Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing & The Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10
This is the story of Axe and Danny and Mikey, the story that only Marcus Luttrell lived to tell.
From the book jacket:
“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 be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive.”
The first time I read Marcus Luttrell’s account of Operation Redwing and the firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history, I found myself reading only a few pages at a time. The story is so raw and real that the emotions it evokes are overwhelming.
The author is arrogant – but to paraphrase a Kid Rock song, “it ain’t braggin’ if you say it and you back it up”. In my opinion, it takes arrogance to become a Navy SEAL. Marcus takes you through his decision to join the Navy and the almost inhuman physical and mental requirements to become a SEAL. His description of the rigors of SEAL training are such that you know only a special few will ever be awarded the SEAL trident.
His love of this country as well as his home state of Texas is evident throughout the book. His disdain for the MSM is prevalent as well. Marcus takes you through the “thoughts” of war, the Rules of Engagement (ROE) and whether or not they “fit” when fighting an enemy with a different value on life than that of the American military. He believes that through the eyes of the media, “we” in many cases have become the “bad guy”. Yet this “bad guy” image is portrayed by media and politicians who have no firsthand knowledge of the hardships of war. He also strongly believes that the public does not have the right to know anything, if it jeopardizes a soldier’s life.
There is some press that the author’s account of what happened in Afghanistan is not completely accurate. Mathew Axelson’s mother, Donna, has been quoted as saying, “[A]s far as I am concerned it is as accurate as Marcus can make it…and as far as the book goes, Marcus re-told the story the way Marcus remembered it and that’s good enough for us.” That information is good enough for this reader as well.
I give my thanks to you, Marcus Luttrell, and to all other military men and women who so proudly defend our country each and every day. Thank you for being a man of honor. You are truly a hero.
