Human Statue with Soldiers (click to view enlarged image)

by Honor and Fallen on My Space

Okay, there is a lot going on right now with me but I have to put it all aside and try to help my friend. Her name is Natasha, she is on my top friends and she has been working on a fundraiser to send a care package to the troops in Iraq. She has worked tirelessly, sending bulletins, messages, Blogs, even went as far as having a fundraiser at Walmart this Saturday but yet she still feels that the package she would send at this point would not meet or exceed her expectations. I am now taking this project on as my own. She has already recieved an address to send it to from me. Now she has a week to meet her self imposed dead line and is praying for a miracle. Plaese help, in anyway you can!

This is my passion, to support the troops and all others working for the greater good of our Country. I know we share the same dream; that all people will join together to honor and show our utmost thanks and praise to these courageous men & women. So I am asking anyone interested to please send me a message. We are not asking for money, we only want what the soldiers need. Natasha has created a list to help people decide what they can send for the packages. I am including a copy of her numerous bulletins. Please take a look and remember, these Men and Women are fighting for our freedom and protecting our right to freedom of speech!

Much love & Respect,
~~~RAE~~~

Jason
Date: Sep 25, 2007 4:34 PM




THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO KEEP SENDING ME THINGS TO ADD TO THE LIST!!!

I am making Care packages for our troops. If anyone is interested in donating any of these items or monetary donations, so we can purchase items. Please let me know! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!
I will be mailing out the carepackages the first week of October!

The troops could use:
Chapstick
Shaving Cream
Razors
Deodarant
Soap
Shampoo
Conditioner
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Mouthwash
Feminine Products
Canned Food
Non-Perishable Food
Downy Sheets (original scent...they keep the sand fleas away)
Visine eyedrops
Pantyhose (to protect their weapons)
Crossword Puzzles
Paper
Pens
Envelopes
Postage Stamps
Silly String (to detect triggers on explosive devices)
Calling Cards
Hard Candy
Combs
Floss
Toilet Paper
Gum
Letters from children to the troops!
Diaper Wipes
Socks
Ready drinks (the drinks you just add to a bottle of water)
Hand Sanitizer
Tylenol (any pain reliever)
Travel size Kleenex
Hand Lotion
Cerealy
Beef Jerky
Anti-Itch Cream
Anti-Fungal Cream or Powder
Sunscreen
Aloe
Trail Mix


LET'S GIVE THE TROOPS A "CHRISTMAS" IN OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks sooo much for wanting to help!!!
FEEL FREE TO ADD ME AS A FRIEND!
Natasha Volker www.myspace.com/natashavolker


THANK YOU!

I'm Tired

"I'm Tired" Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army
"I'm Tired"
Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of duty in Iraq, I was forced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury I sustained prior to my deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to finish my tour.
I left Baghdad, and a war that has every indication that we are winning, to return to a demoralized country much like the one I returned to in 1971 after my tour in Vietnam. Maybe it's because I'll turn 60 years old in just four months, but I'm tired:
I'm tired of spineless politicians, both Democrat and Republican, who lack the courage, fortitude and character to see these difficult tasks through.
I'm tired of the hypocrisy of politicians who want to rewrite history when the going gets tough.
I'm tired of the disingenuous clamor from those that claim they 'Support the Troops' by wanting them to 'Cut and Run' before victory is achieved.
I'm tired of a mainstream media that can only focus on car bombs and casualty
reports because they are too afraid to leave the safety of their hotels to report on the courage and success our brave men and women are having on the
battlefield.
I'm tired that so many Americans think you can rebuild a dictatorship into a
democracy overnight.
I'm tired that so many ignore the bravery of the Iraqi people to go to the voting booth and freely elect a Constitution and soon a permanent Parliament.
I'm tired of the so called 'Elite Left' that prolongs this war by giving aid and comfort to our enemy, just as they did during the Vietnam War.
I'm tired of antiwar protesters showing up at the funerals of our fallen soldiers, a family whose loved ones gave their life in a just and noble cause, only to be cruelly tormented on the funeral day by cowardly protesters is beyond shameful.
I'm tired that my generation, the Baby Boom -- Vietnam generation, who
have such a weak backbone that they can't stomach seeing the difficult tasks
through to victory.
I'm tired that some are more concerned about the treatment of captives than they are the slaughter and beheading of our citizens and allies.
I'm tired that when we find mass graves it is seldom reported by the press, but mistreat a prisoner and it is front-page news.
Mostly, I'm tired that the people of this great nation didn't learn from history that there is no substitute for victory.
Sincerely,

Joe Repya, Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army
101st Airborne Division

Military Resources & Fund Raiser's

New On line Resources for Reserve Component Families



The website of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs has some new resources to offer Reserve Component Families. Visitors to the site (http://www.defenselink.mil/ra/) can download a Commander’s Toolkit, a guide to Family Readiness matters for commanders, as well as a Family Toolkit, which provides Reserve Families with information on how to plan for deployment, financial management, legal affairs, and reintegration. Additionally, the website has new and updated versions of Guard and Reserve Benefits Guide and the Education and Retirement Guide.

“Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents’ Guide” Now Available...


“Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents’ Guide” Now Available in Spanish

“Su Soldado, Su Ejército Estadounidense: Guía Para Los Padres” is now available from AUSA Family Programs. The guide is designed to help parents of Soldiers understand how the Army works and provides information about deployment, Family Readiness programs and advice on how to cope with having a child deployed. In writing the book, Mrs. Cody drew on her own experience as an Army wife of thirty years and the mother of two sons, both of whom joined the Army and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since it was first published in 2005, the book has proven to be a tremendous success and many thousands of copies have now made their way to the parents and grandparents of Soldiers. Both the English and Spanish language versions of “Your Soldier, Your Army” are available free of charge, although quantities may be limited. To obtain a copy, please contact AUSA Family Programs at 1-800-336-4570, ext. 151 or familyprograms@ausa.org.



Recycle Old Cell Phones and Help Connect a Military Family

Recently, AT&T announced that all AT&T owned wireless stores would accept cell phones for donation to “Cell Phones for Soldiers.” The non-profit organization was founded by two Massachusetts teenagers Brittany and Robbie Bergquist to help buy pre-paid phone cards to send to military members who are serving overseas. The organization collects old phones, recycles them, and uses the proceeds to purchase calling cards. In addition to collecting phones, AT&T has donated more than 30,000 pre-paid cards to “Cell Phones for Soldiers” and plans to donate 10,000 more in the coming weeks. AT&T is also providing “Cell Phones for Soldiers” with a volume discount on phone card purchases. For more information, see: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=24052.


Battlemind Training

Soldiers are trained to develop a “Battlemind” to prepare them for the challenges of a deployment to a combat zone. The mind-set and thinking that they adopt to be vigilant and safe during an extended deployment sometimes causes difficulty when they transition back to civilian life. If you/ your Soldier demonstrate the following behaviors, it is a sign that the transition is not complete: Withdrawal; Inappropriate Aggression; Hyper Vigilance; Anger/Detachment; Aggressive Driving; Guilt; Conflict; or Carrying Weapons. These are all signs that the Soldier is mentally still in a war zone part of the time. Many of these behaviors will affect the Soldier’s relationships with his/her Family, as well as job performance. The Walter Reed Army Institute has developed training to assist Soldiers transitioning from the Combat Zone to the Home Zone. Visit the www.battlemind.org to download the materials or watch a 35-minute video developed for Soldiers and Family Members. If you know a Soldier that is having difficulty with the transition from the Combat Zone to civilian life, you will be doing them a service if you refer them to this video and the support services they need to complete their transition.

Indiana Military Family Leave Act Becomes Law..


Indiana Military Family Leave Act Becomes Law
Effective 1 July 2007, relatives of military members called to active duty for a period of more than 89 days may now take a leave of absence of up to ten days per year. The leave may be taken within 30 days prior to deployment, during R&R, or up to 30 days after the service member returns. To qualify for the benefit, employees must have been employed by their current employer for a minimum of 12 months and have worked at least 1,500 hours during the last year. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from the law. Employees requesting leave must be a spouse, parent, grandparent, or sibling of a military service member and give employers 30 days notice of their intent to take leave under this program. Other changes effective on July 1st include: Timeframe extension to use scholarship benefits for National Guard members called to active duty; In state tuition rates for all active duty service members stationed in Indiana and their Families; and honorary diplomas for veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts who were unable to complete high school due to their service. For more information, visit: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=24169.

Lone Survivor

Link: http://www.glennbeck.com/news/06212007a.shtml

Taken from a post from SWOOSE!

Interview with Marcus Luttrell,
author of Lone Survivor
JUNE 21, 2007


BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

Well, I'm about to introduce you to a guy who has a new book out, it's called Lone Survivor. He was a Navy SEAL. He has a story that he's going to tell you here in the next few minutes that should shock, horrify,

and quite honestly just -- it should anger you. I have a very good friend who is in the middle of reading Lone Survivor, he called me up last night it was about 11 o'clock. And I've never heard him like this. He was angry. And he said, "Glenn, I can't believe these weasels in Washington." I'm going to let Marcus Luttrell tell you the story. He's on with us now. Marcus, how are you, sir?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir, how are you?

GLENN: Very good. You -- take us back to Afghanistan. You are a Navy SEAL. How long have you been a Navy SEAL before 9/11?

LUTTRELL: Almost ten years, sir.

GLENN: Ten years. And so you go over to Afghanistan, and what is your mission?

LUTTRELL: This particular mission we were a four man sniper watch team sitting on a capture kill task to locate, monitor the activity of a high-ranking Taliban official with known ties to Osama bin Laden.

And we were also to pick up further on intelligence about him, coordinating and executing complex tasks against coalition forces in this particular area. It was a -- a remote area near the Paki border that didn't see much play from the US military, and that was our job, sir.

GLENN: Okay. And you go in, Marcus, and this is a very dangerous situation. How many -- how many are around you?

LUTTRELL: Intel were forwarded up to 200.

GLENN: So you're living in the midst of 200 Taliban that are looking to kill you, and there's only four of you, and you're pretty much alone?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

GLENN: Okay. What happens?

LUTTRELL: We were monitoring our target, didn't have a good visual on -- on -- on the initial site, so we relocated, got a better visual. Couple hours after that we -- came across a (unintelligible) compromise which means we were walked on by some civilians, some Afghani goat herders.

GLENN: Hang on. That means that they just happened upon you. They say you and you're like, oh, crap, now what do we do?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. They were out walking the herd. They had about 75 or a hundred goats, when I say they walked on us, I was underneath a tree that had been cut down was burned out I was hiding underneath that with my rifle watching the target and he walked over the tree I was on. So when I heard him above me, when I turned my -- just kind of turned a little bit to look, he looked right down at me, and that's when the compromise took place.

GLENN: Okay. And this was a -- this is not a guy carrying a gun, this was not a member of the Taliban, or was it, or what did you think originally?

LUTTRELL: No, sir. He -- he had a -- an axe with him, a wood chopping axe. That's all he had with him. No firearm or anything like that. About three to five minutes later another man walked up the hill, one of my teammates, Matt Axelson, called over to me and said that there was two more coming up, another adult male and a -- about a 13 -- 13-year-old boy. So we took 'em off to the side, set him down on a tree, you know, started interrogating them, tried to give him some food, some water, they didn't want to have anything to do with that. They weren't answering any of our questions, either.

GLENN: You guys -- you speak the language?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. And we also have equipment that allows us to communicate with them.

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: My lieutenant, the officer in charge, he came down from his position and did the best he could also to interrogate them, and -- and they just weren't -- they weren't having it. So --

GLENN: And what were you trying to get -- what kind of information were you trying to get?

LUTTRELL: Basically we were telling them that we were Americans and that they were in danger and asking if they had any -- any -- or knew of anywhere about his of any Taliban sites or cache sites or just basically what their general business was up there, and they weren't answering anything.

GLENN: Now, did you get the feeling at the time it was because they were a part of the Taliban, or friendly, or they were just afraid of you, or why --

LUTTRELL: My -- my feeling after dealing with a lot -- most of -- every operation we had been on, just you can tell when someone doesn't really care for you. And when you look at someone's eyes, whether they -- you know, they like you or they don't. And on top of which they weren't answering any of our questions. And even though the dialect might be a little different in certain areas, still -- you could still understand what we were saying, they weren't having anything to do with us. They were talking among themselves, obviously. We couldn't under -- we couldn't pick it up totally. So the decision was they weren't brandishing firearms, they were, you know, no immediate threat to us except for the fact that if we turned them loose, that, you know, they could obviously go get reinforcements to come back on top of us. We talked about, you know, tying them up and leaving them there, but again that would be just like killing them as well. They had all the goats with them and stuff like that. It's just -- that would have brought more people into our position, and like I said, our job, we were set in for 72 hours to overwatch this target, and with a compromise like that, we were just in a difficult situation. Also dealing with the terrain, there wasn't too many places that we could relocate and evaluate our target so the decision was made to turn 'em loose.

GLENN: Okay, so --

LUTTRELL: I mean we couldn't -- we couldn't --

GLENN: How far --

LUTTRELL: Because of the ROEs, rules of engagement, we have to -- placed upon us and stuff like that, you know, if we would have executed them, you know, we'd have wound up in prison. And it wasn't -- I'd rather -- you know, we'd rather take our -- the decision was to take our chances with -- in a gunfight than take our chances in the court system.

GLENN: And the reason why -- I mean the Taliban, they are actually now carrying mule packhorses and mules loaded with explosives, but our guys cannot stop them or can't shoot them because if they're not carrying a weapon, you can't shoot them, right?

LUTTRELL: Well, you can't even shoot them -- rules of engagement for conventional forces you're not even allowed to shoot 'em if they have a weapon on them. They have to be actively engaging you.

GLENN: Okay. So you guys talked about it and you decided we gotta let 'em go. And was it mainly because of the rules of engagement?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir.

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: And, you know, exactly. They -- like I said, they weren't carrying any firearms, and we couldn't keep 'em, you know?

GLENN: Right. And so you guys knew you'd go to prison, why? Because the bodies would be found and then --

LUTTRELL: Eventually the bodies would be found and their IO campaign is a lot better than ours. They support --

GLENN: The IO campaign, what is --

LUTTRELL: Their media campaign.

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: You know, so eventually it would have been traced back to us. Some -- you'd think it would be impossible but I've seen it happen.

GLENN: So, in other words, what you're saying is they would find the bodies, then they would contact the media, al-Jazeera, al-Jazeera would run how you executed a 13-year-old boy and two -- two other guys, and then it would be tracked back to you, and you would be tried in the media, you'd end up in prison?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. That was -- that was the thing about it.

GLENN: Was this just a -- was this just a conversation you guys had? You actually took a vote, right?

LUTTRELL: We got together -- I mean that's one of the unique things about the SEAL team, obviously the officer is overall command and control, I was the team leader and we had Danny and Matt, we were in a unique situation, we got together, and obviously two heads are better than one, three are better than two, so we talked about it and came to the decision that, you know, we aren't murderers, anything about the SEAL team that we don't know about we're not a defensive force, we're an offensive force. When we go in to -- you take the bad guys out to take the fighter -- or to, you know -- to engage, but in this certain situation, it was just unique, that's all I could say. You know, I racked my brain a hundred million times, you know, if we made the right call or not, but we made the call --

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: -- depending on the rules that we implemented on them.

GLENN: Okay. So now you let them go. How far away are you from your Taliban target?

LUTTRELL: Maybe a little under a click.

GLENN: I don't --

LUTTRELL: Maybe under a mile. A mile.

GLENN: Okay. So you're -- you're a mile away from your target, you let them go. What do you tell them when they let you go, and what is their expression on your face when you say, see you guys later?

LUTTRELL: We turned 'em loose, and they -- they took out. They -- I mean they didn't stick around. And those -- you know, they ask any people, they can move through those mountains quick. It took them about five minutes to walk up a cliff that it took our team to walk up, it took us about 30 to 45 minutes. You know. Because once we turned them loose after about ten minutes I sit there and watched them walk away, and they never looked back. The kid did a couple times and then they were gone. They just disappeared, and then we relocated.

GLENN: Okay. Then what happened?

LUTTRELL: About 45 minutes later, about a hundred-plus Taliban militia showed up over the top of our ridge. And my ROT, Michael Murphy, was the first one to -- to spot the -- the combatants. I was on the initial -- we were set up like a triangle on the side of this cliff, so much so we had to dig out the ground below us. We were just basically standing up leaning backwards against a cliff. That's how steep it was, kind of give you an idea. And we actually had an advantage on our target. I had just passed the -- the monitoring equipment down to Matt and pulled my hat down over my eyes. And then I get a whisper from Mikey to -- when I pull my hat up, I look down and, you know, his eyes were as big as sand dollars and he was just like, you know, it's time to get it on. So I rolled over and the first person I saw was a -- was a guy with two RPGs on his back and an AK, and there was a huge pine -- or a huge tree about 20 meters in front of me, and that's what I focused my rifle on, my radical, you know, my snipe -- my scope, and I see a head pop out and the muzzle of an AK. I turned around and looked at Mikey and I was like, it's time to get it on. And then all of the you can just see them flooding the top part of the -- the ridge, and then they were coming down our side.

Turned back around, the guy had moved back around the tree. You could hear them yelling. We didn't have an idea of how many there were but just looking at what we were dealing with on top of the ridge was -- was -- I mean it was a multitude of them, sir. Took the first shot at the guy behind the tree. I dumped him, and then that's what, you know, they opened up on us. We were in a -- a tree bed, which provided some cover. Axelson, Matt flanked to the left, Danny was on the radio calling in for reinforcements and also covering our right side and then Mikey, our OIC, he was hanging out in between everybody running back -- because you couldn't hear anything, there was so much gunfire, trying to figure out what was going on, getting information from Mikey. He was like locating up -- talking up my position, telling me to, you know, basically to get it on, because we were getting overrun. And then Axe was flanked out so far that he was covering our left side that Mikey had a long stretch to get -- to get to. Once we started getting overrun, I mean every time we'd -- we'd take somebody down, sir, somebody would fill their position. And they had every one of our -- you know, every angle covered that it was -- it was impossible to take everybody out.

GLENN: All right. We're going to -- I'm going to stop you here for just a second because I have to take a break.

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. Sorry.

GLENN: No, please. We're talking to Marcus Luttrell. He is telling us a story about four SEALs, four Navy SEALs that were in Afghanistan that because of the rules of engagement, let some goat herders that stumbled across them, let them go. I'll tell you now we're at the part of the story where there's over a hundred Taliban now surrounding them. We'll tell you what happened, how many did they kill, and what happens to the four Navy SEALs. And most importantly, they did take a vote on, should we let these goat herders alone? They looked at it and said, my gosh, we'll go to prison if we don't. How did they vote? How did Marcus vote? And who's alive? We'll continue the story here in just a second.

GLENN: Marcus has a new book out. I gave you the name even though it spoils the -- part of the ending of the story. The book is called Lone Survivor, between 150 and 200 Taliban against four Navy SEALs. He hasn't even really gotten to the story yet, and when you see how our hands are tied, you'll understand why the ratings for the president and Congress are as low as they are and why people say, but they misunderstand, why they say, this is all about the war. It is about the war, but it's about the fact -- the reason why we're -- we're looking at these politicians in such contempt and disgust right now is because they are tying our military's hands. And unless you're going to unleash these guys and give 'em a fighting chance, it is immoral to fight a war like this.

So let's go back to Marcus. Okay, so the Taliban, they have you surrounded. They -- every time you shoot one, another one takes his place. Then what happens?

LUTTRELL: Excuse me, sir. We lapped it up there for a good while. Like I said we were in some -- a good grove of trees that was providing ample cover and concealment from -- from all the different angles, but eventually they had maneuvered around to where they could -- where they can get in on top of us. I remember gunfire -- strafing underneath my rifle and also came in a tree that had -- had my left shoulder held up against. I looked back at Mikey. I was like what's the call, sir, and he was just like, you know, initial, he was just -- something like that, an ambush like that, you're supposed to rush an ambush. However, two -- two things played into that. One is the fact that it was so seep that we couldn't climb up -- we couldn't rush the ambush and fire at the same time, which was good because we didn't know how many people we were up against. If we'd have come over that ridge --

GLENN: And saw 200.

LUTTRELL: It would have been tough. It would have been a tough fight. But --

GLENN: At what point did you think we're all dead.

LUTTRELL: No, sir.

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: I didn't. We were doing good. We just --

GLENN: Hello? Hello? We lost him. Somehow or another his phone dropped out. Can you -- Dan, can you call him real quick, get him back on? Get him on the phone again real quick.
What's amazing about this story, and you're going to hear, he called for a helicopter, they called for backup. It came. Wait until you hear what happened there. You are going to see in the next few times who our enemy really is, and how much they hate and us what lengths they will do, what lengths they will go through, they will jump any hoop to kill us.

It is the story, the goat herders, well, let's just let 'em go, we're your friends, your American. They don't want any part of it. And then you will see in a minute how they manipulate the media and how our troops are literally on the ropes all the time.

I -- you know, I really honestly hope that there are people in Washington that are listening right now. I mean listening, not hearing. They -- they say they're on these listening tours. No, they're not. They're to hearing tours. They need to listen to people like this. Marcus?

LUTTRELL: I'm sorry, sir.

GLENN: That's okay. All right, so you can't rush, you've got more people coming. What happens?

LUTTRELL: I look back at -- at Mikey, and I was -- I don't know if you're in this part, but I'm getting shot up pretty good up here, so he said fall back to my position. So when I stood up, I fell completely, you know, I started tumbling, pinballing in between those trees, and so did he. And this was for about 50 meters, if I remember correctly.

GLENN: Now, this is going down a very steep -- I'm guessing rough terrain hill?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. In the grove it was -- we were -- we were lucky, it was mostly dirt and trees, so bouncing out of trees wasn't bad but I guess the best way to describe it would be a double black diamond for people who ski.

GLENN: Yeah.

LUTTRELL: So once we came out of the tree line, it kind of lipped, it had a lip, and we took off. And then what we thought was -- was grass and dirt turned out to be boulders and trees that had been shot down and the grass just growing up in between. So Mike and I tumbled down that for -- for another 50 to 70 yards, and finally came into two huge trees that had been cut down that were laying over the top of each other, and we took cover behind that. They came out of the tree line, I mentioned they opened up on us with the RPGs and the mortars.

GLENN: Okay, there's only two of you now. There's just the two of you down there. Where are the other two?

LUTTRELL: Axelson was still off on our left flank, keeping us safe over there. And then Danny was still up in the tree line on the radio calling in for the QRF.

GLENN: What is the QRF.

LUTTRELL: Quick reactionary force, as a backup.

GLENN: All right. How far away --

LUTTRELL: -- body that we were going to -- was to come in and take down the target once we visualize our objective.

GLENN: How far away, how many minutes away were they supposed to be?

LUTTRELL: They were about 20 to 30 minutes, sir.

GLENN: And did he give you any indication that he had reached them and that they were on their way?

LUTTRELL: Excuse me. Once -- once Mikey and I had picked up in the trees, Axelson had come tumbling down his side off to the left flank, just like we were down the middle. It was kind of surreal to see just exactly how it was, how hard we fell.

GLENN: Okay, hang on just -- I've gotta take break here. Helicopter is on the way. More on this amazing story, true to life, next.

GLENN: We are spending a few minutes with Marcus Luttrell today. He is -- he's a former Navy SEAL. He was on a -- he was on a mission to target and monitor a -- a high-ranking Taliban official. They were undercover. They were hidden. They were stumbled upon by a couple of goat herders and a 13-year-old boy, Afghanis. They decided to take a vote, do we kill them, or do we let them go? He said that they could feel it, they could see it in their eyes they had contempt for the Americans. And they took a vote. And they decided -- and it was a close vote. They decided that they couldn't kill 'em because if they did kill them, they were so good, the Taliban was so good at manipulating our media that it would turn into a firestorm and then it would be a political witch hunt, and these four SEALs would go to prison, and they said they'd rather -- they'd rather die trying to fight these guys than go to prison. So they let the goat herders go. The goat herders then leave.

Forty-five minutes later, there's about 200 Taliban that are surrounding our four Navy SEALs. They are holding strong. All four of them are still alive at this point. And they are now down kind of in a bottom of a ravine and a giant cliff next at them, and the Taliban is everywhere. They have called for reinforcements, and the helicopter is on the way. It's about supposedly 20 to 30 minutes away. Welcome Marcus Luttrell again to the program. Okay, so Marcus, you're down at the hill, the helicopter is on the way. What happens next?

LUTTRELL: No, sir. Actually what happened was, when Danny -- he had been shot a couple times while he was trying to make radio communications with our QRF, so they didn't -- once he came tumbling down, he was the last man to come down the mountain, he tumbled right into me, actually, and asked him, did you get the call off and he was no, so we didn't have any reinforcements at that time. So --

GLENN: You still had -- you still had the radio?

LUTTRELL: No, sir. No, sir, we didn't. Basically we just kind of set up shop behind these two trees -- or that had fallen down and were firing back up at the enemy. We tried to maneuver to get to the high ground a couple of times to get advantage, but they just stacked up and pushed us back down. And the only way we could go then was about a 40-foot drop-off. So one by one we just kind of dumped off, which was probably the toughest part because it -- we hit a grove of bushes and fell an extra ten feet and then they came in over the top of us and Danny got hit a couple more times right then.

We got -- we maneuvered our way out of the -- out of the little ravine there and back up into the -- onto the -- into the middle of the draw to continue the fight. We were bounding back and forth, they were still unloading on us with RPGs and -- and mortars. We had separated to either side of each -- each cliff there, and what was so hard about it was that like a guy would walk about ten feet and then you'd -- he'd just disappear, you know, off a boulder or behind a ridge, so we didn't really have line of sight with each other the whole time, which is -- is not really the way we do business.

But we did the best we could. And one by one, you know, everyone just kept getting shot. There was -- there was one particular time when Danny and I were together, he had taken about four or five rounds into the body, one through his lung, one had blown his thumb off. That's the reason he can't -- he had to give up the radio, because it was shot out of his hand.
He and I were standing there, I was trying to maneuver back, and then a Taliban militia came over a rock, a ledge, he had us dead to rights. And then Axelson took him out about 20 yards over my left shoulder. We started maneuvering back, and then one by one, Danny was the -- was the first guy we lost. Just -- I'm sorry, sir.

GLENN: That's all right.

LUTTRELL: We -- you know, we kept moving the best we could. We just -- inevitably we were running low on ammo. They had come underneath us from the village that we were monitoring so they had us in a 360 degree pen, so no matter where we hide or any kind of location we'd set up in to take the enemy on, it was just -- they had a clear shot on us. Matt and I had positioned ourself on the left ridge. He had taken a round to the head and walked down towards me, and then I looked up and that's when I saw our OIC walk out into the middle of the draw there onto a rock, the highest point he could get to, break out our phone, and make communications back to our base for the QRF. He took at least one round that I know of to the back, if not two, it kind of dumped him over, he continued with the phone call, hung up the phone, grabbed his rifle, and went back to fighting. And then he flanked left behind some rocks. I couldn't see him anymore. Matt had worked his way past me, and we were -- we were -- all three of us were on the left side. Mikey was engaging the enemy as hard as he could, and then he just -- he was just overrun. Because once you fell down past a certain point, there was no way we could get back up to reinforce each other. You understand what I'm saying?

GLENN: Yes.

LUTTRELL: It was just -- it was too steep. And that's -- you know, I lost Mikey, and it was just Matt and I. We had worked our way down underneath a little embankment, and there was another log that was kind of giving us multiple cover. Matt had broken out his med kit and tried to bandage up where he had been hit in the head, and I just remember he and I were sitting underneath there. He didn't even have it over the wound actually. He was kind of -- he was still coherent, he was still talking to me, but, you know, we knew -- we knew that was pretty much it. We were -- we were done for, we were outta ammo by then. And that's the only problem was we were such a small unit that we weren't set up to take on a -- that's not our job to take on a force like that. We're to go in and out and then that's it.

GLENN: What was your -- what was your conversation like? The two of you.

LUTTRELL: It was -- it was comical at first, you know, it was like -- I was like yeah, I think we're going to -- you know, we're going to freaking die here bro, and he was like yeah, looks like this is a good spot, you know, I mean -- I was evaluating his wounds, I was a medic, and he was just like, you know -- he -- he knew, you know, he was like, you know, stay alive, was like telling me life all over and keep going. And then a RPG -- about that time an RPG had come into our position and hit that tree and this other thing and flew -- it blew me out and back over this ridge. And I was knocked out then, sir.

When I -- when I came to, I was upside down and paralyzed from the waist down. I couldn't even feel my legs. So I rolled over, my rifle was laying there next to me, I grabbed my rifle, I belly crawled about 20 to 30 meters into the side of the mountain and wedged myself in between these rocks, covered myself from the waist up with rocks. My legs were mangled into these trees. I took some mud and packed into the -- into the heavy bleeders that I had in my leg and tried to pull out some of the frag from the RPG, but just wasn't happening. I waited, heard the Taliban move down into the -- into the ravine, you know, I could tell they were getting close. They were doing a lot of recon by fire trying to flush me out. They knew how many of us there were, and they could only find three of us, so it was an avid hunt for me all day.

I stayed blocked in that position for, I don't know, hours, six, seven hours, without moving. And then you could see our helicopters and stuff flying overhead, some A-10, but none of them were coming into our valley. They were going -- they'd fly in through -- in through our open airspace but then they'd go over to a different part of the -- the mountain, and I didn't understand why. I tried to turn on my beacon on my radio so they could get a fix on me, but it just wasn't happening. From all the dirt from the RPGs and just from the -- the constant fighting, you know, my tongue had a -- I had been so dehydrated my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and my mouth was -- I couldn't talk basically is what I was trying to say, so I baited there all day until initially I started getting the feeling back in my legs. In the failing sun I could see a glisten off a far canyon wall. I mean I could hear them running over the dirt rocks fair over my head from where they were running over the top, I could hear them yelling.

And I looked into my reticle, and there was a guy standing there with a silver AK, right beside a rock. I took a shot, I dumped him, there were two more guys had run up obviously I was suppressed and in this canyon so they didn't have any idea where I was at, I was covered up pretty good. They hit behind the wrong side of the rock. So I dumped those two guys, and stood up and started walking towards -- I didn't have any maps or -- or compass or go to sleep or anything. My pants had been blown off. So I kind of just used the sun for a cardinal bearing and then started walking through the mountains trying to get out of there, to a military base to find some help. I walked all night. Actually up and down -- I crawled up and down that mountain like three or four -- three times, and I stepped off of it completely twice that I know of, I took about a 150-foot fall once, I could hear aircraft overhead, I was hit -- hit my beacon, everything I could do to signal this aircraft where I was at.

GLENN: Okay, Marcus I've gotta take a break. We're running so far behind. Let me just -- let me just stop you here for a second. The story, I mean we've just scratched the surface on this story. You are a remarkable human being. And I -- I mean this with every bit in me. Thank you for everything that you and the guys like you do. We have so much faith and so much confidence in you. You are truly, truly amazing.

But there's more to the story, there's more to tell, and there's a real message that people in America need to hear. We'll be back in just a second.

GLENN: Marcus Luttrell. He is a Navy SEAL that was in Afghanistan, in harm's way, lost his team. He was alone. We're now at a point there -- I mean there's -- Marcus, there is just so much to your story. I have never -- I don't think I've ever done this in my career. I've been in radio for 30 years. But I can't -- I just can't end the story here, and I know you can't do anything next hour. Can I ask you to come back and instead of butchering and summarizing the story and the lessons that you've learned can I ask you to come back and spend another hour with me tomorrow at this same time?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. It would be my pleasure, sir.

GLENN: Because there's -- I mean this is a -- I mean I have friends who are reading your book -- I'm sorry to say I haven't read it yet. I have friends who are reading your book and they are on me like white on rice saying, Glenn, you've gotta read this book. This -- I can't -- I mean I had a guy call me last nine, 11 o'clock last night, said Glenn, I'm going to have another sleepless night. I cannot put this book down. And it's called Lone Survivor.

But there's so much more to cover, including when you are with a tribe from Afghanistan, and you had -- you pulled the pin out of the grenade and you're thinking if these guys are bad guys I'm just going to let go and we're all going to die together. We'll tell that story tomorrow.

Let me ask you two quick questions. You still a Navy -- I only have 30 seconds. I'm not even going to ask you that. Luttrell, I'll talk to you -- I'll talk to you tomorrow at the same time, all right?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir.

GLENN: Thank you very much, sir.

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir.

GLENN: I'm sorry to do that to you, audience, I really thought we could get through it more, but I didn't -- I wanted him to tell the story the way he's telling the story. And there's so much more here. Listen, if you missed any of the story, free transcript will be available later today at GlennBeck.com. You'll be able to read the story. The audio will be up there for the insiders. Please pass this on to all of your friends. Show them the transcript, and tell them to do one of two things, either listen tomorrow, or go out and buy the book Lone Survivor. The message should be heard. So please pass this on to your friends. The transcript available in a few hours at GlennBeck.com.

But first, I want to pick up our story where we left it yesterday. Marcus Luttrell. He is the author of the book Lone Survivor. He is a Navy SEAL. He was part of a SEAL team assigned to track a Al-Qaeda leader that was believed to have ties to -- or -- or -- or that was being protected by the Taliban. They went in, they were undercover, there were just four of them. They were watching this Al-Qaeda leader. They were about a mile away from him, undercover.

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

Marcus happened to be hiding under a log when a goat herder found him. Now, there are about 150 to 200 Taliban around the Al-Qaeda leader. Well, the SEAL team is discovered by these goat herders. Because of the rules of engagement and because quite honestly that's who American soldiers are, we're decent human beings, they didn't want to shoot the goat herders so they let 'em go.

Forty-five minutes later they found themselves surrounded, 360 degrees, by the Taliban. Well armed. They were trapped. They were trapped with their back up against this cliff. They actually -- they got into a firefight, just four of our SEALs against 150 or 200 Taliban.

They are trapped, they slide down this cliff. This is what he was telling us yesterday. They slide down. Marcus is -- they're all -- they're shot up, Marcus at one point is -- his pants are even blown off in an explosion that finally kills one of his friend, the third member to die.

One member of the team, he described yesterday, knew that they had to get a call out to get reinforcements, to get helicopters, to get help. So he went out, they couldn't get -- they couldn't get a signal. This guy goes out into the open where the Taliban is shooting him in the back, he makes the call, calls for help for the helicopters.

He drags himself back, dies there, but he got the call through. Now Marcus is all by himself. He's actually blown away from the firefight, so that's what really saves his life. He goes down another hill. He's kind of trapped in between some rocks, hiding. He sees the heterosexuality. He can't get his beacon to work so the helicopter can't find him and he can't go out in the open because the Taliban will kill him.

This is where we left the story yesterday. We're going to pick it up now with Marcus Luttrell. Marcus, what an honor to speak with you again today, sir.

LUTTRELL: (Unintelligible), sir.

GLENN: Okay, so we left you last -- yesterday on the program. You were trapped, you were so thirsty, your tongue was stuck to the roof of your mouth, you were looking at the helicopter, you couldn't get their attention. What happened then?

LUTTRELL: Basically I had to wait there all day. The Taliban were running around the mountain -- I could see them on the -- on the farthest ridge and above me, and below me. So I couldn't really move. Again, like I said, I was paralyzed from the waist down, so I was pulled some rocks over top of me and stuffed some mud in my legs to stop the bleeding from the shrapnel and stuff that I had taken from the RPG. I still had my rifle with me. So I sat there all day and I tried to make communications with the helicopters, but it was -- just wouldn't happen. And toward the -- I could hear the Taliban move down into the ridge, actually, that we had fallen into. You know, I was -- finish the job they had started with my friends. And -- and there was nothing I could do. You know, I couldn't move. I was just paralyzed.

I started to regain feeling back in my legs, from there throughout the day. It must have been -- eight hours, I can.

GLENN: Marcus, tell me -- tell me where -- what was wrong with your legs? Were you -- were you shot? Was it just from the fall? What was going on? What was your physical condition?

LUTTRELL: When I came to, I was upside down, sir, and -- I had frag and pieces of metal and shards sticking out of my legs on that -- I really don't know why I couldn't -- couldn't move. I guess I had hit a nerve or pinched a nerve in my back or something. Because when I -- when I rolled over and belly crawled inside that mountain p I just couldn't -- I just couldn't feel my legs.

GLENN: Were they working or were you dragging myself.

LUTTRELL: No, dragging myself. I drug mites to the side of that -- that cliff. And I remember when I was packing my legs full of that mud that I was laying in, I really couldn't feel anything. And then as the day went on, you know, started getting feeling back in my legs, I remember the pain started coming back. That was kinda one of the down sides of getting -- getting feeling back in my legs.

GLENN: Yeah. Okay, so -- so now you're starting to feel the pain, and you're starting to feel your legs again. You hear the Taliban coming down to finish the job. Then what?

LUTTRELL: As the day progressed and the -- and the fading light -- like I said, I didn't have any -- my pants had been removed from the -- from the blast. I didn't have a compass or GPS, so I was using for a cardinal bearing on which direction I was going to move.

I saw a glimmer or shine on the -- on the far side of the mountain, and so I -- I reached -- I kind of leaned down into my scope of my gun and I crossed the canyon wall there and saw a guy standing there with a silver AK. I remember I was kind of -- that struck me as unusual, I'd never seen one of those before. And he was just kind of sitting there scouting everything out, looking for me.

They knew how many of us there were. Obviously they all did. It was them and two other guys, and they were I guess a recon team is what I'd say, trying to -- trying to find me. So I dumped him, and then the other two guys came up, they had no idea where I was at. I was suppressed, and I was locked in on that canyon wall pretty good. And the rock they went and hid behind, they hid on the wrong side, they hid on my side so I could still see them. So I dumped those two guys. And I stood up, as best I could, I started walking, crawling, kind -- you know, I could only go about 20 yards before I'd have to rest and then I just moved all night and well into the next day up and down that mountain, trying to -- to get to some water and to that military base.

I actually stepped off a mountain completely two times. I fell 150 feet at least once. I remember falling this particular tree, I was blacking out. The next day, the -- the sun finally came up while I was moving. And I guess the Taliban had been tracking me all night. And they shot me again as I was coming down the backside of this ridge, three weeks ago had a -- tracked me down and once again got a shot off that -- that made contact with the back of my leg. And I fell at least -- at least 2,000 feet on this one, if not a foot -- it was long. It was the longest one that I had -- that I had gone down. And I landed face down in between these two ridges. I rolled -- you know, I rolled over -- I couldn't even move, I was -- I was in a lot of pain now, and I rolled over on my back, I remember I was looking up, just kind of wondering what the heck happened, and there was two guys up on the top of this ridge taking shots at me with an AK, and there was another guy to their left that was spotting me out. And then I was on the ground --

GLENN: Marcus -- at what point, or did you ever say, I'm not getting outta here?

LUTTRELL: No. That wasn't really an option, sir, you know, I was just thinking how pathetic it was these guys couldn't kill me.

GLENN: (Laughing.)

LUTTRELL: I didn't want to -- I wasn't -- I never gave up. I just -- that wasn't an option. I just -- I was like damn, why don't these guys just get the job done, you know.

GLENN: (Laughing.) They were pissing you off.

LUTTRELL: I was getting tired, sir.

GLENN: Yeah.

LUTTRELL: And I was really thirsty, and -- and I was hurt, I was hurt pretty bad by this time. I was thinking, I mean, goddamn, (unintelligible) thing, I wish these son of a guns could get the job -- I was -- by that time I was trying to scream it out loud, I was just like, you know, why can't you -- I couldn't talk, though, because, you know, the mud and so dang dehydrated, and also drink my own urine. That's how thirsty I was.

So once I started crawling up the ridge, trying to get away from these guys -- I wasn't going to sit there and die, you know. I mean I wanted them to get it done but I wasn't going to give it to them. I worked my way into this -- into a rock embankment kind of like -- like, it was huge, big rocks, like pick up trucks like stood on their tailgate on the -- on the -- on the end, you know, and I worked my way into their and their high ground turned into my level ground so the playing field was equal. And as soon as that happened it was game -- it was game over for them. I executed all three of them. Once again was trailing me and the other two guys had walked up on me, right next to the rock beside me. I let him get within about ten feet of me, and I shoved a grenade in between both of them and took off. So I crawled four more miles -- I couldn't walk now -- I crawled four more miles until I found water.

GLENN: Now, was this -- this -- when you say crawling, hands and nieces, or are you pulling or dragging yourself because your legs are --

LUTTRELL: I was hands and needs and dragging, both. I couldn't move. And -- my legs were so busted up. You know, and then once I got shot I was -- you know, I just -- I couldn't move.

GLENN: Where were you shot?

LUTTRELL: In the back of my left leg.

GLENN: Okay. So you drug yourself four miles.

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. Up and down those mountains. And finally got to some water. And I don't know how I did it, but I somehow managed to get to the highest point on the mountain. And I -- I scoped down and was scouting out the area where -- and I found this pool of water that I saw, that I wanted to drink from. So I started to slide down the mountain to this particular area, you know, which I thought was kind of like a fountain of youth, so to speak, and my legs gave way and just started sliding. And I mean I slid all the way down the thing. I reached out to grab a tree, a little pine tree or -- or whatever it was, to stop my fall, and all it did was flip me upside down. So I took a header on the way down the thing till finally I came -- I mean I landed in the water. And I just remember trying to scream and -- but none of it was coming out because all the mud and stuff in my mouth and, you know, I was so dehydrated and I remember looking over while I was sliding down the ground and my rifle was sliding down beside him -- I couldn't throw that thing away. I couldn't get rid of it. Every time something bad would happen to me this thing was right beside me. So I -- you know, can't explain it, sir, but just -- just lucky -- you know, luck, I guess. I kind of took flight a little bit and landed in this water, and then when I came to again, my gun was still sliding down the mountain and it actually landed on top of me. I remember the barrel hitting me in the face. So I rolled over, and -- because the water woke me up, was running to the back of my neck, instead of drinking the water exactly where I was at, I remember crawling about 200 feet, you know, I was just like I'm going to go to that pool of water that I found. And I took my gloves off and sat my rifle down and washed my face and hands and then started drinking. And it was the best water ever, ever had in my whole life. I remember thinking -- I can die here, this is a good place to die. I can -- nobody can get in here, no helicopter or anything because I was deep in the mountains, but, you know, at least I wasn't thirsty. That was the thing. Being thirsty is the worst -- I never felt pain like that before, you know, I've been through a lot of stuff, you know, died -- almost died countless times, shot, you name it, but that -- that feeling right there was the worst. And as soon as I started drinking that water about three minutes into it, you know, three more guys showed up and started yelling at me. And I was just like, unbelievable. I really got upset, I was okay, I'm going to go put my gloves back on or what was left of them, I'm going to grab my rifle I'm going to kill these guys real fast and I'll be right back. I don't know I was talking about it, I was kind of out loud or loud as I could, okay, I'm going to go kill these guys real fast, I'll be right back. I was talking to that waterfall, don't go anywhere, please, you know, I was still thirsty, you know, I didn't get my fill, so sure enough, I -- I strapped my gloves -- what was left of my gloves, I felt with my grips because my fingers had been worn out on the fall I had taken the day before, and I started crawling and hobbling, you know, off the backside of this mountain, and they were tracking me. And they pinned me. They pinned me into this wall that I couldn't get around. I remember.

GLENN: Okay, now, these are Taliban again?

LUTTRELL: Well, that was my understanding at the time, sir, is that they were, you know, Al-Qaeda or Taliban, so once they pinned me against this wall, I couldn't move, and I just remember, we're -- you know, when I go -- when I deploy overseas, I wear this St. Christopher medal around my neck. I put it in my mouth when I get into a gun battle, so I put my -- I put that metal into my mouth, and I was just like, okay, let's get it on, you know, I was cussing, I was just like, you know, God give me strength, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff I say before I engage. And I swung around to engage these two guys -- to engage this once again, he dug me out of the tree he could still see me and these other two guys were flanking around and there was annoying I could do. I mean actually in a spot where I couldn't engage. And then about a minute and a half later, as I was scoping these guys who came out of the corner, I had a guy in my crosshairs, you know, a split second before I pulled the trigger three guys came over this ridge behind me about 15 to 20 feet and started screaming at me.

GLENN: Okay, stand by, stand by. We're going to take a break here and we'll find out what they were screaming here in just a second.

GLENN: We're going to pick it up with Marcus Luttrell here in just a second. We only have about 45 seconds before we go into a break. One of the most amazing stories I think I've ever heard, I don't even know if he's received a medal. You know, I told him yesterday I think one of the most amazing things about this story is that we haven't heard about it until his book came out, Lone Survivor, and the media covered the helicopter that was shot down. The media said, 19 soldiers lost, three Special Forces and 16 on a chick automatic helicopter. You remember hearing that story. But you don't remember hearing what heroes these guys were. Luckily, there was a lone survivor to tell the story and he'll continue to tell the story. We haven't even gotten to the amazing part yet, the just incredible part on who actually saved him. We'll get to that here in just a second. And what lessons should we learn from that? Coming up in just a second, and it's Closed Line Friday. Your number to call is 888-727-BECK. Anything at all on your mind, whatever you want to discuss, if you've been hearing something this week and you want -- you want to get it off your chest, you call now, let the nation hear your voice. The number is 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK. Back in a flash.

GLENN: I want to tell you about a couple things that you may not know. There's a couple things that we do now that are brand-new. Our newsletter which is absolutely free, you can get it every day, and it includes transcripts from the show. Yesterday just a ton of people opened up the transcripts. And you can also see the video of it, or listen to the audio, whichever you prefer. But that happens every day. And a ton of people opened up the transcripts yesterday from our interview, which is continuing now with Marcus Luttrell. But you can sign up for the newsletter. You get it every day in your mailbox absolutely free. Just sign up at GlennBeck.com.

There is something else that I want to tell you about that is also free. The second annual national insider convention for insiders only -- and I don't even think I've announced this to the insiders yet. We're doing a special show for the insider convention. This is the second annual that we've done. This isn't something that we -- you know, this is something we do not because we make money on it but because we love the insiders and they've been so gracious to us for signing up and being part of that, that this year, last year we had a little thing where we had a get-together, you know, and had a question and answer. This year I'm going to give them the -- I'm going to give them parts of the stage show. We've rented a theater near in New York and we're going to just have people come and you can watch the stage show and then we might do some question and answer, and ad-lib and everything else. But that is happening at the insider convention. That is happening in New York City August 17th and 18th. That's a weekend, August 17th and 18th. It is free for insiders. You find out all the details at GlennBeck.com. Okay. So Marcus now, you had -- you had people that were screaming at you. You thought they were Taliban, or possibly Al-Qaeda. You had them in your sights, you're about to pull the trigger. You are a Navy SEAL, the rest of your team has been killed, you've been tracked now in Afghanistan for we're talking 24, 30 hours at this point?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. Well, a little more.

GLENN: Okay. And you are -- you -- you're just -- you just were refreshed with water. You've been shot. You could barely walk. You've drug yourself almost a total of seven miles. And who are these people?

LUTTRELL: Well, it turns out they were the -- the villagers. When I -- right before I had taken a big fall into that water, stoked -- stoked out the area I could see the village in the distance, and I guess they heard -- they heard me falling or for some reason they were up there -- they were up there getting water or whatever reason. When they start chasing me, and I came -- I hit that wall that I couldn't get past and these guys came over the ridge, when I swung around to -- to kill this guy, again, he -- he was close enough where I didn't even have to get to my sights. You know, I had my gun on my -- at the low ready.

GLENN: He was carrying a gun?

LUTTRELL: Sir?

GLENN: Was he carrying a gun?

LUTTRELL: No, sir.

GLENN: Okay.

LUTTRELL: Neither of them were. And immediately he threw his hands in the area he was like okay, okay, American, American, kept saying. And I didn't really understand what was going on. I -- I had a big Texas flag, subdued Texas flag patch on my chest that I wear on my -- my H-gear. And he was looking at that. And I was -- he was just like okay, okay. I was just like what the hell is going -- you know, I was looking at the whites of his eyes. You know, I was ready to kill this guy. Because the last guy who looked at me, you know, I put a bullet in, like that, so it was kind of confusing. But he wasn't -- he wasn't really, you know, like he was trying to -- he was totally submissive. And then the two guys who were chasing with the AKs came around the corner with them flung behind their backs. I didn't even what was going on, but they wouldn't approach me while I had my rifle up at the low ready. And he just kept saying okay -- and I was yelling, Taliban, Taliban, and they were like no, no. Making all these hand gestures, this, that, and the other. I was confused, sir. I didn't really know what was going on. So I lowered my rifle but I -- I pulled a grenade out and the jerked the pin out and I just sat on that, and I was all right, if something goes wrong, screw these guys, gist going to take us all out, because I wasn't for sure what their -- what their agenda was. And as they were walking toward me I was just like hey, I've been shot, I need help. You know, I was like I just had doctor or hospital, and they sat down, they were, you know, looking around, he rolled me over, and I could see the blood flowing from the back of my leg, he made a face -- didn't speak any English, sir, whatsoever. Except I remember this kid walking up, and he sat down, by this time there was like five or six of them and he was -- he was looking at me and he made a gesture falling down, they watched me fall down the cliff and they got a good laugh out of that, and then he was -- one of the kids just said, hydrate? And I was like where the hell did you learn that word. I was like yes, hydrate so they gave me some water. And then they picked me up and carried me about 200 yards down the mountain into their village, and from there, they laid me down, the doctor had pulled some shrapnel out of my leg, bandaged up the place --

GLENN: At what point did you put the pin back in.

LUTTRELL: At one point -- they kept trying to take my gun away from me. I wouldn't let them. I never relinquished my weapon. I had the grade in one hand with the pin wrapped around my pinkie finger -- or my middle finger, and I had my rifle in the other hand. And they carried me down the mountain like that.

Well, I kept that as they worked on my leg and for about 30 to 45 minutes. And eventually I was, okay, I couldn't hold the grenade in my -- put the pin back in the grenade, which is a -- you know, you don't do that; that's kind of a big no-no. I didn't know if it was going to go off or not, but I didn't care. Put it back in my H-gear. And then they put me -- their local -- what they wear, I call it man jammies, I don't know exactly what their proper term was.

GLENN: Who would have guessed you were a Texan, man. All right. So now you're -- now you're in man jammies.

LUTTRELL: Yeah. They put these man jammies on me. I remember, I finally had to use the restroom. I was like, I need to use the rest -- so they take me outside to use the restroom, and, you know -- and their custom, you know, you have to squat, even if you're a man to use the bathroom. So they were pushing down on my shoulders, and I was, look, I can't -- you know, get your hands off of me. Well, I fell, and they just thought that was the funniest damn thing. And by the time I --

GLENN: It's like a tribe of Jerry Lewis?

LUTTRELL: Right.

GLENN: Like they're into slapstick.

LUTTRELL: Right. The kid -- the adolescent and the young kids thought that was great, because you know, I was trying to tie these pants, you know, my thumb -- my hand's all busted up, I couldn't tie these pants, I had to have someone tie the pants for me, and they just thought that was great. With my I turned around and my rifle was gone. So I freaked out, I was like, I -- I was -- held my rifle, they were like Taliban, Taliban. Like the Taliban is here? I look, definitely need my rifle. This, that, and the other so they dragged me into this room and I'm sitting on the edge of this bed, kind of waiting for a second and then not two minutes later the doors bust down and there's the Taliban come in, you know. I really don't talk about what happened after that. You know, they had me all -- they had me all day. That's kinda when I found out about the helicopter crash, and I'll just leave it at that. You know.

GLENN: Wait, wait, wait, I'm not going to ask you specifics, I'm not going to make you relive that, but were -- were the people that were doctoring you in bed with the Taliban, or --

LUTTRELL: They had actually moved -- that was the problem, sir, is that there were some villagers that were sympathetic to -- the village elder and Golan the Sorrow (sp) the sympathetic to keeping me safe. And there were some villagers who wanted to turn me over for the -- for the reward -- for the money that the Taliban were offering up and the bounty, you know. That I was big deal, they had an American soldier in their village and the Taliban wanted me bad.

GLENN: All right, so now they are doing whatever it is that they're doing.

LUTTRELL: Right.

GLENN: Do you address this in the book at all or not?

LUTTRELL: A little bit.

GLENN: -- happened?

LUTTRELL: I touch on just a little bit but not -- you know, it's just kind of one of those things I keep to myself.

GLENN: Sure. So they had you for how long?

LUTTRELL: All day. They had me all day, then they came -- I -- it was well into the night, they came down to kill me. They were coming down to kill me because the villagers, three villagers busted a door down, and another one came in, and they carried me down the mountain and tossed me in this cave for about 26 or 30 hours is my best guesstimate. I didn't know -- it was dark. I didn't know -- I didn't know -- they left me there. I didn't know what was going on. I mean -- you know, I lost my mind on that day because there was gunfire going on, we had rocks falling on top of me, and I couldn't move, I didn't know where I was at or where any of those villagers were at. I remember at the end, there was a guy -- I could hear somebody coming up the trail towards that cave. It was like in a wash, sort of, area. And just thinking like, you know, I didn't have a gun or anything. A dirt clod in my hand. And I seen an AK muzzle come -- come around the corner. You know, I just lost it, I was just like, you know, I was so upset that I couldn't do anything. Turns out it was a villager coming to check on me, but I didn't know that at the time, all I see was the damn gun muzzle. And when he came around that corner, I -- I was like, you gotta get me -- I was like all right, you know what? My Monday meter is pegged -- I was thinking this out loud, get me the hell out of here, I don't want to play this game anymore, I'm sick of being here, you know, where his my mother, just like it was -- I don't know who got pissed off at my life but whatever I did, I was paying for it, kind of thing.

GLENN: Stand by. We're going to -- we're going to pick the story up here in just a second. Back in a flash.

GLENN: We're talking to Marcus Luttrell. His book is Lone Survivor. He is the lone survivor of a SEAL team that went into Afghanistan to hunt one particular Al-Qaeda leader protected by the Taliban. They were discovered, and it is -- it has been a two-day, two-hour journey, and we're not at the end of the story and yet we're going to have wrap it up because we've gone to two hours. That's why there's a book on this. Marcus, I've only got two minutes left and I hate to do this. Can you -- can you tell us quickly in two minutes how this story ends?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir. Ultimately, the villagers saved my life. They -- they put their lives on the line and the lives of everybody in their villager, their sons, daughters, they moved me around from place to place. The Taliban encircled the village and shot every day to come and get me and take me and they wouldn't let 'em. So the collaboration between every force -- Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, the SEALs to get me out there --

GLENN: Have we paid -- have we paid that village back?

LUTTRELL: Yes, sir.

GLENN: What did we do for them?

LUTTRELL: Resupplied them -- while I was there I saw a resupply come in and then we built a road in -- into their village and generators and Golad (sp), one of the main guys who saved my life, he got a job as one of the -- the Air Force Bases there. In their -- in their custom, you don't just reward one man, you reward the village and put it in his name so it gave status. So as long as I was still -- you know, when I was in the military, trying to keep up with it -- I went back overseas to Iraq after all this happened, I kind of lost touch with him, but from -- from me keeping tabs on him, that's -- that's what I know that we had done for him.

GLENN: What an amazing story, Marcus, and I know you came home and you spoke to all of the families of the -- the helicopter pilots and the crew of the helicopter, the Chinook that lost their lives trying to rescue you and you met with all of the family members of the -- the other three members of your SEAL team. You are a remarkable man, and I -- I am so glad to know that you are not unique, that we have military full of people like you. Thank you so much for being on the program, sir, appreciate it.

LUTTRELL: Thanks for having me, sir.

GLENN: The name of the book is Lone Survivor. It is the read of the summer. Lone Survivor. Grab it now.

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