"A four-man Navy SEAL team had gone behind enemy lines to capture or kill a key militant leader named Ahmad Shah, also known as Mulla Ismail. The operation known as Red Wing turned disastrous, however, after the SEALS were discovered.
"The SEALS were in the Hindu Kush at 10,000 feet on June 28, 2005, when Taliban sympathizers spotted them and told Taliban fighters. At least 30 fighters arrived and surrounded the team.
"A fierce fight erupted. About 45 minutes into it, Lt. Michael Murphy, 29, contacted Bagram Air Base for help.
"An MH-47 Chinook helicopter loaded with eight SEALS and eight Army soldiers from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment took off to rescue the embattled team. But when it arrived the Chinook was shot down. Everyone aboard was killed. It was the worst single-day loss to U.S. forces since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in September 2001.
"Eventually a rescue team did land safely but it was too late for most of the SEALS.
"The bodies of Murphy and Petty Officer Danny Dietz. 25, were found near each other. The body of Petty Officer Matthew Axelson, 29, was found nearby.
"One SEAL survived and later contacted his buddies' families. He told Dietz's father, Dan, that his son knew he was going to die and "so he fought very hard," Dan Dietz says.
"Dietz's medal citation says he stayed behind "in a hailstorm of enemy fire" and, despite being wounded, "fought on, valiantly defending his teammates and himself in a harrowing gunfight until he was mortally wounded."
"Axelson had multiple injuries, including a badly bleeding head wound, before he died, says his widow, Cindy Oji Axelson.
"The surviving team member "told me about his last moments with my husband," Axelson says. "He told me that Matt had said to tell me that he loved me. He knew he was dying. I think he looked at the survivor and said 'Do what you can to make it out,'"
"His medal citation says Axelson "advised (his teammate) to escape while he provided cover fire. With total disregard to his own life and thinking only of his teammate's survival, he continued to attack the enemy, eliminating additional militia fighters, until he was mortally wounded."
"The surviving SEAL hid out for several days. He resurfaced in a friendly Afghan village and was rescued.
"Dietz, Axelson and the survivor were each awarded the Navy Cross."