Daniel Murphy admitted even he is not immune to private questions about the war in Afghanistan. After all, the war there changed the Patchogue father's life forever.
His son, Michael, a Navy Seal, was killed in Afghanistan in 2005 during a covert mission behind enemy lines.
Two years later, Michael Murphy was awarded the medal of honor for heroism during a battle that claimed the lives of two other Seals.
Now, like many Americans, Daniel Murphy is trying to understand and grasp the importance of 76,000 classified war documents leaked on the internet by WikiLeaks.org, a self-described whistleblower organization.
In an exclusive interview with NBCNewYork.com, Murphy admits he has only read news accounts of the documents; but, the former prosecutor called the leaked military reports "raw data" from the battlefield that might always be factual.
"I am concerned the public will look at this raw traffic and give it credence when there isn't anything to give credence to," said Murphy.
The leaked documents contain no new information about the day in June, 2005 when Michael Murphy was killed, according to his father. But Daniel Murphy worries that the documents could damage the public perception of the mission for which his son gave his life.
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"The American public loses patience," said Murphy. "It's important that we don't forget why we are in Afghanistan. 9/11 seems so distant now."
A permanent fixture in Daniel Murphy's pocket is a coin commemorating his son's military service. And, every day as he heads to work at New York Supreme court in Riverhead, Murphy passes his son's Medal of Honor and other mementos of his life.
"Michael fought for freedom- freedom of the press and freedom to know what's going on," said Murphy.
"But I hope that when the American people look at these documents, they don't rush to judgment."
