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Grand Forks Airman to represent AF at Warrior Games

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  A Grand Forks Airman will represent the U. S. Air Force at the 2012 Warrior Games scheduled to place April 30 through May 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Tech. Sgt. Kevin Murphy, of the 319th Civil Engineering Squadron, was one of 29 Airmen across the Air Force selected to the Service's team.

The Warrior Games is an Olympic-style event open to all wounded, ill and injured military members and veterans. Murphy and his teammates will compete against teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and the United Kingdom's Armed Forces.

Murphy was an avid basketball player for much of his life, including 10 years playing intramurals at different bases across the world after joining the Air Force. It was an incident 2004 that temporarily stripped him of what he loved most.

He was deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, where he was installing an air conditioning unit to the Base Exchange when a mortar round struck the base, shelling him with fire-hot shrapnel and debris.

"All of a sudden I heard a boom and everything just went silent," said Murphy, who endured around 40 mortar attacks during his time in Iraq. "I had all kinds of metals, shrapnel and rocks embedded all through my body ... there was a lot of panic and confusion."

Murphy was evacuated out of the country and spent the next three months in recovery and rehab.

"I'm missing chunks out of my right thigh, out of my back, along with damage behind the ear and head," said Murphy, who also lost much of the hearing in his left ear after the blast. "I'm just fortunate enough that I am able to hide my scars. I've been blessed to where I am able to function."

Murphy said he never gave the Warrior Games much thought because he thought "there are always people out there with worse injuries than mine."

A case worker in San Antonio, Texas, contacted Murphy in December 2011 and invited him to participate in an adaptive sports clinic. Murphy learned a lot during his 13-hour training days there, and he qualified to play wheelchair basketball and standing shot-put for the Warrior Games - if accepted.

"There were people at the clinic there that had been at previous Warrior Games," he said. "They encouraged me to come out and said it was one of the best experiences you could ever be a part of."

Upon returning to Grand Forks, Murphy submitted his application and was accepted shortly thereafter.

"I was thrilled to get a chance to represent the Air Force," said Murphy, who trains daily at his home in Grand Forks. "It's great to see and meet people that have been through some of the same things you have.

"I'm chomping at the bit to get out there and do my part," he said.