WASHINGTON — Shot in the back, making a desperate call for help for his men trapped on the side of an Afghanistan cliff, Lieutenant Michael Murphy heard help was on the way, and said simply: “Roger that, sir. Thank you.”

The 29-year-old Navy SEAL from Patchogue gave his life in order to make that call, putting himself in a position exposed to enemy fire but the only one in which he could get a signal.

That selfless act was honored today by President Bush at the White House, where he presented Murphy’s parents with the Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest military award for valor, and the first given for combat in Afghanistan.

Moments before the emotional ceremony, Murphy’s parents gave Bush a gold dog tag with their son’s name and image on it.

“What we were most touched by was that the president immediately put that on underneath his shirt, and when he made the presentation of the Medal of Honor, he wore that against his chest,” said the father.

After the ceremony, Dan Murphy said, Mr. Bush told the family, “I was inspired by having Michael next to my chest.”

The father, who fought back tears during the ceremony, said they were “deeply moved” by Mr. Bush’s gesture.

“It was very emotional on everybody’s part,” Maureen Murphy said.

Mr. Bush praised their son’s battlefield decision as typical of someone who, even as a boy, was devoted to others.

“While their missions were often carried out in secrecy, their love of country and devotion to each other was always clear,” Mr. Bush said. “On June 28, 2005, Michael would give his life for these ideals.”

Murphy’s parents both cried at points in the ceremony as they stood next to the president and listened to their son’s heroism recounted. Vice President Cheney also attended, as did a handful of past Medal of Honor recipients.

“There’s a lot of awards in the military, but when you see a Medal of Honor, you know whatever they went through is pretty horrible. You don’t congratulate anyone when you see it,” the lone member of Murphy’s team to survive the firefight with the Taliban, Marcus Luttrell, said.

Murphy, Mr. Luttrell, and two other SEALs were searching for a terrorist when their mission was compromised after they were spotted by locals, who presumably alerted the Taliban to their presence.

An intense gun battle ensued, with more than 50 anti-coalition fighters swarming around the outnumbered SEALs.

Although wounded, Murphy is credited with risking his own life by moving into the open for a better position to transmit a call for help.

Still under fire, Murphy provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force. At one point he was shot in the back, causing him to drop the mobile phone. Murphy picked it back up and completed the call.

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See video of the presentation here.