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Lone Survivor Marcus Lutrell Addresses Opening General Session

by Troy Smith for Angus Productions Inc.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 1, 2012) — “I’m not here to recruit — just tell a story that can give you some perspective on what a really bad day is.”

Marcus Lutrell    Photo by Kasey Miller

With that introduction, decorated former Navy SEAL Marcus Lutrell shared his personal war story with an audience gathered for the first general session of the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention, Nashville, Tenn. Now a motivational speaker, the author of The New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor talked about preparing to join the special operations force and his part in the ill-fated Operation Redwing, from which only he returned.

According to Lutrell, long before joining the U.S. Navy, in 1999, he and his twin brother, Morgan, aspired to serve among the military elite. At just 14 years of age, the ranch-raised boys began unofficial training under a Vietnam-era veteran from their East Texas hometown. Jokingly calling him “a little bit crazy,” Lutrell said their mentor fostered the foundation of physical endurance and mental toughness that prepared both brothers to enter and complete Navy SEAL training.

Jumping ahead in time to 2005, Lutrell told about service in Afghanistan and the mission that led to his “worst day ever.” Lutrell’s four-man team was sent to capture or kill a high-ranking Taliban leader. While conducting reconnaissance, the team was ambushed. All received multiple wounds while engaged, for over two hours, in a running battle through the mountain foothills. Lutrell’s three teammates were eventually killed, as were 16 men aboard a helicopter shot down while responding to the team’s distress call.

Though wounded, Lutrell fought off Taliban fighters while intermittently walking and crawling some 7 miles to evade capture. He was given aid and protection from the Taliban by Afghan villagers, one of whom walked 20 miles to a U.S. military base with word of Lutrell’s whereabouts. After his rescue and multiple surgeries, requiring nearly a year of hospitalization, Lutrell returned to active duty until another injury to his knee forced an end to his SEAL career.

“I was encouraged to tell my story to others, to show that challenges can be met and overcome,” Lutrell told the convention audience. “You never know what you can do, until you have to — if you have courage and determination, and never give up.”