In the summer of 2005, four US Navy SEALS, petty officers Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz and Marcus Luttrell, along with Lt. Michael Murphy, set out for the Hundu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan. Their mission was to track the activity of Ahmad Shah, an al Qaeda leader rumored to be commanding a small army of insurgents known as the "Mountain Tigers." Five days after an initially successful insertion, only one of the SEALS escaped with his life.
This is the story of the lone survivor of Operation Redwing, petty officer Marcus Luttrell, and the remarkable two hour battle that led to the greatest loss of life in the history of the Navy SEALS. Vastly outnumbered, Luttrell's three fellow SEALS were killed fighting bravely beside him. Badly hurt and presumed dead, but driven by thirst, Luttrell crawled for seven miles before finding shelter. He was discovered by sympathetic shepherds who provided him with food and medical attention, while risking their own lives to protect him from Taliban search parties.
Luttrell takes us from rigorous SEAL training, where soldiers discovered the demands of America's most elite fighting forces, to an ambush in the desolate mountains of Afghanistan which no combat training could have ever prepared them for. He recounts the story of his teammates' courage and honor, for which two of his fellow SEALS were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. In this vivid, true story of sacrifice and bravery, patriotism and heroism, Luttrell shares a powerful account of modern warfare.
Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July, 2005, for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to have a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive. This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history.
Luttrell’s squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.
A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates’ heroism and mutual support renders an experience for which two of his squadmates were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.
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