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The lead chopper moved into position, and the SEALs and Night Stalkers stood up to rope down from the helicopter. If you follow the road south to the beautifully crafted iron gates across from West Caley Avenue, on the cemeterys second to last brick pillar youll find a faded, spray-painted gray V marring a rusted sign. You don't want to remember him that way, they said. On the morning of June 28, 2005, high on one of those rocky slopes, 25-year-old Danny Dietz Jr. crouched shoulder to shoulder with three other Navy SEALs fending off an attack from at least 50 mujahedeen fighters. The movie is based on Marcus Luttrells book, Lone Survivor, and details how four Navy SEALs were ambushed by Taliban fighters. In the movie future-Congressional Medal of Honor winner Michael Murphy fails to say, "We are not murderers," when the SEALs are debating the fate of a shepherd and two boys. When his younger brother, Eric, was being bullied in elementary school, Dietz, an accomplished martial artist, confronted Erics tormenters. Most likely, Dietz took at least two shots as he scrambled down the mountain to rejoin the team. A stray shot took off his right thumb. The heights are rocky alpine slopes, cloaked in thick coniferous woods. Instead, they found themselves going in during daylight, trying to retrieve their teammates under fire on the mountain. The official Veterans Day ceremony doesnt start until 11, and its been moved indoors because of the frigid temperatures. They had to move - a dangerous decision so close to a Taliban stronghold. The four menPetty Officer Second Class Dietz, a gunners mate from Littleton; Petty Officer Second Class Marcus Luttrell, a hospital corpsman; Petty Officer Second Class Matthew Axelson, a sonar technician; and Lieutenant Michael Murphy, the teams commanding officerconstituted the reconnaissance team for Operation Red Wings, a mission to locate and kill an insurgent named Ahmad Shah. Gooble my name or check out YouTube. According to the Navy, despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy risked his own life to save the lives of his teammates in Operation Red Wings. There are a couple of big ones for me at least were the fact that not only were they reviving Mark Wahlberg's character in the opening and closing scenes, a man who wasn't flatlined or revived from any such state I recall reading about, there are a couple medical errors in that scene. Luttrell's initial reports in his debriefs state that the enemy force was around 20 to 35 fighters. In June 2005, it was home to the U.S. Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd regiment. Eventually, Dietzs truancy became such a problem the courts threatened to take action if Cindy and Dan couldnt control their son. A helicopter carrying SEALs had been shot down in Afghanistan. Now the incident is under review. When Dietzs family finally saw him, his body was wrapped in a shroud, his uniform laid on top. What Is Ripstop Fabric & Why Is It Important For Tactical Gear? Kasey Cordell is the former Editorial Projects Director for 5280. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Press J to jump to the feed. I thought, Thats my boy, evading the Taliban.. He had died fighting, killing at least a score of Taliban. The swearing-in room is named in Dietzs honor. Afghan Special Forces provided translators and guides. He came some years later. According to the official contact report, one of the AH-64s reported a possible survivor near the crash at around 4:45 p.m., but the report was never corroborated. Luttrell, the team medic, had lost all of his gear in his tumble down the mountain; he could do nothing to help Dietz. Afghans eventually came to the aid of Luttrell, the lone survivor of Operation Red Wings, and according to the Navys summary of action on this battle, they helped him to a nearby village where for several days he was cared for. There was no time to spare. Then he shouted, "They got him, guys! Undaunted, the man helped Luttrell to his feet. Get "Eyes on Target" from the WND SuperStore now! "That was where I cried, harder than I ever have before," Berg said. After receiving reports that Shah was holed up near the 9,230-foot peak Sawtalo Sar, the four SEALs dropped in on the night of June 27 to confirm his location. On 28 June 2005, operating in an extremely rugged enemy-controlled area, Lieutenant Murphy's team was discovered by anti-coalition militia sympathizers, who revealed their position to Taliban fighters. No one will likely ever know. Approximately 45 minutes into the fight, Dietz, responsible for the teams communications, sought open air to place a distress call back to the base, but before he could, he was shot in the hand. The couple planned to marry as soon as he returned from Afghanistan. He loved animals and made pets of everything from alley cats to lizards, once even keeping a butterfly in a jar and letting it out for walks around the house. If youve read Lone Survivor (or seen the movie), you understand that the goat herders were the first soft compromise, and this led to a hard compromise, and a satellite phone call that would end a life. The Taliban had welcomed them with a rain of rocket attacks. The remaining air crew, belted in, were trapped inside a flaming comet, plunging down into a boulder-choked ravine. And by the time Gulab's plane landed in Kabul, the Taliban had bootleg versions . These brave men who lost their lives will not be forgotten. They bounded down the mountain in an attempt to make it to safer ground. What the movie doesn't reveal is that Shah was killed shortly thereafter in a gunfight with a Pakistani villager over a chicken. He burst out of the SEAL command, almost bowling someone over. In desperation, they enrolled him in a military-style school and residency program in Pueblo for a few months. The Taliban were not long in coming. According to officials, the rescue team for Operation Red Wings opted to directly enter the battle space without the protection of the attack helicopters in hopes of landing and assisting their comrades. I wasn't there when they filmed that scene. In the kitchen, he and Patsy had spent hours meticulously retiling the counters. The chopper was on its way to rescue a four-man reconnaissance team that had called for help after being attacked by mujahedeen fighters. I have the book and ive watched this movie almost 1,000 times and i love it so much. But early on June 28, three unarmed goat herders had discovered the recon team. His heart never stopped. By his selfless leadership, courageous actions, and extraordinary devotion to duty, Lieutenant Murphy reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.". Lone Survivor provided you just a small portion of the operation. And, of course, Dietz has been memorialized in the book and film Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell and Emile Hirsch as Dietz. Based on the statements from Luttrell who was the lone survivor of the engagement and would write a book which was adapted into a movie starring Mark Wahlberg, the enemy had the SEALs outnumbered. A lawyer for Luttrell said his version of events was 'absolutely true'. "I saw videos of those clips, I know how hard they fell and how many bullets they received. He would release a video soon. Back at Bagram, Lt. Cmdr. WATCH: Donald Trump delivers remarks at CPAC, Biden authorizes Fed to 'explore' digital currency, Lawmaker: Key gov't agencies should be defunded, abolished if they 'do not come to heel'. They made me leave the set.". In a private meeting before the ceremony, Dan and Maureen Murphy gave the president a gold dog tag as a tribute to their son. Turbine 33 took the lead, descending toward the chosen landing zone, an open meadow surrounded by scrubby trees on the shoulder of Sawtalo Sar, about 650 meters from the summit of the mountain. He was taking charge, consumed with saving the lives of his men. In less than a second, the grenade found its mark and a fireball erupted inside the helicopter. At the top, he frantically worked the radio. Gloating, Ahmed Shah phoned The News, a daily in Islamabad, Pakistan. He stitched a patch from the New York City Fire Department inside his uniform. Soon, they were in the landing zone. His injuries were so traumatic that the Navy recommended a closed casket. He started hanging out with kids who drank, smoked weed, and tagged buildings. One of the authors (Miniter) saw Dietz's autopsy report, which reveals that he died after a shocking number of bullet wounds in other words, he died fighting. The Danny Dietz Memorial Fund is a scholarship for Heritage High School students. The 18-day campaign of mountain battles drove the last of Shah's men into Pakistan. TRENDING: The next generation of Democrats are awful leaders. While the SEALs desperately wanted to get on the ground to look for surviving SEALs and Night Stalkers from the downed bird, as well as retrieve the SR team that still had not been contacted, word came from Commander, Joint Special Operations Task Force to return to the air base at Jalalabad. The two Black Hawks, including Healy's, were too heavy to vault over the peaks of Afghanistan's eastern Konar province. With more than 10 minutes lost, the two helicopters decided to outrun their slower, armored escorts. Using a special GPS, they found their way to a rocky nook overlooking the sleeping village. Operation Red Wings and the rescue effort broke the back of the Taliban in Afghanistan's eastern Konar province. He spent time with Patsy and the dogs. For a movie that opens in New York City on Christmas Day, "Lone Survivor" features some of the most realistic military combat scenes ever filmed including reenactments of the deaths of real-life Navy SEALs using their actual autopsy reports to get the details exactly right. What is the mascot of the U.S. Marine Corps. The autopsy report suggests that none of the kill shots received by Dietz were at close range. Missiles do. It is far from a documentary retelling of exactly what happened during Operation Red Wings (ORW). Overhead, Navy and Air Force planes filled the sky, searching for the missing Americans and pounding enemy positions. If he showed himself, the Taliban would shoot him before they could land. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. A soft compromise means essentially that a units mission is exposed, but no enemy fire is exchanged. He was cunning and clever. Ignoring his own wounds and demonstrating exceptional composure, Lieutenant Murphy continued to lead and encourage his men. That summer, Dietz headed to basic training near Chicago, then BUD/S in Coronado, California. Subscribe to The American Legion's monthly magazine. Per the U.S. Navy, the additional weight of the attack helicopters slowed the formations advance prompting the MH-47 to outrun their armored escort. Hed get into it, even if he got in trouble, because he thought it was the right thing to do.. In reality, as the book shows, Healy is a key figure: He planned operation "Red Wings" and led the men to the rescue helicopter, where he died along with then-record number of SEALs and U.S. Army night stalkers but readers can meet him in. On the morning of June 28, 2005, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, a small, four-man team of Naval Special Warfare operators under the command of Lt. Michael Murphy was compromised. When he enlisted, he checked the box for American Indian/Alaska Native. Years earlier, Dietz had confessed to her that when he died, he wanted to go saving people. A nagging question from the mission is why wasnt the possibility of the MANPAD discussed in the after-action report? A dusting of snow kisses the frozen grass. Although they were likely Taliban sympathizers, they did not carry guns. (L to R) Marcus Luttrell advises stars Taylor Kitsch (c.) and Mark Wahlberg on the set. Three of the four SEALs were killed during the ensuing battle, and one of the two quick reaction force (QRF) helicopters sent in for their aid was shot down by an RPG-7 fired by Shah's insurgents, killing all eight U.S. Navy SEALs and all eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators on board. I was a journalist and former paratrooper who saw combat with Task Unit Bruiser, SEAL Team 3 in Ramadi in 2006. Captain Robert Wilson made regular trips to the house to update the family. RPGs, contrary to movies and video games, do not leave smoke trails. McGreevy yelled - "troops in contact," or a battle to the death. He continued to fire and cover his teammates even after he could not stand or even speak. 25! Their son Matt Axelson was part of a Navy Seals team dropped into Afghanistan in . This really happened. He died too soon, but he did the thing he most wanted, says Jordan Najera, Dietzs high school girlfriend of four years. Hour after hour, his father, Dan Sr., pushed his sons bike, watching him fall, dust himself off, get back on, and shout, Again, Daddy! The Taliban did come in and beat Luttrell when they tried to interrogate him, but village elders chased away the enemy militias. Luttrell, the only surviving member of Operation Red Wings, stated he was blasted over a ridge by a grenade explosion and that he was knocked unconscious. Oct 28, 2011. The reality of the SEAL involvement in Red Wings, as stated before, was that 2/3 needed low-illumination helicopter support from the 160th SOAR (A .