Marcus Luttrell’s book, written with Patrick Robinson, the author of several best-selling novels about the U.S. Navy, tells the story of what has been called the worst day in the history of the U.S. Navy SEALs. The book also tells of the incredible heroism of the Navy SEALs, who are in the forefront of the war on terrorism, as well as the humanity of the Afghan villagers who saved Luttrell from the Taliban warriors.

Luttrell, a 6’ 5” Texan and son of a horse rancher, joined the Navy in March 1999 and became a SEAL in January 2002. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. He notes that that like every other newly-arrived SEAL, he quickly saw two aspects of the conflict.

First, the rapid hatred these Muslim extremists had for all of us; second the awkwardness of complying with our rules of engagement (ROE) in this type of warfare…

Faced with the murderous cutthroats of the Taliban, we are not fighting under the rules of Geneva IV Article 4. We are fighting under the rules of Article 223.556mm – that’s the caliber and bullet gauge of our M4 rifle. And if those numbers don’t look good, try Article .762mm, that’s what the stolen Russian Kalashnikovs fire at us, usually in deadly, heavy volleys.

The book recounts the day of June 28, 2005, the day after a four-man SEAL team was dropped by helicopter into the high mountains of northeastern Afghanistan – al Qaeda and Taliban country – to capture or kill a notorious Taliban leader.

He was known to make forays into the cities and he was known to also have been directly responsible for several lethal attacks on U.S. Marines, always with Bombs. He was known to be one of Osama bin Laden’s closest associates.

The four-man team consisted of Lt. Michael Murphy, the officer in charge, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell, who served as the team leader, and Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician (surface) 2nd Class Matthew Axelson.

The mission was to report any sighting of the Taliban leader and then call for a direct action force to come in by air to take him and his Taliban warriors. But on the 28th the team was seen by Afghan goat herders and according to Luttrell, Lt. Murphy called for a vote on whether to kill the goat herders, tie them up and take them along, or take a chance on letting them go,

Despite knowing that the goat herders would probably give away their position to the Taliban, the team voted to let them go. As Luttrell notes in his book, he preferred to take his chances with the Taliban rather than face the liberal media and the U.S. court system. The team was later attacked by an estimated force of 150 Taliban mountain fighters.

The four-man team fought bravely and effectively for nearly three hours, killing more than 100 Taliban terrorists. But the fight eventually claimed the lives of Lt. Murphy, who left his position of safety to place a call for reinforcements, as well as Dietz and Axelson.

Luttrell was the lone survivor of the team. Although Murphy’s call for help brought in a MH-47 Chinook helicopter with a quick reaction force, a Taliban rocket shot down the helicopter. Eight SEALs and eight members of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment perished in the downing.

Luttrell, badly wounded, eluded the Taliban for a time and was later rescued and protected by Afghan villagers. Luttrell the Texan learned something about “down home” hospitality, as the villagers refused to turn him over to the Taliban. Despite deadly threats, the villagers adhered to a two-thousand-year-old Pashtun tribal law that states a rescued wounded traveler must be protected to the death.

When the Taliban leader hunted by the SEALs heard that the villagers were protecting the American, he wrote them a note stating they had two options, “Either you hand over the American – or every member of your family will be killed.”

Thankfully, the brave village elder would not violate the Pashtun law and Luttrell was later rescued by – to Luttrell’s chagrin – U.S. Army Rangers and Green Berets. The U.S. forces also brought to bear what Luttrell called “a murderous storm” of bombs and rockets on the Taliban positions.

The lights went out for the Taliban that night. All those little white beams, their fires and lanterns – everything went out.

The book also recounts that while Luttrell was trying to survive in the Afghan mountains, a steadily-growing army of family, friends and well-wishers were gathering on his father’s ranch in Texas.

At the conclusion of the book, Luttrell writes proudly of the moment in July, 2006 when fellow-Texan and U.S. President George W. Bush awarded him the Navy Cross for combat heroism. Petty Officers Dietz and Axelson were awarded the Navy Cross posthumously and Lt. Murphy has been mentioned for the Medal of Honor.

After recovering from his injuries, Luttrell made one final deployment as the Leading Petty Officer of a SEAL Team. He has since left the Navy.

There is a statue of a World War II-era U.S. Navy Frogman, called The Naked Warrior, at the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Beneath the statue is a plaque which reads, “IN MEMORY OF OUR FALLEN COMRADES WHO HAVE SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY WHILE SERVING IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY WITH NAVAL COMBAT DEMOLITION UNITS, SCOUTS AND RAIDERS, UNDERWATER DEMOLITION UNITS AND SEA, AIR AND LAND TEAMS”

“The ground upon which the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum rests in Ft. Pierce, Florida is recognized as the birthplace of the U.S. Navy Frogmen,” said Rolf D. Snyder, the museum’s media director.

Snyder explained that from 1943 to 1946, thousands of brave volunteers were trained as members of Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams. He said that the World War II frogmen have evolved into the most elite fighting force in the world, the U.S. Navy SEALs.

“The mission of the museum is to preserve the legacy and history of these “Teams,” Snyder said.

Snyder said that the museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving the history of the Navy SEALs and their predecessors, including the Underwater Demolition Teams, the Naval Combat Demolitions Units, the Office of Strategic Services Maritime Units and the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders. Snyder said that the museum promotes public education by providing the opportunity to explore the history of the Navy SEALs in an atmosphere of respect and honor.

According to Snyder, the UDT-SEAL Museum was formally dedicated in November of 1985. Since the museum was established, a steady stream of history and artifacts has returned home to FT. Pierce, including exterior exhibits like an Apollo training crafts, a Vietnam-era “Huey” helicopter and unique water craft and support boats. Snyder also said some of the remaining beach obstacles used for training during WWII have been recovered from the ocean depths and are now on display on the museum grounds.

Inside the museum, Snyder explained, one can learn the history of Naval Special Warfare including the beginnings of underwater demolition training in Ft. Pierce, exploits in the Atlantic and Pacific war theaters of WWII and histories of the various units illustrated with photographs and artifacts of the period.

“The Frogmen and SEALs have operated in almost every environment imaginable; hot, humid jungles, artic waters and a space station orbiting the Earth,” Snyder said.

Snyder said the museum offers the declassified stories that can now be told of heroism under fire from every American conflict since World War II.

Marcus Luttrell has said that he is not a hero, only a highly trained elite soldier. But there is no doubt that the story of his amazing heroism, as well as the heroism of the lost men of SEAL Team 10 and the quick reaction force, will be told to generations of future museum visitors.

Paul Davis, a contributing editor to the magazine, served in the U.S. Navy on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War and his late father was one of the first Navy UDT Frogmen in World War II. He can be reached at daviswrite@aol.com