Marcus Luttrell

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"If knocked down I will get back up, every time." -Marcus Luttrell. These lines come straight from the heart and soul of the Navy SEAL philosophy. Marcus Luttrell is a former Navy SEAL who graduated with Class 228 on April 21, 2000. In 2005, Marcus Luttrell was involve with Operation Red Wings, a mission to kill a high-ranking Taliban leader named Ahmad Shah. He and three other SEALS fast roped down near a village where Shah was supposedly sighted. Their mission was to perform reconnaissance and if possible, kill him. Unfortunately, in less than 24 hours the SEALS had been ambushed by Shah's men and only Luttrell remained alive. A hero must possess morals; the knowledge of what's right and wrong, courage; the spirit that enables a person to face danger without fear, and endurance: the ability to have the strength to last through pain. Marcus Luttrell is a hero because under pressure he displayed morals, during intense combat showed courage, severely wounded endured and overcame pain.

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Marcus showed heroic endurance during and after the battle while the Taliban tried to hunt him. During the last stages of the battle, a RPG blew Marcus clean off the face of the mountain into a ravine.When he regained consciousness, Marcus remembered, "If I get knocked down I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight." ("Marcus Luttrell."). Luttrell was enduring because no matter how many times he had been knocked around, blown up, or shot he used all his strength to support  his country; this is what makes him a hero. He never gave up because it is his duty to accomplish his mission to the best of his abilities. However much pain or suffering he may have be in,  Marcus Luttrell  never gave up. Marcus later reflected,"I had to face the final battle by myself, maybe lonely, maybe desolate, maybe against formidable odds. But I was not giving up." (Luttrell). This shows how Marcus has endurance. He never gave up but instead used his circumstances as motivation to press on and persevere. Marcus showed heroic endurance because even when he was alone, injured, and desperate he didn't give up but continued on.

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Marcus Luttrell is a hero because he displayed morals under the pressure of death. Hours after fast roping down into the mountains, the SEALS, led by Lt. Michael Murphy, were suddenly surrounded by a herd of goats while scouting the village through a spotting scope.  The SEALS were faced with a tight predicament with what to do with the goat herders, "If the Seals killed the unarmed civilians, they would violate military rules of engagement; if they let them go, they risked alerting the Taliban...despite Luttrell's misgivings that they might betray the team's presence in the remote area, Luttrell and one other team member voted to let the goat herders go free" (Contemporary Authors Online). The risks were high for the for Americans; if they let the herders go they might direct the Taliban to the SEALS, but if they executed the herders, which would be considered a war crime, the media back in America would label them murderers.With no one answering the comms unit back at the base, Luttrell and  Lt. Murphy voted to to let the herders go free because they believed it would be wrong to execute the herders out of cold-blood. Marcus Luttrell was moral because despite the risky situation he voted to abide by the rules rather than potentially save all of his comrades lives by executing all the herders. His morals overcame the very real possibility that these herders could alert the Taliban and jeopardize their mission, "The real battle is won in the mind. It's won by guys who understand their areas of weakness, who sit and think about it, plotting and planning to improve." (Luttrell).  This shows how Marcus understands the values of morals in a heroe. It is heroic to act in a way that is right, even if it hurts. Marcus showed heroism by letting the goat herders go because it was against his morals to kill the suspicious looking herders, who would later go alert the Taliban, even though the SEALS could kill them saying they were casualties of war. Though it was a tough decision, Marcus displayed morals, his beliefs about what was right and wrong, in letting the goat herders go.

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Another heroic trait Marcus displayed during the Battle of Murphy's Ridge is courage. Not long after the SEALS freed the goat herders, they were ambushed by Shah's men in the hills. Out numbered 35 to 1, "The SEALs fought heroically against overwhelming odds as they tried to retreat down the mountainside to the flat ground" (Contemporary Authors Online). The SEALS courageously took a stand against the Taliban, trying to holding their own against far greater numbers. Marcus and the team were forced to retreat off the side of the mountain not because of the lack of ability to kill the fighters but by sheer numbers. The brave and courageous SEALS never gave up, even after some members had been shot multiple times in vital places. After having to watch his comrades be brutally killed, Marcus thought, "I will never quit. My nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies."(Marcus Luttrell). Alone and badly injured, Marcus showed courage by never giving up and quitting even though he sustained a broken nose, fractured lower back, broken leg, shrapnel wounds, and a bullet wound through the leg. He could have just surrendered himself to the Taliban but instead he continued his fight, never quitting because he knew that he was tougher and braver than his opponents. Marcus showed true heroic courage when, alone, he continued to face the oncoming enemy without any fear of death.

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Marcus Luttrell is a hero because under pressure he displayed his true character. Under pressure he showed morals, during intense combat had courage, severely wounded endured and overcame pain. A hero can be an everyday person but its when they display certain attributes and traits that they really become a true hero. Marcus showed these traits and that is what makes him a hero. This inspires me to always try my best and never give up until I have accomplished my goal.  Being a hero means that you can have morals, courage, and endurance.