The room was in shock. The silverware had ceased to clink. I glanced down from the video camera to see what could’ve easily been a teardrop descending from my glass of iced water. A room full of 200 people, over the course of 30 minutes, had turned to stone. The silence was broken by a quick sniffle and a mumbled “suck it up” from the evening’s featured speaker. Marcus Luttrell is a former Navy SEAL and author of the book “The Lone Survivor” – a story detailing his experience in Operation Red Wing – one that claimed the lives of his three SEAL brothers, and nearly his own. It was the eve of September 11th, and I was sitting at the Hollytree Country Club in Tyler, Texas. Marcus is an East Texas boy. He hates attention, doesn’t care much for public speaking, but loves his country. He also loved his SEAL brothers, and is committed to telling their story both to honor them and ultimately to provide comfort to our American brothers and sisters that come home in bad shape. So for those reasons, he was up there recounting horrific scene after horrific scene. Marcus regrouped and continued.
When he spoke of dropping into Afghanistan under the cloak of darkness, hitting the ground, and doing absolutely nothing for fifteen minutes in anticipation of being attacked – we all sat there holding our breath. The sound of bullets passing by his ear sounded like the crack of a whip. I’ve thankfully never had bullets pass that closely to my head, but we all sat more uncomfortably sensing what he’d experienced. I’ve lost a best friend, but never three in a day, and definitely not riddled with bullets and rocket propelled grenades exploding in front of my face. I grew up on the side of a hill, but I’ve never hurled my body off a mountain to evade between 80 and 200 Taliban that were trying to kill me, half-hoping to escape and half-hoping the impact would finish my life.
One of his buddies exposed himself to enemy fire on a high spot to try and get a call out for help. Marcus saw a bullet pass through his chest. Another of his buddies couldn’t move himself anymore, so Marcus picked him up to carry him down the mountain, but he was thrown off balance when a bullet hit his best friend in the head, not prepared for the dead weight.
Marcus walked and crawled seven miles and ended up killing six more Taliban fighters before he was taken in by a village. He would draw a line in front of himself, crawl toward it, and if he was still alive when he drug his legs across he repeated the process.
I hurt just retyping what I’d heard. I cannot imagine how he feels re-telling it. So every soul in the room understood when the story stopped midway. Marcus said, “Man, sorry y’all, this is just about where it starts getting good … I’m just … tired.”
The dinner ultimately raised $20,000 for the Lone Survivor Foundation, Marcus’s mission to help wounded warriors upon returning stateside. The following day Country For Our Country hosted over a thousand people on the lawn of Villa di Felicita, a wedding and event center just outside Tyler. These people really know how to throw an event. Paratroopers floated in, live music played inside and out (including country artist Phil Vassar), food and drink was everywhere, and people generously opened their wallets to benefit the Military Warriors Support Foundation to the tune of over $100,000 (a rough estimate that dropped my jaw).
This was not a traditional StoryKeeping job. It didn’t take place in a living room and my lighting kit never left my office. Heck, I only captured half a story! But the power of half that story was amazing, and the event videography I was able to perform was a great experience. Thank the service men and women around you every chance you get. I don’t know that there was a better place to be on September 11th, celebrating our Nation’s freedom by thanking the people that make it all possible – both the soldiers and their families. With Thanksgiving this week, I know my prayers will include people like Marcus and their families. Be safe and cherish every moment my friends!