By Michael Schinder

With the recent success of “Zero Dark Thirty,” the release of the new documentary – “MURPH: The Protector,” from writer/director Scott Mactavish – couldn’t have come at a better time.

“MURPH: The Protector,” which opened March 22, follows the life and service of Lt. Michael Murphy, U.S. Navy SEAL, who was killed in action during Operation Red Wings – the military operation from which Marcus Luttrell was the only remaining survivor.

Operation Red Wings required that a team of four Navy SEALs provide surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Ahmad Shah and his men; the SEALS fell into an ambush by Shah and his group just hours after inserting by fastrope from an MH-47 helicopter in the area.

Three of the four SEALs were killed in the ambush; a quick reaction force helicopter sent in for their aid was subsequently shot down with an RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade by one of Shah’s men, killing all on board, which consisted of eight Navy SEALs and eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators.

The operation then became known as Red Wings II and lasted approximately three more weeks, during which time bodies of the deceased SEALs and Army Special Operations aviators were recovered and the only surviving member of the initial four-man surveillance and reconnaissance team, Marcus Luttrell, was rescued.

Lt. Murphy was well-known for his selflessness and gave his life for his men in 2005. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007.

His legacy now lives on in this moving portrait of a real American hero.

Michael Schindler, Navy veteran, and president of Edmonds-based Operation Military Family, is a guest writer for several national publications, author of the book “Operation Military Family” and “The Military Wire” blog. He is also a popular keynote and workshop speaker who reaches thousands of service members and their families every year through workshops and seminars that include  “How to Battle-Ready Your Relationship” or “What Your Mother-in-Law Didn’t Tell You.”  He received the 2010 Outstanding Patriotic Service Award from the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.