals once a day, served in one of Saddam's palaces. They never had a hot meal in the second tour.

 

      Ryan commented that the first tour was “mainly bad experiences”, but met up with his best friend (yet to this day) during that tour. They were in the same unit and were together every day.

 

      Despite the intense heat and constant danger, they were able to find humor at times. On one occasion Ryan accidentally stepped in a drainage hole and fell, his weapon flying through the air and landing virtually at the feet of the platoon leader. The platoon leader had not seen him fall, but turned and gave him a strange look.

 

      On another occasion, they were going over a wall when the first guy went over, he landed in a “kiddie pool” full of water. He quickly advised the others to cross elsewhere!

 

      On Ryan’s 2ndtour, they lived in an upscale, very wealthy area occupied by people who had been loyal to Saddam. To give an idea of the wealth, in one instance they found solid gold “silverware”. However, the American troops were housed in a building without running water. There was no facility for showers, so the men improvised a shower system using bottled water. That was eventually nixed since they were told they were using too much of the water supply.

 

      Without running water, they had to construct an “outhouse” within the building. With a hundred men inside, and brutally hot weather, it did not take long for the odor to penetrate the entire building. The men learned to wait and use the restroom within the (now unoccupied) wealthy homes still equipped with running water.

 

      Ryan’s unit conducted a number of operations in conjunction with Iraqi forces whom he described as “good soldiers”, who had fewer rules/restraints than the U.S. troops. Ryan said there was not a lot of interaction between the two groups outside of fighting, mostly due to the language barrier.

 

     Ryan and his team operated out of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle/Personnel Carrier. It has a 3-man crew and a fully-equipped team of six men, of which Ryan was “Team Leader”. It also carried a lot of fire-power with a 25mm cannon capable of firing 100-300 rounds per minute (based on the ammunition) along with a 7.62 machine gun.

 

      The 101stAirborne was also operating in the area. He said they would often “stir up a hornet’s nest” with the enemy and would call in the Bradley’s to provide heavier fire-power. Ryan’s unit also operated in the infamous Sadar City which was a stronghold of enemy fighters and battles were often very intense. Fortunately, they received the “green light” from their commander to “level the playing field” in that area. During much of that time the men “lived inside” the very hot Bradley’s and they were normally drenched in sweat. However, that was pretty much true the entire time they were in Baghdad. 

 

    

 

      Operating as a team leader, Ryan was elevated to the rank of Sergeant relatively quickly. While their entire unit “suffered casualties”, all of his team survived. They were in an area of combat except for occasional needed trips back to the fuel depot.

 

      Ryan’s best memories of his service was the friendships forged with people he otherwise would never have known. They remain a tight unit and reunite from time to time, and make it a point to get together whenever possible. He met his best friend on the bus at Fort Benning, and they fought together then entire time.

 

      His worst memories are the “losses of personnel, people he knew”. He also said that “just being away from home” was difficult.

 

      Following military service, Ryan went to Lineman school. Upon graduation he sent out “hundreds” of resumes, and the first response came from Northwest Electric in Cameron, where he still works.

 

      Ryan, his wife “L.A.” and their two children reside in Cameron.

 

     

   

Trending Video

My Cameron News

BB Highway
P.O. Box 498
Cameron, MO 64429
PHONE: (816) 632-6543
FAX: (816) 632-4508
Email: editor@mycameronnews.com

Privacy Policy
 

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

Manage my subscriptions

Subscribe to Breaking News feed