FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Marcus Luttrell ~ January 20, 2014

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served
in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States
Armed Forces Today!

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Marcus Luttrell
Info from here.

           

With all the publicity about the movie Lone Survivor, I wanted to know more about the hero behind it.  "Hero" is certainly an appropriate description.  Here is his story, from Wikipedia.

Marcus Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is a former United States Navy SEAL, who received the Navy Cross for his actions in June 2005 facing Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings. During his eight-year career in the United States Navy, Luttrell reached the rank of Petty Officer First Class.

Luttrell was born in Houston, Texas on November 7, 1975. He began training for the U.S. Navy SEALs at the age of fourteen, with former U.S. Army soldier Billy Shelton, who lived near Luttrell's home. He trained every day with his twin brother, Morgan, and others who aspired to join the U.S. Navy. Shelton trained them using various weight and endurance exercises. After high school, Luttrell attended Sam Houston State University, where he joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Luttrell enlisted in the United States Navy in March 1999. After graduating bootcamp and Hospital Corpsman A-school, he transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Class 226; however, due to a fractured femur he suffered on the O-course, he graduated with Class 228 on April 21, 2000. A book entitled "The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228" by Dick Couch describes the training of Class 228, and names Luttrell as one of the graduates of that class. After completing BUD/S, he attended Army jump school and SEAL Qualification Training. He was then sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, for SOCM (Special Operations Combat Medic Course) an additional six months of advanced training in conventional and unconventional medical skills, ranging from diagnosis and treatment of many conditions to advanced emergency medicine and battlefield life support. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 with SEAL Team Ten. Prior to Afghanistan, Luttrell had been part of SDV-1. After Operation Red Wings he transferred to SEAL Team Five and deployed to Ramadi during Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting various operations there.
 

Operation Red Wings

 

Late in the night of June 27, 2005, two MH-47 Special Operations Aircraft of the Army Special Operations Command's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR(A)) approached Sawtalo Sar. As one of the aircraft performed a number of "decoy drops" to confuse any possible enemy on the ground as to the specific purpose of helicopters, the other inserted, via fastrope, a four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team in a saddle between Sawtalo Sar and Gatigal Sar, a peak just to the south of Sawtalo Sar. The insert point was roughly one and one half miles from the nearest Named Area of Interest. The team members were team leader Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1), based out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Gunner's Mate Second Class Class Danny Dietz from SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 (SDVT-2), based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Sonar Technician Second Class Matthew Axelson from SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1); and Hospital Corpsman First Class Marcus Luttrell, of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1). After moving to a pre-determined, covered overwatch position, from which the SEALs could observe the Named Areas of Interest, the team was discovered by local goat herders. After determining that they were civilians, and not combatants, Lieutenant Murphy asked Luttrell to "make the call". Luttrell fearing U.S. media backlash and following the rules of engagement, released them. Regretting their decision, the team relocated to a less desirable observation point. Within two hours of letting the goat herders go, the SEAL Reconnaissance and Surveillance team was ambushed by Ahmad Shah's men.

The ambush was intense, coming from three sides, and included fire from PK machine guns, AK-47s, RPG-7s, and 82mm mortars. The ambush team forced the SEAL team into the northeast gulch of Sawtalo Sar, on the Shuryek Valley side of Sawtalo Sar. The SEALs made a number of attempts to contact their combat operations center with a PRC-148 MBITR (Multi Band Inter/Intra Team Radio) and then with an Iridium Satellite Phone. The team could not establish consistent communication, however, other than for a period long enough to indicate that they were under attack. Three of the four team members were killed, and Luttrell, being the only survivor, was left unconscious with a number of fractures, a broken back, numerous shrapnel wounds, and later a gunshot. He would soon regain consciousness and evade the pursuing enemy, with the help of local Pashtun villagers, who would eventually send an emissary to the nearest U.S. base to secure his safe release, and ultimately save his life.

The target of Operation Red Wings, Mohammad Ismail alias Ahmad Shah, survived the American operation but was killed during a firefight with Pakistani police commandos in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April 2008.

Luttrell returned to the U.S. the following year, and co-authored the New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. A film version starring Mark Wahlberg was released on December 25, 2013.

Luttrell separated from the Navy in 2007, and was subsequently granted a temporary medical retirement through the Board for the Correction of Naval Records in 2009. In 2008, Marcus spoke at the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting.

His latest book, co-authored with James D. Hornfischer, Service: A Navy SEAL at War, was released in May, 2012, by Little, Brown and Company

 

DASY

As part of Luttrell's recuperation he was given a yellow Labrador puppy. He named the dog DASY. Each letter of the name "DASY" represents one of the members of his team—Danny Dietz, Matthew "Axe" Axelson,Southern boy (Marcus), and Michael "Yankee" Murphy. She was given to him in recovery to help him through rehabilitation.

On April 1, 2009, four men approached Luttrell's property and killed DASY with a .357 Magnum revolver at approximately 1 A.M. Luttrell proceeded to chase the individuals through four counties in his truck armed with two 9 mm Berettas—until Onalaska Police apprehended the individuals. Upon arrest, the suspects verbally threatened Luttrell's life and taunted him. Alfonso Hernandez was arrested on-scene for driving without a valid driver's license and later charged with animal cruelty. Michael Edmonds turned himself in on April 7, was booked, and posted bond on the same charge. The other two individuals were not indicted. The males are also suspects in the killings of other neighborhood dogs. On November 29, 2011, Marcus posted on his Facebook Page that "Court date on Thursday for DASY's killer's I'll keep y'all posted on what happens. It's only been almost 3 years glad it's finally here" and again on December 1, 2011, saying they were found guilty.

On March 7, 2012, Alfonso Hernandez was given the maximum sentence of two years in a state jail for the felony charge of animal cruelty and fined $1,000. After his guilty plea and testimony against Hernandez, Michael John Edmonds was sentenced to five years probation and fined $1,000 for the same offense. At the sentencing, Luttrell testified that he was “still pretty upset” about the killing of DASY and that he felt both defendants should have gotten the maximum sentence.
 

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Lone Survivor Foundation

In 2010, Luttrell established the Lone Survivor Foundation. Headquartered in Houston, Texas the foundation's mission is to "...restore, empower, and renew hope for our wounded warriors and their families through health, wellness, and therapeutic support." The vision is to "...provide exceptional therapeutic, outdoor, and unique opportunities that optimize recovery and healing of affected American wounded service members and their families."

Marcus Luttrell and The Lone Survivor Foundation have partnered with The Boot Campaign to help show tangible appreciation of America’s active duty military, raise awareness of the challenges they face upon return, and support the transition home

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Connie, and thank you for the tributes to our troops. *HUGS*

How are you and your new phone getting along?

A FULL day of paperwork, and it continues. I’m pleased with my progress.

[ConorMacNessa]

We didn't BBQ - John Man wasn't feeling well today and I hurt my back. The only difference was that I broiled them - Porterhouses - inside. I used the same rub I use to BBQ, so it came out quite well.

We were up in the 40's this afternoon - it's now 32F.

I watched the Denver-New England game - thought it was a good game. I was pulling for Peyton.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Sand...((HUGS))...you and Zeus gonna be batching it later in the week, huh?

Hope Maddi’s feeling MUCH better.

How is your workshop?

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!



Sgt. Daniel Tyler Lee, USA
Company "C", 2nd Battalion
3rd Special Forces Group
KIA Afghanistan 15 January 2014



I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

"Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour,
and be in readiness for the conflict;
for it is better for us to perish in battle than to
look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar.
As the Will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be."
(1 Maccabees 3:58–60)

"God Of Our Fathers"
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
(Click)



Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in peace!
We who remain hold you in high honor.
Rest, fallen brother, in this sacred precinct;
We who remain keep this place sacred.
Rest, fallen brother, among these, your comrades;
We who remain keep the watch.
Rest, fallen brother, among these who answered the Nation’s call;
We who remain press the fight forward in your name.
Rest, fallen brother, lay down thy burden;
We who remain have taken up the torch.
Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in eternal peace!



Taps
(Click)

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[AZamericonnie]

Rest In Peace our Heroes

Il Silenzio

Let Them In St. Peter

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening and welcome, Lurker. Enjoy the thread.

[Publius]

SEATTLE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

WINTER FESTIVAL

JANUARY 24 THRU FEBRUARY 2

The music of Bela Bartok is not for everyone. He filtered Hungarian folk material through a rather dissonant prism. I’ll listen attentively when the concert is broadcast live on Friday night, but I won’t run out and buy this piece. It’s his Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 76.

Violinist Ida Levin, scheduled to play this piece on Friday, is one of the few non-liberals among the classical artists I’ve met. One of her proudest moments was performing at the White House for Ronald Reagan with Rudolf Serkin playing piano. Serkin had a tendency to get the jitters before a concert, and Reagan had a way of putting people at ease. He talked to the two of them backstage, calmed Serkin down, and Ida was surprised that Reagan knew her father, a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court at the time. The judge, by the way, has an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz, and he’s educating Ida’s son about the art of working around chord changes.

Ida turns 50 this year, and I have to tell my favorite Ida story.

A few years ago, we were leaving a post-concert party in Seattle’s Belltown at the same time. As we approached a corner, I did the gentlemanly thing and offered Ida my arm to cross the street. She took it but said, “You do know I’ve been crossing the street alone since I was at least 20.” I said, “But Ida, that was only five years ago.” She laughed uproariously, and I went up ten points in her estimation.

Bartok: Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 76, first movement

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Marine Mom...((HUGS))...be strong!

Do you already have a week’s worth of letters written?
Care packages already packed?

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hallelujah!! A trio today! Good for you.

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Nice....listening now.

[AZamericonnie]

My phone & I are getting aquainted. :)

Still doing papaerwork?

So much for some time off for you right? *Hugs*

[SandRat]

Good evening, Kathy...((HUGS))...Zeus I will be batching it from midday Wed until midday Sat.

We'll get to check her out tomorrow.

No joy in the workshop, it still is a Hoarder's Clutter Paradise.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I never watch 60 Minutes, but thanks for the link. I will watch it.

Thanks for both links.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

[BIGLOOK]

Honoring Our Fallen

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh no....one under the weather and a hurt back for another. You all take good care of yourselves.

We are supposed to be above freezing for the week, but we are already at 29 now. Having “forecasters” is almost a waste.

[Kathy in Alaska]

TAPS

RIP

Sgt Daniel Tyler Lee, USA
Company "C", 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group

Amazing Grace

[ConorMacNessa]

The Polar Vortex is returning to our area Tuesday night - Wednesday morning.

It's not the temps that are so bad, but when the winds kick up it's bitter cold - more than we are used to in this South-of-the-Mason/Dixon Line region.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Mac, for the Missing Man Setting as we remember those who have given their all that we may gather safe and secure.