Less than a week after watching the Pentagon burn from his Washington, DC apartment window, Richard Murphy was compelled to serve his country and set out to join the Army Reserves. In February 2003, as an MP, Murphy was on his way to Iraq. His tour saw stints in combat patrols, as a police academy trainer, as a machine gunner, and as a member of a military police brigade assigned to Abu Ghraib prison. What he saw in Iraq changed him. And while Murphy still believes in the mission, David Brancaccio sits down with him to find out if what he saw on the ground has changed his view of the war.

			Richard Murphy, 25, enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves on March 4, 2002. On September 11, 2001, Murphy watched the Pentagon burn from his apartment in Washington, DC. Less than a week later Murphy headed to the Army recruiter to enlist. Taking a leave of absence from his studies at George Washington Law School, Murphy completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Murphy served in the U.S. Army Reserves, with the 372th Military Police Company of Cumberland, Md. In February 2003, Murphy got the call to go to Iraq. The unit was attached first to 1st Marine Division in Babylon, Iraq, where it conducted combat patrols, law and order operations and started its own police academy, training more than 2,000 Iraqi police. Murphy served as machine gunner for Alpha Team, 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon. The unit was next attached to the 800th Military Police Brigade, assigned to run prisoner of war detention facilities at Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad. Murphy was responsible for up to 320 prisoners in Tier 6 of Abu Ghraib's 'hard site.' Murphy created a 'safe cell' for elderly and infirm prisoners and helped put down an attempted prison break. On several occasions Murphy served as convoy commander on missions into Baghdad. After spending one year 'boots on ground,' the unit's tour was extended three months. The company's new mission was to guard Kellog, Brown and Root civilian truck drivers in convoys in and around Baghdad. The unit conducted more than 100,000 miles of convoy security, facing roadside bombs, RPGs and small arms fire. The company returned home in August 2004 after 15 months in Iraq and 18 months deployed total. Murphy was awarded two Army Commendation Medals for his service in Iraq. Murphy and his parents Joe and Suzanne Werfelman fought to raise awareness about the lack of body armor for troops in Iraq. Murphy and his parents have been featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, USA TODAY, L.A. TIMES, NEWSWEEK, MSNBC and STARS AND STRIPES. Murphy was released from active duty on September 9, 2004. He is a 2001 graduate of George Washington University. He is a student at George Washington Law School. Read more from Murphy from the non-partisan Veterans' organization Operation Truth