Marcus Luttrell: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing & The Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

In a remote, mountainous area of Afghanistan, a four-man Navy SEAL team faced a difficult decision when three goatherds stumbled upon their location. If they were to release the unarmed civilians, one of whom was a teenager, their position would likely be reported to nearby Taliban forces; but killing the trio of goatherds would be a violation of the the rules of engagement — constituting an act of murder.

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 frames the outcome of that day with the story of Luttrell's experience as a SEAL. Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell joined the U.S. Navy in 1999 and became a SEAL in 2002. He deployed to Afghanistan in spring 2005. Facing more than 150 Taliban fighters in the battle that followed his team's decision that day, each of Luttrell's comrades was killed — along with 16 other Navy SEALs whose helicopter was shot down during an evacuation attempt.

Luttrell was the only SEAL to survive. Severely wounded, with three cracked vertebrae in his back, he managed to walk and crawl more than seven miles from the battle. He was taken in by tribesmen from Sabray, a Pashtun village in the mountains of Afghanistan, and granted Lokhay: a Pashtunwali code that guarantees safety and security at all costs for a wounded traveler, with protection from all enemies - even the heavily-armed Taliban fighters who demanded that Luttrell be turned over to them.

From that SEAL team, Petty Officers Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson posthumously received the Navy Cross; Lt. Michael P. Murphy posthumously received the Medal of Honor, the first to be awarded for the war in Afghanistan. Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism in 2006 by President George W. Bush, and received his discharge from the Navy in 2007. Lone Survivor was co-written with Patrick Robinson and adapted into a major motion picture in 2013.