He grabbed his rifle as one of them yelled at him, and he flicked off the safety catch. "Now is the time to open up your lap and let the money fall in.". We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. We had photos from their interview, which Yousafzai recorded, and copies of Gulab's visas. Dinner With 'Lone Survivor' Marcus Luttrell, A After recovery, he completed training in 2000 and, after a few more courses, became a fully fledged SEAL. Each year during the June anniversary of Operation Red Wings, Luttrell goes on a "blackout week" where he doesn't communicate with the world. Marcus was the only survivor where three of the four-team members were killed. Navy SEALs: The Untold Truth Of Hell Week - Grunge The street names sound regalEmperor, Imperiala stark contrast to buildings' worn brick facades or the patches of beige grass, the empty swimming pool or the bare branches of trees, curling toward the sky. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Luttrell spun his rifle at the goatherder while Axe took aim from another angle. In 2007 his memoir of the events, Lone Survivor, was published, and director Peter Berg's cinematic adaptation has just been released in the UK. Marcus Luttrell Is the Lone Survivor | Military.com Luttrell is the 38-year-old former Navy SEAL whose story about the 2005 operation in Afghanistan, which cost the life of his three SEAL brethren and 16 other SEALs and Army Special Ops soldiers, is the basis for his 2007 book Lone Survivor and last January's Peter Berg-directed movie starring Mark Wahlberg. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, How Trump Uses the Playbook of Europe's Far Right. This article first appeared in .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}Esquire Weekly, our new iPad-only edition. I could do six months of research and by that seventh month everything I learned could be negated, he said. He asked about Luttrell several times, but no one was able to put him in touch with the American, so over the next six months, Gulab settled into his new life. "Without Marcus promoting it, it went nowhere. I know it's something more. Life in India's crowded capital proved harder and far more expensive than he expected. The center has worked with veterans for several years. After checking to ensure his mother was okay inside the house, he went outside and saw DASY, his Golden Retriever, dead from a gunshot wound to her left shoulder. ", The more Gulab and I speak, the more I see he's struggling, that he's riven with resentment. But nothing compared to what happened to him in October 2009. However, he was formally discharged after suffering another spinal fracture and injuries to both knees. I mean, I owe him a life debt. Marcus Luttrell was deployed to Iraq on April 14, 2003 as part of the US invasion. No one wants their signature on the next 9/11 hijacker's visa papers. I still hear the scream above all other things For several weeks I thought I might be losing my mind, because I could never push it aside. Around noon, as the Americans hid among rocks and fallen trees, a goat herder stumbled across Luttrell as two other herders, one of them a teenage boy, trailed behind with roughly 100 goats. I could tell [DASY] tried to get away because there was a blood trail, Luttrell told the Houston Chronicle. The objective of the mission was to locate Muhammad Ismail, a top-ranking member of the Taliban, and dispatch him. The people of America should not close their eyes on me. While he eventually lost sight of it, the Texas Rangers soon caught up with and arrested those responsible. They considered it their duty under Pashtunwali, a tribal honor code requiring them to protect those in need. Not long after Gulab arrived in the U.S., this friend said, someone from Luttrell's camp asked the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to send him back to Afghanistan, afraid he would harm the family. But somehow he survived every ambush, every assault. Navy SEALs Michael Murphy left, and Matthew Axelson were killed during Operation Red Wings; Luttrell was the only man in his team who survived. It struck the fuel tanks, Luttrell wrote, and no one survived. "There was nothing honorable about what you did," the commander said. The Afghan hadn't worked for the U.S. military long enough to qualify for the Special Immigrant Visa program. We didn't only talk about the story, we went out, hung out, ran around town, remembers Berg. definitely. "Stomach acid," he says. The operation then became known as Red Wings II and lasted approximately three more weeks, during which time the bodies of the deceased SEALs and Army Special Operations aviators were recovered and the only surviving member of the initial team, Marcus Luttrell, was rescued. These injuries ultimately led to his discharge. Also, he won a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a V device, another unit, and personal awards. Honor, Courage, Commitment, the motto of the United States Navy, In March 2001, 29-year-old Lt. John Skop Jr. was the first SEAL candidate to lose his life during Hell Week while undergoing a swimming exercise. Luttrell, 38, is in the constant presence of his white Labrador service dog Mr. Rigby, who helps to calm him. About 10 days after he got off the plane, he spoke to a friend in Kunar province. Chris died on February 2, 2013, in Erath County, Texas at the age of 38. Mohammad Ismail alias Ahmad Shah, the target of Operation Red Wings survived the American operation. Lone Survivor was published a mere two years after his ordeal, and he sees the film as the end of that particular mission. Some are small: He got the name of the operation wrongit was Red Wings, like the hockey team, not Redwing. For days, Mohammad Gulab and his fellow villagers protected him from a Taliban-linked militia in northeastern Afghanistan. The burly Texas native frequently offered to help him start a business, Gulab says, and the two discussed a market the Afghan said he wanted to buy in Asadabad. Luttrell was born in Houston in November 1975, and was raised on his parents horsefarm near Oklahoma. When Luttrell offered to help Gulab acquire a green card, the Afghan said he was appreciative but wasn't ready to leave his country, despite the threats against his life. Eternal Father, faithful friend, Be quick to answer those we send, In brotherhood and urgent trust, Marcus Luttrell's Dog Murdered by Punks in Texas. "I was 100 percent sure the U.S. government would give me a green card," he says. Once hed regained consciousness, he evaded the Taliban with the held of local Pashtun villagers, and was eventually rescued by Army Rangers and the Afghan National Army. Because of Gulab's heroic act and the threats against him, Wildes believes he could have remained in America, brought his family over and eventually acquired a green card. Fazilhaq found Gulab and his sons an apartmenta small room and bathroom with no kitchenand helped them register with the U.N. refugee agency. Dietz died in his arms. The good Afghani people are caught up in the middle of it. ', Men of Honour: Luttrell, third from right, with his Navy SEAL team. Yet somehow Luttrell found the strength to move, crawling into a "crevasse" and waiting until it was safe to emerge. After 20 years of service, Navy SEALS are eligible for 50% of their average base salary for retirement. He was exhausted, scared and dying of thirst, but he pushed on. Months later, Gulab was still waiting. Having been settled in one of the Pashtuns' houses, he was given some warm goats' milk. In a 2014 interview with The Dallas Morning News, Luttrell was asked about what injuries he incurred during Operation Red Wings. * Shot, he begins during a recent stop in Dallas. Eleven through-and-through [wounds]. Broken pelvis. Broken back. Shoulder was torn out. My knees were destroyed. Pretty severe facial damage. I bit my tongue in half. Team Never Quit is a humorous, heartfelt, and entertaining podcast that changes lives. Perhaps something was lost in translation between the two men. Alligators were wrestled. Its a brief, crushing scene toward the end of the 2013 fact-based film Lone Survivor, in which Mark Wahlberg plays the only one of those four SEALs who made it to safety. I've been in enough firefights to know that when shit hits the fan, it's hard to know how many people are shooting at you. "When we saw each other we both knew this is it," says Melanie, 34. As such, rules of engagement dictated that the SEALs were not to harm them. While seeking out treatment for his traumatic brain injury, he learned about the Center for BrainHealth, part of the UTD's School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a research institute that combined brain research with clinical intervention. That is until early 2006, when he and his brother-in-law were walking on a rural road outside of Asadabad. But he also knew it would make him a bigger targetespecially if he went to the U.S. Kenneth Anger: Where The Bodies Are Buried. Gulab wasn't the first to question the accuracy of Lone Survivor. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Crown Season Six Has Cast Two Prince Williams, Isaac Julien Talks What Freedom Is To Me, Kieran Culkin Explains Roman's Missing Wife & Kid, How to Watch Prehistoric Planet Season 2. Who Will Actually Be The Next James Bond? After 22 days, Gulab's wife asked to return home with her daughters. Marines and Afghan who saved Marcus Luttrell say Lone "I'm a member of that village, and I'm a member of that family just like he's a member of my family now. Murphy ordered them to Fall back, which meant jumping off a mountain, hurling themselves down a sheer drop. And that's all I did sir, really, I just kept getting back up. Joining us are Gulab's 17-year-old son, Shahidullah, and Fazilhaq, his friend from India. The Afghan pressed onhe bought another truck and hired workers to haul timber. Marcus Luttrell The herders were released, and within one hour, dozens of Taliban combatants swarmed the SEALs. Its unbelievable what you can do when the threat to your own life is that bad. He dropped his gun and covered his ears as Murphy screamed out to him. That's the night he and his wife ran up to the roof with assault rifles. Paying smugglers was too dangerous and expensive. (Photo Credit: Handout / Getty Images)Luttrell then attended Army jump school and SEAL Qualification Training. Lone Survivor: What Really Happened During Operation Red Wings. There were one or two frightening occasions when I heard it in broad daylight and found myself pressed against a wall, my hands covering my ears. What injuries did Marcus Luttrell suffer? And that's when he finally gave up hope. In August, Universal flew Gulab to Houston first class, and he suddenly felt like a celebrity. Today, as Gulab struggles to adjust to life in America, his harrowing journeyfrom the snowy peaks of the Hindu Kush to the drab strip malls of Fort Worthis an inspiring story of hope and survival and a grim tale of betrayal and despair. Hes studying to become a cognitive scientist and is on a doctoral track at the University of Texas at Dallas. When he awoke, Luttrell traveled miles on foot despite significant injuries to distance himself from enemy territory. As Gulab guarded Luttrell, the SEAL wrote, another villager went to a nearby U.S. military base with a note from the American. "[Soon]," Luttrell wrote, "I met my first real friend, Mohammad Gulab.". ", As the buzz around Lone Survivor increased, Luttrell advised him to seek asylum, since it was proving difficult for him to get a green card. "Gulab pretty well agreed with about 90 percent of [Marcus's book]," the writer says. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The U.S. military and those who support it are becoming increasingly aware of the concept of moral crisis -- some service members returning home are finding it difficult to understand and accept the actions they took while on active duty. They didn't die because they spared civilians, he says; they died because they were easily tracked, quickly outmaneuvered and thoroughly outgunned. Gulab was furious. Gulab and his son seem nervous. ), On the ride to the airport, Gulab spoke to Luttrell on the phone, and the American apologized for not being there, explaining that he was busy promoting the movie. I got shot-fragged by RPGs and grenades, eleven through-and-throughs in my quads and calves, shrapnel stickin out of my legs and everywhere. His wife and children had to flee, and his family lost nearly everything: Their home and most of their clothes, their taxi and timber business, their apple trees and the land, where they had planted wheat and corn. Something else which kept him alive was the determination to tell the world of his teammates, to ensure their courage was fittingly commemorated. The timing was more than badin a few hours, the two were supposed to sit down with TV anchor Anderson Cooper for a 60 Minutes interview. His left leg, which was drenched in blood and full of shrapnel, seemed paralysed, his right one nearly as bad. When the clicks waned, however, Gulab was still in Afghanistan, still in hiding, still afraid and still angry. When he came to, the SEAL realized the blast had blown his pants off, and he was badly injured: His back and nose were broken, and his face was busted up, he wrote. His father, a former Navy gunner in Vietnam, was a man's man who taught his children to live off the land; together, Marcus and his twin brother Morgan learnt how to build shelters, to fish, to shoot, to scuba, and to kill, butcher and roast wild boars. He walked the red carpet twice and hobnobbed with Hollywood stars. "I am the man I am today because of her. It's 4:30pm in Florida when Marcus Luttrell calls. With Sami Yousafzai in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Ed Darack in Fort Collins, Colorado. Miraculously, Luttrell survived the firefight that left his fellow SEALs dead, and was rescued when he was near the end of his rope. "The bottom line," Wildes says, "was to get him the hell out. Billy lived near Marcus home. As gunfire rained down on them, the SEALs blasted back before tumbling down the mountain, as their attackers followed, firing rocket propelled grenades.