Luttrell, Marcus

American Navy SEAL and team leader Marcus Luttrell tells his story of the loss of his teammates in July 2005 along the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border to al-Qaida insurgents.

Marcus Luttrell, fire team leader and sole survivor of Operation Redwing, reflects on his struggle to survive in the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border after firefight killed his teammates and wounded Luttrell.

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive. This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history--From publisher description.

The author, a Navy SEAL, returned from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to sacrifice everything, including themselves, for the sake of family, nation, and freedom. In this book, we follow the author to Iraq, where he returns to the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most dangerous city in the world, Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces.

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy Seals left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Queda leader. Less than twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALS remained alive. Marcus Luttrell is the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, the desperate battle in the mountains that led to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. Luttrell was blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, he fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him off, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.

American Navy SEAL and team leader Marcus Luttrell tells his story of the loss of his teammates in July 2005 along the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border to al-Qaida insurgents.

American Navy SEAL and team leader Marcus Luttrell tells his story of the loss of his teammates in July 2005 along the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border to al-Qaida insurgents.