An American Hero

“When I made it back (to the United States) I made a promise to God that I will never let the memory (of my fallen teammates) die,” “I thought I would keep their memory alive by writing the book and that would be it. I didn’t know I would be giving talks like this.” Marcus Luttrell

There are all sorts of heroes in this world. Some big, some small, some may be your own personal hero, some you may never know at all. They can be classified as a hero for a myriad of reasons. We often only hear about the "childhood" version of a hero, a character in a cape, or a famous sports player. The first is fictitious, and the second, well, generally, is not usually a hero at all, but just someone who is skilled at what they do. No offense to those sports personalities but we are all good at something, some of us just get recognized for it more than others.

But I'm talking about a real hero, the kind that embodies the honorable characteristics of what a hero should be, as the dictionary puts it: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities, a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. An American Hero.

I met such a hero today, a real true patriot, a person who voluntarily chose a career to protect you and me. He sacrificed it all and will pay for it the rest of his life because of it. He's a larger than life giant standing at 6'5" but his 250 pounds is far less now as the lingering effects of his injuries have taken its toll.

If you are wondering who this "hero" is, his name is Marcus Luttrell. I'm betting that you have never heard of that name and have no clue who this man is. It wouldn't surprise me. For two reasons. First Marcus spent his career as a Navy SEAL. As with all special forces in the military you don't hear much about them because it could jeopardize their safety and the job they have to do. But I'm also guessing that you may not have heard of him because just like countless others who serve our country so faithfully every day, they are just generalized as "the military". When you do hear about them it's usually a pitiful blurb in a newspaper, or a number notating how many have died. It's quite a disservice to those who have given so much, who get so little in return in recognition for what they have done.


So who is the Marcus and why is he a hero? Well, if you want the full story you can read his book "Lone Survivor - The eyewitness account of Operation Redwing & the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10." You may not be interested in some military book, but what happened in this book has everything to do with you and me.

Marcus was the only survivor in what was the largest loss of life in the history of the SEALs (a total of 19 SEALs). It is nothing less than a miracle that Marcus is still alive. Losing his best friends and fellow SEAL teammates in a standoff with 150 Taliban, Marcus was injured almost beyond repair, among other things, a broken back, pelvis, smashed in nose, cut in half tongue, shot several times, legs marred with injuries with no feeling, crawled using his elbows for several miles while being hunted, later to be beaten by the Taliban, protected by Pashtun villagers, and eventually rescued (but not before 16 other SEALs who were sent in to rescue him were shot down by the Taliban). But that's not the only reason that he is a hero. Marcus painfully chose to recount what happened during Operation Redwing to honor the fallen heroes, his best friend's Danny Dietz, Michael Murphy, and Matt Axelson. What these men did was incredibly heroic. I can't recount their stories here, it still makes me cry.

Marcus doesn't consider himself a hero, a patriot yes, but not a hero. Contrary to SEAL folklore he said "I'm just a man, I do not wear a cape on my back"

Marcus was pleasant and more than willing to sign books and take pictures. Due to his injuries he had to quit after 30 minutes, but as he walked away he turned and told the University staff, "tell the rest to leave their books here along with their phone numbers. I'll come back and sign them and you can contact them so they can come pick them up" (all 450 of them). That is amazing.

I wondered if I cried because I'm a girl, but Kenny C. said he couldn't stop crying as he read the end of the book. Mike L. said it affected him too and Mate said "If anyone reads this book and is not effected then there is something wrong with that person." I will say, as I read the final moments of this operation I actually sobbed, not just cried but sobbed. I would love to read the book again but it was so emotionally charging for me that I've not had the strength pick it up again.

Our small band who made the trip, Candace, Karie, Kenny, Leah, and Laura. Michelle, Mate, Laura S., and Mike were not able to make it, and of course Celeste couldn't make it either.

So that brings us to today. Marcus is a native of the state I live in . He also lives in our backyard (not literally but about an hour north). He was scheduled to speak at the local University that graduated from. A handful of us piled in my van to attend his speech which was well worth it. We were lucky enough to get good seats and thanks to Kenny C. we were also able to secure a good spot in line for the book signing too. As I sat there I wondered why we as a people have a need to see such spectacular people in person, what is it that drives us to want to connect with those who have faced insurmountable battles? and then it hit me, in the situation with Marcus Luttrell, he is not only a hero, but a living representative of every man or woman who has served or lost their life serving our country, especially those in the special forces as they have the most dangerous jobs of all. He stands as a symbol of those we should be honoring, those who give so much so we can have even more. Marcus promised that if he survived he would never let Michael, Danny, and Axe's heroism die. He's done just that, and for this I'm thankful that he shared the story. The need to be there was this inner desire to say "hey, your story meant something to me, what you and those men did meant something to me, I get it, and I will never forget it."

"People make mistakes and bad things happen," Luttrell said, summing up the events, "We fought as hard as we could. My greatest honor was to serve my country."

Holly Luttrell, the horse whisperer and mother of twin Navy SEALs, Morgan and Marcus. She too was happy to sign our books and answered our questions.

You may never read his book, but here is some food for thought, below, in Marcus' own words. As you read it, think about it, 4 SEALs, 1 seriously injured, 3 dead, 16 other SEALs killed verses the 3 goat herders that they mercifully let go, who within moments were either part of the Taliban or notified the Taliban. Knowing this, don't be too quick to judge Marcus' opinions below. He was there.

“We had captured them (3 men) until we could determine what to do, when about 100 goats came up,” Luttrell said. “Despite what you may have heard, war is not black and white — it is very gray. “Those goats were the biggest instrument in our decision — we decided to let them go and pushed back to our original position.”

WHAT was the right thing to do on the mountain? In the book, Luttrell describes how the team talked it out, trying to find the best course of action. If they killed the men, they worried, the American media would get wind of it, and they'd be charged with murder. Luttrell wondered what great commanders in the past - Napoleon, Omar Bradley, MacArthur - would have done. "Would they have made the ice-cold military decision to execute these cats because they posed a clear and present danger to their men?" On the other hand, he felt the promptings of "another soul. My Christian soul." "Something kept whispering in the back of my mind, it would be wrong to execute these unarmed men in cold blood."

"It was the stupidest, most southern-fried, lamebrained decision I ever made in my life," Luttrell writes. "I must have been out of my mind. I had actually cast a vote which I knew could sign our death warrant. " At least, that's how I look back on those moments now. Probably not then, but for nearly every waking hour of my life since. No night passes when I don't wake in a cold sweat thinking of those moments on that mountain. I'll never get over it." He's certain the goatherds betrayed their presence to the Taliban. "In my opinion, we should have killed them," he says today. "I regret it every day. I miss my friends."

HE wrote the book to pay tribute to his friends' heroism, he said. "No matter what I say or what I put into words, it won't do justice to what they did out there."

... and as if it wasn't enough for Marcus to live through .. earlier this year he faced another horrific experience. Upon returning to the US in 2005, the government gave him a "recovery" puppy as he went through rehabilitation. He named the dog "DASY" the letters standing for Daniel "Danny" Dietz, Matthew "Axe" Axelson, Southern boy (Marcus), and Michael "Yankee" Murphy in honor of his fellow SEAL teamates and friends who died in operation RedWing. On April 1st of this year, a group of teenagers with nothing to do went around town killing animals. They shot and killed "Dasy", Marcus four year old dog, who helped him through recovery and the loss of his friends.

Upon signing our books, Marcus' message to us was simple. He signed "Never Quit - Marcus Luttrell"