The impact broke his back in six places, and he sustained major damage to his spinal cord. Gulab says he appreciates the freedom he has in the U.S., the safety and security. "The bottom line," Wildes says, "was to get him the hell out. In the five years since he and Gulab had last spoken, the American had served another tour, retired and received the Navy Cross for heroism in combat for that mission in Kunar. I had to go back to my mountains. Gulab says they continued paying him, but he was no longer allowed on the base. You can see it in his facefrom the wrinkles on his forehead to the dark circles under his eyes. Containing 100 per cent new and original content, its published every Thursday on the Apple Newsstand. The region holds notoriously strong ties to the Taliban, and it was fully possible that the goat herders would contact enemy combatants and alert them to the team's position. He wanted to be part of the solution. He had a point, Gulab thought. I still hear Mikey, every night. Its more challenging. Knowledge of the brain changes every day. In late Septemberabout nine months after he arrived in Indiathe U.S. government approved his visa and that of his wife and seven children. Yet somehow Luttrell found the strength to move, crawling into a "crevasse" and waiting until it was safe to emerge. When he came to, the SEAL realized the blast had blown his pants off, and he was badly injured: His back and nose were broken, and his face was busted up, he wrote. [But] there weren't 35 enemy fighters in all of the Korengal Valley [that day]. The former SEAL seemed angry, Gulab recalls. As Robinson describes why the Afghan returned home in 2014, there is no mention of Gulab's dispute with Luttrelleven though the book was finished after their rift. How many Taliban died in Operation Red Wings? Probably more than five days. It was the Talibanagainbut instead of threatening his life, this caller was mocking him. marcus luttrell injuries photos. Luttrell voted for the latter. The University Of Iowa's Only Student Newspaper. He married his wife called Melanie Juneau. I heard his gun go off and a lot of gunfire in his area. He was treated by Capt. There were one or two frightening occasions when I heard it in broad daylight and found myself pressed against a wall, my hands covering my ears. "If you had brought Marcus back to the mountain, we would have traded him for money and prisoners, and you could have kept the ransom. Murphy was shot in the stomach, Dietz in the hand. They could have worked out a similar deal with Luttrell, the caller argued. The prospects for his illiterate friend and his sons were much worse. He says he signed the contract under significant stressthe Taliban was trying to kill himand should have received a larger cut. 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. That's also around when Wildes called me in the middle of the night. Gulab "The allegations that the Luttrells mistreated Gulab in any way are absolutely false," the lawyer said. WebMarcus [Capone] watched GI Jane and decided to become a Navy SEAL. So in early 2013, the former SEAL sent him an intriguing message through a new interpreter, a fellow Pashtun. I've slaughtered a lot of animals.". WebMarcus Luttrell Injuries The four SEALs were attacked from three sides during the ambush of Operation Red Wings. Murphy eventually realized their only hope was to call for help once again. Not long before he called me in Tel Aviv, Wildes's contacts in Afghanistan went dark. For former U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, his personal moral crisis has become the subject of an autobiography and major motion picture. So he stops, reflects, prays and pays his respects to the guys that died that day and the families they left.". To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request. In a suicidal bid to get back-up, Murphy moved himself to open ground, sitting on a rock to get satellite phone reception and call the Quick Reaction Force two mountain ranges away in Asadabad. The brotherhood never dies. Some are small: He got the name of the operation wrongit was Red Wings, like the hockey team, not Redwing. Three of the four SEALs were killed, and a quick reaction force helicopter sent in for their aid was shot down with a rocket-propelled grenade fired from an RPG-7, killing all eight U.S. Navy SEALs and all eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators on board. It all seemed remarkable for a man still learning to steer a shopping cart. "My heart dropped directly into my stomach," Luttrell wrote. Registered in England. Upon graduating, he was transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Class 226. Shell also rave about her three Maltese dogs whenever she gets the chance. Under a canopy of stars, they squatted behind a barricade and fired toward the gate, their bullets sparking in the darkness when they hit stones. The U.S has stopped accepting Iraqi applications, and Afghans now face stiffer requirements. The next morning, on January 9, 2015, Gulab held his wife's hands in his and said goodbye. He was eventually aided by an Afghan villager who sheltered him from Taliban threatening his life. The other two herders then appeared, followed by a hundred or so goats, bells jangling around their necks. 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. "Gulab pretty well agreed with about 90 percent of [Marcus's book]," the writer says. Yet on May 30, Gulab's benefits will expire. But nothing compared to what happened to him in October 2009. This time, he traveled roughly 50 miles to a U.S. military base in Jalalabad, where he met a muscular man with a beard named Joe Fairchild, who Gulab says worked as a military adviser. Before they parted, Luttrell tried to give Gulab his watch, a token of his gratitude, but the villager declined. "No Taliban!" Since they'd last seen each other, the former SEAL had become an entrepreneur, launching his own clothing line (and later his own brand of ammunition called Team Never Quit). These injuries ultimately led to his discharge. He asked about Luttrell several times, but no one was able to put him in touch with the American, so over the next six months, Gulab settled into his new life. And I put my weapon down in a gunfight while my best friend was getting killed. In his 2009 book, Victory Point, the journalist Ed Darack wrote about the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment in Afghanistan, the unit that planned the mission. Marcus is 46 years old. In response to Murphy's call, 16 men had whipped over in a Chinook, but as it came to land near the original drop-off point, one of Shah's men fired an RPG through the helicopter's open ramp. 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. Now, as the plane climbed into the sky, Gulab looked out the window. ", Luttrell alongside Lone Survivor director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg. One district commander, Mullah Nasrullah, was livid that his fighters had yet to kill the famous villager from Sabray. Wildes told us the Afghan had either misunderstood, that something was lost in translation or he was tragically misinformed. Marcus doesn't just kiss ass and give you his trust and his blessing. ', Men of Honour: Luttrell, third from right, with his Navy SEAL team. 35 Taliban four SEALs I play it all over in my head a million times, going through it in real life," he says. The target of Operation Red Wings, Ismail, was not eliminated during the battle, but he later was confirmed killed in a firefight with police in Pakistan. But about a month after his last conversation with Luttrell, Gulab says the interpreter abruptly announced it was time to return to Houston, and they did. He didn't know it at the time, but they were Pashtuns, the world's oldest living tribal group and, deciding to take him in, would now fight to the death to protect him. In her spare time, Clare likes to play Pokemon GO and re-watch Heartland over and over (and over) again. In his statement from Buzbee, the former SEAL disputes this, saying he encouraged Gulab to stay but that he left on his own accord. Later, he claims the interpreter took him outside to chat: "Whatever Marcus says in the interview," the Afghan recalls being told, "say yes." His wife was clinically depressed, but with Fazilhaq's assistance, he found a doctor to treat her. Gulab and his son seem nervous. And his newfound fame proved to be lucrative. Hes my first Navy SEAL, Hart said. Gulab felt betrayed. Once hed regained consciousness, he evaded the Taliban with the held of local Pashtun villagers, and was eventually rescued by Army Rangers and the Afghan National Army. But this is one of the last interviews he'll be doing for the forseeable future and he's glad for that. "I told the commander the man I saved was a human being. It struck the fuel tanks, Luttrell wrote, and no one survived. But at least the Taliban didn't know where he lived. As we bump over the road, I see signs advertising Tiger Cabaret, a local gentleman's club, and "an evening with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis." 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. Marcus returned to full duty after recovering from his injuries. Morgan Luttrell was a Navy SEAL like his more famous twin brother, Marcus, who went on to write a bestseller, By As of April 6, 2022, the podcast has released 259 episodes. However, he was killed in April 2008 during a firefight with Pakistani police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "Now is the time to open up your lap and let the money fall in.". I don't wanna come across as mean, but you already know the answers to these questions. One of the bullets pierced his aorta, Marcus is now a Houston, Texas, U.S resident where he lives with his wife Melanie Juneau, his son Alex, and his daughter Addie. Luttrell went on to write the best-selling memoir, Lone Survivor. As a recipient of both the Navy Cross (an award for valor in Upon returning from the war, Luttrell was given a Labrador Retriever DASY which he named after his comrades whod lost their lives during Operation Red Wings. Robinson says he interviewed Gulab extensively, took notes and double-checked details with the interpreter, but as with Lone Survivor, he didn't record the interviews. Also, he and his twin brother were present, at Perrys formal announcement on June 4, 2015.