Shawn Murphy remembered

Shawn Murphy always had this feeling that he wasn’t going to live a long life.

His father, Mark, said that was one of the quirks about his son that made him such a unique person.

“He wasn’t a fatalist, he loved life; he just didn’t think he’d live to be an old man,” Mark said. “And that’s why he always lived life to the fullest.” On Dec. 10, Shawn’s life — at the young age of 24 — came to an end.

Shawn was one of three soldiers who died in Iraq when the humvee they were riding in was destroyed by a roadside bomb just east of Baghdad. The former Butte resident was serving with the Army’s 509th Parachute Infantry.

Shawn’s uncle, Terry Schultz, of Butte, said he was devastated when he received the bad news last week. Terry said he went to pieces when Shawn’s mother, Tania Murphy, called him with the bad news.

“I couldn’t breathe. I just started crying hard. It really hit me like I lost a son,” Terry said.

Terry recalls being with Shawn on his 24th birthday. Shawn’s strange premonition of his early death was with him on that day.

“As he blew out the candles on his birthday cake, he said, ‘I wonder how many more of these I’m going to have,’” Terry said.

Like Shawn’s father, Terry believes this feeling is what gave Shawn such a zest for life.

“If he believed in something, he went into it all the way,” Terry said.

His faith and drive took him to Africa for two years doing missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A year after returning, Shawn enlisted in the Army in March 2005.

Terry said Shawn wasn’t just being a patriot. He wanted to go to Iraq to help his fellow man.

“He believed it was his job to protect the innocent people of Iraq. He really felt like a liberator,” Terry said.

Shawn’s father said last week has been difficult for him and his wife. But the more he learns about his son’s honorable service, it makes him feel a little bit better — and prouder.

“I found out from talking with the Army that the night Shawn was killed, he had volunteered to go on that night patrol in place of a soldier that was sick,” Mark said. “That’s just the kind of person he was.” Shawn was born in Wyoming, and spent his early years in Butte. Shawn’s mother, Tania, whose maiden name is Schultz, was born and raised in Butte. She met Mark while they were both students are Montana Tech.

Mark, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, said the family moved from place to place frequently because of his military career. Shawn’s parents now live at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska.

“Shawn always consider Butte his hometown,” Mark said.

Shawn will be returning home Friday for his funeral at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Mount Highland Drive.

Whether or not Shawn truly knew he wasn’t going to live long, Mark said his son lived a fuller life than most people. Though it hurts that he’s gone, Mark said he takes comfort in knowing his son enjoyed what few years he had on this Earth.

“I know he went out of the world a happy guy,” he said.

From the Standard

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