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Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by tigers9 on September 17, 2008
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Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
Posted: Today at 12:18 p.m.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Special Forces trainee died of multiple bites from a water moccasin during field training in June, Army officials said Wednesday.
Pfc. Norman M. Murburg was conducting the individual land navigation exercise in Hoffman training area, near Camp Mackall, on June 9 as a part of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection process conducted by the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, officials said.
Murburg reached the first point along the course but failed to check in at the next point or the assembly point at the end of the exercise, officials said. His body was found June 10, along with all of his personal equipment, including water and emergency equipment, after an exhaustive search by cadre members and fellow students.
An autopsy, which was conducted by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., ruled out heat or dehydration as a cause of Murburg’s death, officials said.
“Pfc. Murburg’s death reinforces the dangerous nature of the training that our soldiers undertake to prepare themselves for the rigors of Special Forces,” Maj. Gen. Thomas Csrnko, commander of the Kennedy Special Warfare Center, said in a statement. “We go out of our way to stress safety in all that we do, but there are some circumstances that are out of our control.”
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3560227/
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by earthguy on September 17, 2008
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Something about this story doesn't pass the sniff test. Agkistrodon bites are NOT immediately lethal (anaphalaxis notwithstanding), and piscivorus are far more likely to bluff than bite. The soldier SHOULD have had some means of emergency communications capability (flare, long range whistle, radio, etc.) and training to deal with just such an emergency. I hope that a thorough (and independant) investigation gets to the bottom of this. My prayers go out to his family.
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by Evergreenwitch on September 17, 2008
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Hmmm link is no good now ,but i agree I've owned several piscivorus,and almost always more bluff than bite . Still wouldn't want my fingers near the business end though. My heart goes out to the family of the soldier.
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by Cro on September 17, 2008
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If you read the link to this story that I posted in the News Section here earlier today, you will see a lot wrong with "official" conclusion from the Army.
They mention that the Cottonmouth that was allegedly "found" was 13 months old, an certain length, and a male. They also say that the soldier went a ways to a roadway after he was bitten to wait for help. Well, how would they know when and where he was bitten ? They also say that the snake might have "heard" the sounds of the soldied going through his pack, and that the snake might have got angry at that sound, and might have came up and bit him ??? He was bitten two times on the back of his left hand. I wonder if someone might have put the snake into the poor fellows pack ? The whole thing sounds mighty suspicious, and possibly like a poor attempt to cover up a murder ? The Army investigators up there at Fort Bragg who released that report are either very incompentant, or are trying poorly to cover something up. The thing needs some outside investigation from folks not related to the Army.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by Cro on September 17, 2008
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My link in the Venomous News Items below is still working.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by alphadogg on September 17, 2008
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wow i have been around a few pisc's and i have never had one strike repeditely ... i have seen cobra's do that but never a pit viper! and i dont think a tiapan could kill some one soo fast they couldn't use there radio for help..
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by tigers9 on September 17, 2008
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Other news sources are picking up the story just search for snake and soldier
Z
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by tigers9 on September 17, 2008
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/article814294.ece
Soldier's death explained
Published Tuesday, September 16, 2008 8:50 PM
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DADE CITY — Norman "Ehren" Murburg's family has been waiting for three months to find out why he died. The darkness of not knowing has been awful at times. His death made no sense.
He was 20 years old — 6-feet- 4 and all muscle — and working to fulfill a dream of becoming a Green Beret.
Murburg, who tested the highest in his Army class in physical fitness, quit college a year ago because he felt a calling to enlist. He saw his fellow students at the University of Florida as talking about helping the world but not really doing it. He wanted to help, first-hand, not in several years, but now. He wanted to be a military doctor, so he could save lives in the field.
His family says the Army made him the man he always wanted to be.
Instead of becoming hardened, he became more open.
He wasn't sullen or angry any more, as he had been.
He appreciated life and the people he loved.
In the biography he wrote for Special Forces, one of the questions asked him of his proudest accomplishment and then also asked of his biggest mistake — and what he learned from it. Murburg, who grew up in Dade City and graduated from Pasco High School, wrote that his proudest moment was being there — and that he wasn't trying to kiss up or anything, but it was sincere. "So far it has been a journey worth every bit of my blood, sweat and tears."
His biggest mistake, he said, was not listening more to his father — an understanding many people don't reach until much later in life.
"No one else has helped me more than him," he wrote. "I wish I just showed him more appreciation."
He called his dad, Mike Murburg, often for advice and wasn't scared to tell him he loved him.
Then, in early June, Murburg and other Green Beret candidates set off for a 10-hour training exam near Fort Bragg, N.C. They were left in the woods, with only a map and compass and had to reach certain targets. When Murburg didn't check in at a post at midday on June 9, a search by 500 soldiers began.
They looked for him that day and night and found his body the next morning. He had not used his emergency equipment and he had water in his canteens.
And, until Monday night, that is all Murburg's family knew about his death.
The Army's investigation is now closed. Mike Murburg said this is what he was told:
His son died from two bites from a young, male cottonmouth water moccasin. A spotter saw Murburg about 30 minutes before his estimated time of death and he seemed fine and was on course.
In recreating that last half-hour, Army investigators surmise that Murburg followed his compass down a wooded hill and took off his 80-pound pack, possibly to change his uniform, as it was impossibly hot that day. The dirt around his pack looked as though things had been taken out but then repacked; which is how the Army found it.
There is water at the base of the hill and investigators believe that the snake must have come from there — maybe threatened by the presence of the big man and all of the sounds of unpacking and packing — and bit the top of his left hand twice.
A 13-month old, 39-inch male water moccasin with drained venom sacks was later found and killed.
After being bitten, Murburg went back up the hill because it was close to a road, which was what he was trained to do so he could be found quickly. He sat down in the shade of a pine tree and surely was just about to trigger his GPS signal when he died.
The Army has not issued a release with this information Tuesday, as they give family members 24 hours after notifying them.
Mike and his daughter, Erica Murburg, were told Monday night. But his mom, Karen, was notified Tuesday.
Erica Murburg mourns her brother every day, but only cries alone. She cried on her way to work Tuesday morning.
Her dad, Mike, didn't sleep after being notified Monday night. By Tuesday evening, he thought he might be able to get some rest.
Luck is real, he said. It is good but it also is bad and random and inches might separate us from death each day, though we don't realize it.
At first, he wanted to die along with his son. Then he was angry and bitter but he's not any longer. He has learned that he could be swallowed up in his grief or he could fight with everything in him to live and to help others. He hopes there is another side to this life and that when he dies, his son will be there.
"He will be the first soul I seek to find," he said. "No matter what it takes."
He dreams of wrapping his son in a fierce, tight hug. "I love you," he'll whisper. "And I am so proud of you."
Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4609.
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RE: Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites
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by ALA_snake33 on September 17, 2008
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It dose not add up
As you all know I work with Wild Cottonmouth’s all the time, and have never had one to just go Crazy Striking like insinuated in the Press Release.
#1 Snakes don’t hear air born sound
#2 Finding the Snake that would have been responsible don’t sound plausible
I agree with JohnZ on this one, they need to open a Outside Investigation on this one. I also think it could be Foul Play.
My Heart and Prayers go out to the Family
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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