| Marcus Luttrell | |
|---|---|
Marcus Luttrell in 2007 |
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| Nickname | "Southern Boy" "The One" |
| Born | November 7, 1975 Huntsville, Texas |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1999 - 2007 |
| Rank | Petty Officer First Class |
| Unit |
United States Navy SEALs
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| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
Marcus Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is a former Petty Officer First Class[3] and United States Navy SEAL. He received the Navy Cross for his actions in 2005 facing Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wing.
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He began training for the SEALs at age 15 with former United States Army soldier Billy Shelton, who lived nearby. He trained every day with his twin brother, Morgan, and others who aspired to join the military. Shelton trained them using various weight and endurance exercises. After high school, Luttrell attended Sam Houston State University, where he joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.[4]
Luttrell joined the United States Navy in March 1999. He began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training with Class 226 in Coronado, California. He graduated with Class 228 after suffering a fractured femur early in his training.[4] He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 with SEAL Team Ten.[4] Prior to Afghanistan, Luttrell had been part of SDV-1. After Operation Redwing he transferred to SEAL Team Five and deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom doing various operations there.
On June 28, 2005, Luttrell and SEAL Team 10 were assigned to a mission to kill or capture Ahmad Shah (nom de guerre Mohammad Ismail), a high-ranking Taliban leader responsible for killings in eastern Afghanistan and the Hindu-Kush mountains.[5] The SEAL team was made up of Luttrell, Michael P. Murphy, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson.[5] Luttrell and Axelson were the team's snipers, with Luttrell also being the team medic; Dietz was in charge of communications and Murphy the team leader.
Three goat herders stumbled upon the hiding spot of the four SEALs. The herders were detained by the team but the SEALs were unable to verify any hostile intent.[6] Murphy, the officer in charge of the SEAL team, put the fate of the goatherds to a vote. Axelson voted to murder the Afghans, and Dietz abstained. Murphy told Luttrell that he would vote the same as Luttrell so with his vote it was decided to let the Afghans go, for fear of possible criminal charges back in the United States.[5][7]
The released herders disappeared and probably immediately betrayed the team's location to local Taliban forces and within an hour the SEALs were engaged in a fire-fight against a force of enemy fighters, with estimates of their number varying between 80 [8]and 150. The SEAL team engaged the Taliban for over two hours in a running fire-fight through the region's hills and valleys.[9]
The four-man SEAL team had killed an indeterminate number of the Taliban despite most of them being shot several times but still carried on with the fight; however, Axelson, Dietz and Murphy were eventually killed. Luttrell barely survived after being blown off a cliff by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Team leader Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for exposing himself to enemy fire to reach higher ground from which to transmit a call for backup.
A MH-47 Chinook helicopter was hastily dispatched upon receiving Murphy's distress call, with a force consisting of eight SEALs and eight 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment "Night Stalkers" to rescue the team, but the helicopter was shot down by an RPG upon reaching the site of the battle. All 16 men on the Chinook were killed, including Shane Patton, whose place on Operation Redwing had been taken by Danny Dietz.[10]
Luttrell was the only survivor of the SEAL team. Badly wounded, he managed to walk and crawl seven miles (11 kilometers) to evade capture, along the way killing six more Taliban fighters. He was given shelter by friendly tribesmen from Sabray, a Pashtun village. Pashtun villagers often adhere to Pashtunwali, which is an unwritten code of life and traditional way found among Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and dates to the pre-Islamic era. Luttrell was given sanctuary under the auspices of this tradition, which he later understood to be Lokhay Warkawal; that as a wounded stranger he would be given aid and protected against enemies at all costs.[11][12] The villagers sheltered Luttrell, provided medical care, and risked their lives by refusing to turn him over to the Taliban. After several days one of the village elders trekked twenty miles (32 km) to a US base to reveal Luttrell's location, and he was finally rescued six days after the battle by US forces.[10]
The target of Operation Redwing, Mohammad Ismail alias Ahmad Shah, survived the American operation but was killed during a firefight with Pakistani police commandos in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April 2008.[13]
Luttrell returned to the U.S. the following year, and co-authored the New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 [14] He separated from the Navy in 2007, and was subsequently granted a temporary medical retirement through the Board for the Correction of Naval Records in 2009 .
In 2008, Marcus spoke at the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting. Immediately prior to the event, Marcus was arrested in New York City for assault following an argument in a bar. During his speech Marcus described the incident for the NRA audience.
As part of Luttrell's recuperation he was given a puppy. He named the dog DASY. Each letter of the name "DASY" represents one of the members of his team—Danny Dietz, Matthew "Axe" Axelson, Southern boy (Marcus), and Michael "Yankee" Murphy. She was given to him in recovery to help him through rehabilitation.[15]
On April 1, 2009, four males approached Luttrell's property and killed his yellow Labrador puppy, DASY, with a .357 Magnum revolver at approximately 1 A.M.[15][16] Luttrell proceeded to chase the individuals through four counties in his truck armed with two 9 mm Berettas—until Onalaska Police apprehended the individuals.[17] Upon arrest, the suspects verbally threatened Luttrell's life and taunted him.[16] Alfonso Hernandez was arrested on-scene for driving without a valid drivers license and later charged with animal cruelty.[18] Michael Edmonds turned himself in on April 7, was booked, and posted bond on the same charge. The other two individuals were not indicted. The males are also suspects in the killings of other neighborhood dogs.[15] On Nov. 29, 2011, Marcus posted on his Facebook Page that "Court date on Thursday for DASY's killer's I'll keep y'all posted on what happens. It's only been almost 3 years glad it's finally here" and again on Dec. 1, saying they were found guilty.
In 2010, Luttrell established the Lone Survivor Foundation. Headquartered in Huntsville, Texas the foundation's mission is to "...go to extraordinary lengths to welcome home, empower and restore American wounded warriors, their families and surviving families as well as CALL Hometown USA TO ACTION to inspire the American Public to Pay It Forward." The vision is to "...provide therapeutic and unique opportunities to optimize recovery and healing our American Patriots – Our Wounded Warriors, Their Families, and Surviving Families.[19] At the center of the foundation is the Lone Survivor Ranch. In a Texas ranch setting of at least 3,000 acres (12 km2), the Lone Survivor Ranch will provide holistic care to returning servicemen.
Marcus Luttrell and The Lone Survivor Foundation has partnered with The Boot Campaign[20] to help show tangible appreciation of America’s active duty military, raise awareness of the challenges they face upon return, and support the transition home.[21]
Luttrell married Melanie Juneau on November 27, 2010 in Texas. They welcomed their first child, a boy named Axe, on May 8, 2011.