"A lot of people look at me," Gulab later tells me, referring to his traditional Afghan clothes. And that's all I did sir, really, I just kept getting back up. On a brisk night in January, I meet Gulab for the first time, in the parking lot of a Best Western in suburban Fort Worth. It's not like you can just walk out and think this guy's good and introduce yourself, that doesn't work like that over there. However, he has not shared any information about his parents. Under cover of darkness on June 27, an MH-47 Chinook dropped them off on a ridge near the Sawtalo Sar mountain. Gulab scoffs at the estimate by Naval Special Warfare Command that 35 Taliban died in the battle. Fairchild declined to comment for this story, but the Afghan says he contacted Luttrell for him. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Marcus Luttrell: The Actual Injuries Sustained During Operation RedWings. Prior to its hiatus, she also served as the Head of Content for UK YouTube publication, TenEighty Magazine. "Absolutely, yes sir," he says. Wildes told us the Afghan had either misunderstood, that something was lost in translation or he was tragically misinformed. In August, Universal flew Gulab to Houston first class, and he suddenly felt like a celebrity. Published Aug 10, 2016 9:13 PM EDT. ReBOOT seeks to raise funds to pay for treatment of veterans enrolled at UTD's Center for BrainHealth and with other partners helping veterans in Virginia and California, Payne said. Once again, he borrowed money for their flights. Gulab admits there are certain parts of his story he doesn't remember, and I see some inconsistencies in his version of events. He murdered more than 150 people and won the Silver Star, four Bronze Star Medals with three Gold Stars, and a V device. He had friends in the States and contacts in Kabul, but no one seemed able to help. But a few turn that battle against some of the world's most dangerous militants into something far less heroic. 2 How many Taliban died in Operation Red Wings? He was attracting the Talibanlike flypaper.". "), As Luttrell spoke to Cooper, it was clear that his fallen comrade still haunted him. Others are more significant: The target, Ahmad Shah, wasn't an international terrorist or a close bin Laden associate. Gulab almost didn't make it to the States. Chris won some commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat. Not long after he returned to Afghanistan, Gulab was walking along a path in the woods when the militants detonated an improvised explosive device in front of him. He currently serves as the co-host of a podcast called Team Never Quit. (Luttrell did not directly confirm or deny Robinson's account. The four of us make tea in the lobby and chat. Lone Survivor: What Really Happened During Operation Red Wings. They tried with a grenade outside his daughter's bedroom, the blast hurling shrapnel into her leg. Who was the only survivor of Operation Red Wings? After Luttrell and company freed the locals, the gunmen waited for the right moment to strike. He still hadn't heard from Luttrell and wanted to fly to Houston to hash things out. He didn't specify a sum; that would have been impolite, but he said yes. According to police, theyd been linked to at least five other area killings in the months leading up to the shooting. I need help, Marcus!' Sound Like You? More than an hour and a half later, the SEALs spotted about 80 to 200 heavily armed militants above them. Luttrell had consulted on the film and wanted his friend to help with promotion. That's the night he and his wife ran up to the roof with assault rifles. The translator, he recalls, pushed harder. Luttrell sustained a slew of near-fatal injuries during his service, as well as experiencing the deaths of best friends and team-mates. The brotherhood never dies. The Afghan timber worker didn't fare so well. To prove it, the second person dialed Gulab into the call. We pile into Fazilhaq 's silver Honda Odyssey and snake over the highwaysa concrete labyrinth of pickup trucks and SUVs. 'Did it hurt when you got shot?' Static filled the line, and then Spies heard a man speaking in a foreign language as the second individual translated. Luttrell fired at one "hook-nosed Taliban warrior" and "blew his head off." Pretty good," he says buoyantly. I've had Marines wounded there. In 2010, Marcus established the Lone Survivor Foundation headquartered in Houston, Texas. This was also what was said by some involved w/ aerial surveillance. After Yousafzai's story appeared, the former SEAL was upset. Shoot them, get heard, have the villagers come to search for them, and face the wrath of the media and potential murder charges/jail; tie them up and leave them to die; or let them go and risk 'military suicide' as the goatherders alerted Ahmad Shah of their presence. With the SEALs boxed in, they needed to give up the higher ground. Once that was completed, the squad carried out the capture and elimination of terrorists. With no map, compass or medical gear, he began packing his wounds with mud. The mission of the foundation is to restore, empower, and renew hope for our wounded warriors and their families through health, wellness, and therapeutic support. Marcus and The Lone Survivor Foundation partnered with The Boot Campaign to help show tangible appreciation of Americas active-duty military and also support the transition home. Paying smugglers was too dangerous and expensive. "Marcus was absolutely furious about the entire thing," Robinson adds. Yet Luttrell, he claims, had dropped the subject. Saving Luttrell was an extraordinary act of courage, and it destroyed Gulab's life. "Oh yes sir," he agrees. They were married by November 2010, only slightly delayed as Marcus wanted his twin brother Morgan, also a SEAL, to return from duty in Iraq to attend the wedding. How to Market Your Business with Webinars. He will still get food stamps and health care. Hes had the kind of self-confidence and humility to do that.. Available for NSW & Victoria via Government Schemes. four SEALs All but Luttrell were killed in the assault, including a helicopter crew that was shot down in an attempted rescue. He recently completed his masters degree in applied cognition and neuroscience and is in his first year of a doctoral program in cognitive neuroscience that could take about five years. ", Has the film helped him to move forward? But as the aircraft flew over the mountains and the team prepared to rope down, an insurgent fired a rocket-propelled grenade. David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News He'd doing well but I didn't want to be responsible for reactivating trauma in him. Over the clangor of forks and knives, I start asking Gulab questions. "I don't know who that guy is. 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. For days, the British novelist and the Afghan villager chatted as the interpreter translated. Marcus is a United States former Navy SEAL. Months passed with little progress, but the lawyer asked me not to write anything about Gulab's predicament. "My guys are dying out here we need help," he pleaded. These injuries ultimately led to his discharge. 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. He graduated with a B.S in International Business in 1998. Dietz was shot in the neck, still firing as blood poured out. Every week, retired Navy SEAL and Lone Survivor Marcus join his twin brother Morgan and his producer Andrew Brockenbush as they take their listers into the briefing room to chat with incredible guests sharing their greatest never quit stories. "Stomach acid," he says. Marcus Luttrell was deployed to Iraq on April 14, 2003 as part of the US invasion. "There are a lot of bad people trying to cheat [refugees]," says Ziaulhaq Fazilhaq, a 28-year-old Afghan who befriended Gulab in New Delhi. It had been nearly 10 years since he had saved Luttrell. WebMarcus Luttrell Injuries The four SEALs were attacked from three sides during the ambush of Operation Red Wings. We had photos from their interview, which Yousafzai recorded, and copies of Gulab's visas. They are called upon to perform the toughest duties in the armed forces, and their actions directly affect the protection of America's freedom. "[The translator] was like my eyes and mouth." ", 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. You can find more information on Luttrell at the following links: If you would like to follow Luttrell's work in assisting veterans, you can follow him onTwitter andFacebook. Luttrell, now crawling for his life through the night, couldn't speak, his throat full of dirt, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. Amber: My dad is a big part of how resilient Ive been. True to his word, Robinson sent Gulab $15,000one-third of the advance. Alligators were wrestled. ", About a month later, another call came. Clare Fitzgerald is a Writer and Editor with eight years of experience in the online content sphere. 'No I'm good, I'd rather die.' Luttrell was presumed to have been a 20th victim, but in spite of bullet wounds, a broken back and rocks and shrapnel protruding from his legs, the SEAL Shortly after beginning a four-mile trek in the sodden mud and freezing rain, Luttrell's fears were realised, as they became 'starkly silhouetted against a treeless mountain above a Taliban-occupied village,' the moon casting their shadows into the slope. "I'm very glad to be in America," Gulab says. 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. I fell back on all of my training to get through all that I went through out there during that week. 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. Marcus earns an average salary of $77,395 per year. In this show, retired special operations veterans talk about issues in the United States. The money has been helpful, the Afghan says; it allowed him to pay back some of what he borrowed while in India. All he could do now was belly crawl. He blessed the film, he said it was very accurate, says Berg, and he said it wasn't traumatising for him because he really went through it. "The allegations that the Luttrells mistreated Gulab in any way are absolutely false," the lawyer said. To complete his training, he attended Fort Bragg, North Carolina for the Special Operations Combat Medic course. "[Soon]," Luttrell wrote, "I met my first real friend, Mohammad Gulab.". He had a point, Gulab thought. And that's when he finally gave up hope. Morgan Luttrell, right, flanks then-Gov. In April, however, an Afghan friend loaned him thousands of dollars to buy his wife and three daughters plane tickets. When the clicks waned, however, Gulab was still in Afghanistan, still in hiding, still afraid and still angry. Later that fall, the Taliban stormed Gulab's house in Asadabad. Some of the other patrons stare. He did not comment on Gulab's claims about the money from the movie. "It's amazing to watch the effect that dog has on him," says Wahlberg. He never knew what really happened to Matt Axelson, so seeing that, he said, was tough. (Berg pieced together such information from after-action reports and autopsy reports. ), Robinson says he wasn't sure what to do, but the book was finished, so he found a publisher and gave Gulab a third of the money, as promised (he says he kept Luttrell's cut). He endorsed the 2016 presidential campaign of former Texas governor Rick Perry. Marcus, a retired United States Navy SEAL started raining for the U.S. Navy SEALs at the age of 14. Marcus had been shot six times with a .45-caliber pistol. Chris died on February 2, 2013, in Erath County, Texas at the age of 38. His survival was the subject of his book Lone Survivor, which was adapted into a 2013 feature film. Murphy was shot in the stomach, Dietz in the hand. He was in a body cast for about six months. After dinner, we head back to my hotel. "The bottom line," Wildes says, "was to get him the hell out. In March 1999, he enlisted in the Navy and attended both boot camp and Hospital Corpsman A-school. I said, 'Sir really? Lone Survivor, the story of an injured Navy SEALs escape from the Taliban, is one of the most powerful action movies in years. Now he appeared to indicate Murphy alone decided to let the goat herders go. Biden, Marcos Set to Meet as Tensions Grow With China, Navy Investigators Suspect Arson in Fire Aboard Docked Destroyer, 1st Woman to Take Top Enlisted Job at Army Special Ops, Iran Navy Seizes Tanker near Oman That Was on Way to Houston. The Taliban put him on a kill list, so he couldn't return to his village. "I was a stranger in this country," Gulab says. Luttrell was born in Houston in November 1975, and was raised on his parents horsefarm near Oklahoma. Kenneth Anger: Where The Bodies Are Buried. The good Afghani people are caught up in the middle of it. How many Taliban died in Operation Red Wings? At the age of 15, Luttrell began preparing for a career in the Navy SEALs by training with Billy Shelton, a veteran of the U.S. Army. "It was the stupidest, most southern-fried, lame-brained decision I ever made in my life," he wrote. Eventually, as the Taliban prepared to attack, Luttrell wrote, a team of Army Rangers arrived and whisked him and Gulab off in a helicopter that took them to a nearby U.S. military base in Asadabad. The militants responded with a barrage of bullets. Newsweek pointed out that Luttrell has previously made errors when describing the day his three fellow servicemen were slain. He called the operation Redwing, when it was actually called Red Wings, journalist Ed Darack said in his book, Victory Point. The U.S has stopped accepting Iraqi applications, and Afghans now face stiffer requirements. Gulab says Luttrell kept trying and even promised him money. He is a United States podcaster and former Navy SEA who has accumulated an estimated net worth of $5 million. | Luttrell was peering through his binoculars when the first one appeared from nowhere, jumping off a log above Luttrell and landing right in front of him. "I [had] sacrificed a lot. ", Luttrell was busy promoting the movie, but the Afghan enjoyed spending time with him when he could. Indeed, his main protector, a man named Gulab, was threatened by the Taliban, who bow to the Pashtuns. Luttrell was born on Nov. 7, 1975, to ranchers in Houston. For former U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, his personal moral crisis has become the subject of an autobiography and major motion picture. "If I'd known that Marcus was such a dishonorable person," he says, "I would not have come to America. But it wasn't with Marcus. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. My backs been reconstructed. Luttrell responded enthusiastically and said he'd been trying to get in touch. "Our paths, which had crossed so suddenly and so powerfully in a life-changing encounter for both of us, were about to diverge.". Luttrell has since said he bitterly regrets that decision, for it was to cost the lives of many. America, he felt, had a moral obligation to bring them to the States, so he started a nonprofit and began working with lawmakers. "It's a mourning period that whole week," says Melanie. ", Gulab claims that one afternoon, while sitting with Luttrell in his father-in-law's living room, he brought up some of these discrepancies. The militants, like many others in the area, heard the helicopter drop the Americans on the mountain, Gulab claims. So he stops, reflects, prays and pays his respects to the guys that died that day and the families they left.". His trousers had been ripped clean off. The center has worked with veterans for several years. Everywhere he wentNew York, Houston, Los Angelessomeone wanted to talk to him, to thank him for saving Luttrell. The next morning, Gulab learned he was being sent back to Afghanistan. People are dying waiting in line. Without that training and that SEAL spirit, it's likely he wouldn't have made it. His own journey seeking help for his brain injury involved multiple institutions and treatments, so when hed hear from veterans who needed help, he would look for funding to send them to one of the treatment places hed been. The prospects for his illiterate friend and his sons were much worse. With Sami Yousafzai in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Ed Darack in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's 4:30pm in Florida when Marcus Luttrell calls. The closure last summer of the U.S. base nearest to Gulabs home, part of the drawdown of U.S. combat forces in the country, added to the danger. But one night in 2012, as he returned from a grocery store, riding in the passenger seat of his nephew's Toyota, the Taliban opened fire from the side of the road. To confirm his identity, Gulab says he gave Fairchild a photo a friend took of the SEAL dressed in traditional Afghan clothing during his time in the village, shortly after the battle. Special Operations Forces are the elite commandos of the U.S. military. This year, the Philippines agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands. "Sure, that's a great point sir, absolutely," he says, the very picture of southern boy decorum throughout our conversation. "And I cursed those fucking goatherds to hell.". It's pretty funny.". Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Marcus stands at the height of 6 ft 5 in ( Approx 1.96m). They treated him well, he says, but the interpreter was rarely around. (Both the State Department and Department of Homeland Security declined to comment, citing privacy concerns. Now he can't sleep because he's worried about his future. Marcus Luttrell, played in the film by Mark Wahlberg, describes how he survived his ordeal. They had no rope to tie up the men, but letting them go might be a fatal mistake; the Afghans could alert the Taliban. Instead, Gulab's saviors were a handful of strangers and acquaintances, Afghans and Americans, doctors, lawyers and government officialssome of whom put themselves in danger and broke rules to keep him safe. "Absolutely. Although they could not establish consistent communication, they communicated for a period long enough to indicate that they were under attack. In a futile attempt to hide from the Taliban, who were trying to kill him, Gulab left his village and moved to Asadabad, capital of Kunar Province. It was the Talibanagainbut instead of threatening his life, this caller was mocking him. I've slaughtered a lot of animals.". Billy Shelton, trained them using various weight and endurance exercises. Regardless of his buoyancy when he calls, I can't bring myself to have him go through it yet again, and I tell him so upfront. Operation Red Wings. An exploding grenade then threw Luttrell some distance, knocking him out. Gulab had saved the life of a Navy SEAL, but no one, he felt, would ever come to his rescue. He signed up to be part of a clinical trial. Marcus trusted them to help spread the word and teach our actors.. At a party at the home of the interpreter's parents in California, the Afghan remembers sitting with his translator in the dining room when Luttrell sidled up to him. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request. It's not worth it. definitely. But how? This makes a lot of sense when you read of how Luttrell stayed alive on that mountain, crawling on his belly with a broken back, losing blood with a leg full of shrapnel. How long does Operation Red Wings usually last? He could barely walk, and if he had attempted to reach Murphy, would have been shot instantly. Joining us are Gulab's 17-year-old son, Shahidullah, and Fazilhaq, his friend from India. Later, the villager claims, he asked the interpreter if Luttrell and Universal would draw up a contract. Within a couple of hours, dozens of heavily armed Taliban fighters emerged on a hill. The SEALs were dropped in the "bad and barren" mountains to hunt for a Taliban leader "known to be one of Osama bin Laden's closest associates," Luttrell wrote. Weeks earlier, after a period of silence from Luttrell, he had received the book contract from the interpreter. Gulab was told: "You will die. Because they can't be hidden." Gulab and his son seem nervous. That night, Gulab and his sons packed their clothes into two small suitcases and prepared to leave the country. One of his favorite things to do was stroll through the brightly lit aisles of a local grocery store, staring at the fully stocked shelves: coconut water and Colgate toothpaste, neon green Gatorade and Honey Nut Cheerios, baked beans and bath scrubbers, Sunny D and Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake. 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. Alfonso Hernandez and Michael Edmonds were charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal, while the cars driver was cited for not having a valid license. The two met after corresponding over e-mail and phone in May 2010. A reconnaissance mission to observe a village and locate Ahmad Shah, a fundamentalist leading a cell against coalition forces, it required a four-man team: Luttrell, Petty Officer and medic; Lieutenant Michael Murphy, in charge of the operation on the ground; Sonar Technician Second Class Petty Officer Matthew 'Axe' Axelson, an eagle-eyed sniper; and Gunner's Mate Second Class Danny Dietz, Jr, a communications officer and spotter. (Gulab denies these allegations. "I didn't have very much press for the film, we left all that up to the Hollywood people," he says. "Because the last interview I did, the guy was asking me, 'What was it like to watch your teammates die?' "There are no Afghans here," he says. Now, as the plane climbed into the sky, Gulab looked out the window. Luttrell, now crawling for his life through the night, couldn't speak, his throat full of dirt, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. His twin brother Morgan is also a former Navy SEAL. "Thank God he continues to get better and healthier," says Mark Wahlberg, who portrays Luttrell in the film, adapted from Luttrell's best-selling 2007 book (co-written with Patrick Robinson). In her spare time, Clare likes to play Pokemon GO and re-watch Heartland over and over (and over) again. They attempted to radio for advice, but comms were down. Wildes says that's no excuse. 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. Luttrell released a second book, Service: A Navy SEAL at War, in May 2012. Gulab recalls the translator telling him not to worry about it and saying, "Whatever [Luttrell] says, he will do.". Months later, Gulab was still waiting. Gulab's troubles began in northeastern Afghanistan in June 2005, after he saved a Navy SEAL from a Taliban-linked militia. Edmonds plead guilty to the charges against him and received five years probation. Russell Brand Peaked in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, ESQUIRE, PART OF THE HEARST UK FASHION & BEAUTY NETWORK. As a member of SEAL Team 10, Luttrell deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and embarked on the fateful Operation Red Wings. In video interviews online you can see his traumas hanging heavy over him; he often seems exhausted having to relive it all again while interviewers pummel him with questions. All inside were killed as it smashed into the mountainside and broke up. 'Things are slowing down and getting back to normal,' he writes on Facebook the day after we talk. It all seemed remarkable for a man still learning to steer a shopping cart. They show you kindness in the beginning, then you turn to walk away and they're shooting a gun at you. Due to bureaucratic logjams, "we have applicants who have waited for five years, coming up on six years," says Lara Finkbeiner, the deputy legal director at the International Refugee Assistance Project. Luttrell went on to write the best-selling memoir, Lone Survivor. What injuries did Marcus Luttrell suffer? Marcus Luttrell injuries: Broken back due to falling from the mountain He had RPG and grenade fragments all over his body. His shoulder was torn out. His knees were destroyed. Pretty severe facial damage including a broken nose. He suffered a broken pelvis He bit his tongue in half. His thumb was destroyed all the way over to his index finger. Little, Brown and Company released Marcus latest book in May 2012 titled Service: A Navy SEAL at War co-authored with James D. Hornfischer. Most of the differences were minor. They considered it their duty under Pashtunwali, a tribal honor code requiring them to protect those in need. The Afghan hadn't worked for the U.S. military long enough to qualify for the Special Immigrant Visa program. years in a U.S. civilian jail. The Taliban returned fire, but Gulab and his wife had the high ground. "But yes sir, it's winding down for me, and I'm thankful for that. As of April 6, 2022, the podcast has released 259 episodes. Luttrell's wife, Melanie, gave him several thousand dollars in cash and bought him a variety of itemsfrom socks to laptops, Gulab says. Puts a little perspective behind the entire story, The real Marcus Luttrell answered this question during an interview with AOL/Moviefone. What is the difference between the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization programs recently developed vs. previous years? Although members of SEAL Team 10 attempted a rescue during the firefight, their helicopter was shot down and allaboard were killed. "Even with all the security of America, I had to go home. The battle raged for quite some time. He has also since found a new furry companion, in the form of another Labrador Retriever named Rigby, who continues to provide the same emotional support DASY provided. Morgan Luttrell was a Navy SEAL like his more famous twin brother, Marcus, who went on to write a bestseller, Lone Survivor, a first-person account of a harrowing battle in Afghanistan, which was later made into a Hollywood film. But Luttrell's harrowing days in the Hindu Kush continued to haunt him, and fame apparently didn't make his life easiereven after Universal reportedly purchased the rights to his story in 2007 for several million dollars. None, however, seem to explain the differences between what Robinson wrote and what the Afghan claims happened. We didn't only talk about the story, we went out, hung out, ran around town, remembers Berg. Currently, Marcus and his family live in Houston, Texas, U.S. After graduating from Willis High School, Willis, Texas, Marcus proceeded to join Sam Houston State University. The helicopter exploded in flames and plunged to earth, killing all 16 aboard. He no longer has to sleep with a gun by his sidea strange, naked feeling. From his position, he couldn't connect, so he sat on a small rock out in the open, making one last attempt. 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. When Gulab began to miss home or worry about his family, he claims Luttrell comforted him, offering to buy him a house in Dubai or get him a green card and build him a home in Houston. (LogOut/ I didn't pick up in time, but the number indicated it was Wildes, who had taken on Gulab's case for free and was trying to use the media to push the U.S. government to help. The impact broke his back in six places, and he sustained major damage to his spinal cord. In video below, Morgan Luttrell coaches a group of employees through pushups to support the the Boots Campaign. The couple married each other on November 27, 2010, in Texas. On April 9, 2014, while I was working at a website called Vocativ, I received an email from Sami Yousafzai, a Pashto-speaking colleague in Islamabad, Pakistan.

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