Navy SEALS: America's Secret Warriors: Fallen Heroes - Full Episode (S2, E5) | History

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[heartbeat thumping] male narrator: They are America's elite fighting force. [rock music] - We have the toughest, strongest warriors on the planet. narrator: They are the U.S. Navy SEALs. - The movies get it wrong. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: These are the true stories of their most dangerous combat operations.... [boom] - Taking the easy route is one of the quickest ways to get yourself killed. - Man down! narrator: Told in their own words. - I got my ass behind cover. I almost got it, but I didn't. - I will never quit. I will never give up. I will go until I die or until I win. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: This is... [military radio chatter] [boom] - Get up! Get up! [boom] [gunfire] narrator: Four years into the Iraq War... the U.S. Navy SEALs are in an almost constant cycle of combat... [gunfire] [men yelling indistinctly] Trying to crush a savage insurgency that has left parts of the country in chaos. - It was a very, very catastrophic situation. [siren wailing] In Baghdad alone, there were 53 dead civilian bodies due to violence every 24 hours, and it became a death spiral. - Door! narrator: To try and stop the violence, the SEALs launch nightly raids against Al-Qaeda. ♪ ♪♪ - Suppressive fire! narrator: Never have so many SEALs been put in harm's way for so long. [tense music] It is a test of their warrior ethos: a code of honor based on courage, discipline, and an unhesitating willingness to put their lives on the line for the mission. - Well, SEALs clearly are extraordinary warriors. But it's way beyond that. It's really their ability to think in a tough situation. They can go through a door. They can precisely take out a target while avoiding innocent civilians. narrator: By summer 2007, 32-year-old SEAL Lieutenant Jason Redman has been on dozens of such missions. [dramatic sting] On a hot September night, Redman faces the fight of his life. ♪ ♪♪ [hectic radio chatter] - God damn it! ♪ ♪♪ - We went after the senior leader in Al-Qaeda for the Al-Anbar Province at that time. It was back into an area that we had been in on numerous occasions. [gunfire] We knew that, every time we'd gone into that area, we'd gotten into a fire fight, and we fully expected the same. narrator: But Redman senses something is different as he puts on his body armor plates. - I didn't always wear my side plates. They tended to restrict my movement, and they added a little more weight to you. For whatever reason, on that night as I was getting ready for that mission there was a little voice that said, "Where's your side plates?" [tense music] narrator: The SEALs chopper to the target, a compound in the city of Karmah. ♪ ♪♪ Adrenaline pumping, Redman, the Assault Force Commander, leads a raid on the compound's main house... only to find no one inside. ♪ ♪♪ But they do discover weapons and bomb-making materials. - Obviously, the enemy had been there and was using this as a location to launch from. narrator: With the target secure and being searched for intel, Redman's squad prepares to leave. - We fully expected our night was kind of done. It was about this time that our snipers started noticing quite a bit of activity on another house about 150 yards away. They watched five individuals flee out of that house and run across the street into, uh, a densely vegetated area. ♪ ♪♪ [military radio chatter] narrator: Redman and the SEALs are ordered to investigate these potential hostiles. - Copy that. We're Oscar Mike. Over. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: The SEALs enter the overgrown field where the individuals were last seen. ♪ ♪♪ - It was very tightly vegetated, and very hard to maneuver through. [military radio chatter] Hindsight being 20/20, I didn't listen to my little voice on that, 'cause it said to me, "This is a really bad situation." ♪ ♪♪ narrator: In the dense brush, some of the SEALs become separated. - We did take our American interpreter with us and he tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, the guys to the left are gone." So we did an all stop. We waited and we listened, listening for noise. [tense music] We don't want two different maneuvering elements with an unknown enemy in between us. - All right, we need to inch along left... close the gap. - So guys on the right flank said, "Let's push out." I said, "Roger that. Let's do that." We'll reconnect up, and then we'll push in. narrator: The SEALs will regroup outside the heavy brush. Redman and his team emerge into a clearing. ♪ ♪♪ - Right as we were starting to get out of the field, my medic and one of our guys literally stepped on an enemy fighter. [intense musical build-up] They saw he had a gun. They immediately killed him. - Tango down! [gunfire] Keep moving, keep moving! narrator: Suddenly... all hell breaks loose. The SEALs find themselves in the kill zone of an ambush. - All I see in front of me is muzzle blasts and rounds hitting all around us. [gunfire] [men yelling] ♪ ♪♪ And immediately, our medic was shot. [gunshot] And he took a round directly below the knee, so he's screaming. One of our other guys ran forward to grab on to him and to and to drag him back. narrator: Redman's teammates find cover. - There was a large tractor tire, a John Deere tractor tire, and that's what our guys fell back to. narrator: But Redman is pinned down in a completely exposed position just 45 feet from the enemy. [gunfire bursts] - I was trying to engage, and it was at this point that I got shot up by the machine gun. [pop] - Oh! - I took two rounds in my left elbow, which I initially thought my arm had been shot off. Felt like an electric shock had gone through my arm and just speared me right in the back of the head. My initial thought was, "Okay. You just got your arm shot off." You're gonna bleed out immediately. narrator: Redman stays focused. - I was like, okay, I gotta get a tourniquet on my arm. narrator: One-handed, Redman tries to grab the tourniquet from his gear. [tense music] - I already knew how weak I felt from the amount of blood I was losing. I knew that if I didn't get a tourniquet on, I was gonna die. [gunfire continues] [intense music] - [groans] [gunfire] narrator: Discipline in the face of death is a legendary SEAL trait. - Get down in the mud and start crawling! narrator: Maintaining focus while in severe pain is part of SEAL training. - You do live fire, and then you do simunition. Simunition is a little plastic bullet. Hurts like [bleep]. It's got-- All of us have scars. [automatic gunfire] narrator: By 2017, more special operators are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan than conventional troops, despite accounting for only a tiny sliver of the U.S. military. [gunfire] SEALs view the threat of death in a way that is hard to fathom for civilians. - The worst thing that can happen to you may not even be getting shot. [laughs] It may be letting the guy next to you down. You just don't wanna do it. ♪ ♪♪ - I didn't wanna die, but I didn't care if I did. I don't give a [bleep] about anything. My whole life's the team. - I would say in some sense we train to be supermen. We know we're not supermen, and sometimes we call in the trap to think we are. [tense music] - [groans] narrator: Lying on the ground, bleeding, his left arm useless, Redman is making a superhuman effort just to grab his tourniquet. [gunfire continues] - I had used three very heavy-duty rubber bands, and I could not break it. I couldn't get the leverage on the ground to break these rubber bands to get this tourniquet on. It was almost a "you've got to be kidding me" moment, you know? Like, here I am, I'm shot, I'm--I'm bleeding out. I need to put this tourniquet on and save my life, but I couldn't do it. narrator: There's no one to help. All his teammates have fallen back to the cover of the tractor tire. Already dazed from the wound, Redman makes a decision. - I must have looked back and saw the tractor tire and said, "That's the point of cover I gotta get back to." So I tried to run to that tractor tire, and that's when I caught the round... [gunshot] That dropped me in front of them, and they thought I was dead. And I woke up, and there was still gunfire. I remember laying there, and I couldn't quite think straight. I knew something was incredibly wrong, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. And finally, at some point, something in me said, "Your face." [intense chords] - I remember reaching up with my--my glove and touching, uh, the right side of my face. We all know what our faces feel like. And when I reached up to touch my cheek, there was nothing there. There was just a wetness and a hole, and I thought, oh, my God, you know, I've been shot in the face. [dramatic sting] narrator: The damage is severe. - The round entered directly in front of this little point of your ear. It traveled through my face. It came out the right side of my nose, taking off almost my entire nose. It vaporized a very good chunk of my cheekbone, breaking it and kicking it out to the right. [ominous music] It obliterated my orbital floor. My eye actually dropped down into this hole. [gunfire continues] narrator: The bullet missed killing him instantly by millimeters. - [indistinct yell] narrator: But Redman is in danger of bleeding out. ♪ ♪♪ [man, indistinct] - Six Actual, this is... narrator: Redman urgently needs a medevac chopper. - Al, how long for a medevac? narrator: His teammate, who Redman identifies by the pseudonym Al Joliet, is doing all he can to get one. Because of the intense enemy fire, it is too dangerous for a chopper to land. [gunfire continues] ♪ ♪♪ As desperate as the situation is, Redman has a better chance of survival than in any previous U.S. war because of the great medical advances made over the years. ♪ ♪♪ - You can be almost mortally wounded, leg is blown off, double amputee, and get to the hospital in like seven minutes. If you look, we have a lot of amputees, but we don't have a lot of dead people. narrator: By 2006, less than 10% of personnel wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq will die, compared to 16% in Vietnam. One reason is the deployment of highly trained surgeons not just in field hospitals but on medevac choppers, saving precious minutes. [continuous gunfire] Redman is well aware of his chances of survival. - I remember a statistic. If wounded service members can make it to the combat support hospital with a pulse, they have a 90% chance of making it. So I said to myself, "You have got to stay awake. "You've got to figure out a way to stay awake, 'cause staying awake means staying alive." [dark music] narrator: But he is growing weaker by the minute. No help can reach him until the firefight is over. - Rounds were hitting all around me. Rounds were hitting over me. I saw the tracer fire that was going directly over me. I had bullets that were whizzing millimeters from me. narrator: Then Redman is hit a third time. [dramatic musical sting] - I felt an impact on my side, and I remember thinking to myself, you know, ow, you know, that hurt. A bullet...basically ricocheted off that side plate. narrator: It is one of the side plates Redman almost didn't wear. - It probably saved my life. It probably would have blown out my kidney if I hadn't been wearing that side plate at the time. narrator: 30 minutes into the firefight, Redman is barely holding on. [continuous gunfire] - I was so weak that it was just hard for me to move. I felt like...took immense strength just to take another breath. narrator: Redman and the other wounded SEALs know there is only one thing that can save them-- an airstrike on the enemy position. But the enemy are right on top of them. An airstrike could kill the SEALs too-- a condition known as ?danger close." - This is One Alpha. We have unknown number of enemy hostiles, two men down... narrator: Joliet tries to call in the strike. But the crew of the C-130 gunship flying above refuses. - They said, "Absolutely not We will kill you guys. You've gotta figure out a way to move back." He said, "Listen, we're running out of ammo. "I've got three critically wounded. There's no place for us to go. We cannot move." [dramatic music] narrator: The team's last hope is to convince the AC-130 crew to fire. But Jason Redman is running out of time. - I thought this was it. That, you know, this is where I'm checking out. [continuous gunfire] - I knew that we had to win the firefight before we could bring the medevac in. What I didn't know was how long I could hang on. narrator: The SEALs are trapped and outgunned. Teammate Al Joliet calls for air support to eliminate the Al-Qaeda fighters so a medevac can land. - This is One Alpha. We have unknown number of enemy hostiles... narrator: But Redman's team is so close to the enemy, the AC-130 gunship above will not fire for fear of hitting the SEALs. - This is One Alpha... narrator: Joliet understands the danger but knows they have no other choice. - If you do not bring that fire mission, there's not gonna be anyone left down here. Do it now! narrator: Finally, the AC-130 crew relents, knowing the strike could be a friendly fire disaster. - That fire mission that they brought in was the closest fire mission in the entire Iraq War. narrator: Redman is only about 45 feet from the AC-130's target, far too close for an aircraft with such a lethal array of weapons known for practically vaporizing human targets. ♪ ♪♪ - They said, "You are acknowledging on this radio that if we kill you, you made that call." narrator: The Ac-130 gets final confirmation from the ground. - Outlaw One, you are cleared hot. You are cleared hot. narrator: The gunship responds and fires its powerful 40-millimeter cannon. - I remember hearing the sound of the 40 mike-mike go off. [artillery sound] And then all of a sudden explode in front of us. [booming] - Felt the tremor, the blast, and dirt and debris go up over us. narrator: Thanks to the air crew's world-class skill, the SEALs are not harmed, but the enemy takes a direct hit. Redman hears one Al-Qaeda fighter's last words. - I heard him moaning and calling out to Allah. And it was at that point I remember thinking, stand by, 'cause here he comes. [booming] And I think he got his wish. narrator: After the second air strike, the enemy guns are silent. The medevac chopper is cleared to land nearby. But Redman is barely hanging on. - Oh, Redman! [murmurs] - You know, whether you believe in God or whatever you believe in, I called out to God in that moment and I said, "Give me the strength to come home to see my family." [chopper blades thrumming] ♪ ♪♪ And I got up and I went from not being able to move a muscle to, suddenly, I had strength. And I-- I walked to the helicopter. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Redman undergoes 37 surgeries to repair his face and arm. He makes national news with an inspirational handwritten sign on his hospital door, imploring visitors not to feel sorry for him. ♪ ♪♪ President George W. Bush is moved by the sign and invites Redman to the White House. Redman becomes a living symbol of the SEALs' warrior ethos. - I was laying there dying. I wanted to let go. And I think that's the critical difference that people need. They need to understand that you have gotta fight no matter what. You can never quit. [tense music] narrator: on the modern battlefield, SEALs face many devastating threats including improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. [boom] - Get up! Get up! narrator: IEDs range from crude booby traps made with scavenged parts... to sophisticated explosives that can destroy heavily armored vehicles. SEALs operate with special personnel trained to combat them. They are called EOD technicians... men like Brad Snyder and Sean Bonawitz. - EOD stands for Explosive Ordnance Disposal. The EOD community are the ones who volunteer to go downrange and literally take apart bombs. - As the U.S. and coalition forces began to win and to gain control... [boom] The nature of the warfare changed. There was a lot more bombs. - Over the last decade or so, our fight has been the fight against the IED. - And a lot of people have given their life doing that. narrator: During the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, IEDs have accounted for as much as 2/3 of American casualties. ♪ ♪♪ The IED threat is on the mind of 29-year-old Dan Cnossen of SEAL Team 1 when he leads a platoon into Afghanistan to fight the Taliban in 2009. ♪ ♪♪ - It could be under the ground. It could be... just off of a footpath. It can almost be anywhere. narrator: SEAL Team 1 is relieving a platoon from SEAL Team 7, commanded by Thom Shea. - The first mission that you're on is when you shake out all the bugs and you hope you don't die. [dramatic musical sting] [hectic military radio chatter] - God damn it! [dark music] ♪ ♪♪ narrator: For Cnossen's first mission, he is only an observer. He joins Team 7 as they patrol into a nearby hotbed of Taliban activity. ♪ ♪♪ The SEALs are on edge. Taliban fighters have been spotted planting IEDs in the area. ♪ ♪♪ - We could see them every night going out and hooking up all the mines. [dramatic chord] narrator: Cnossen and Shea are in two different groups. Cnossen's element begins moving up a hill. - I was part of a small element that was going to secure a piece of key terrain that was elevated. Tactically, it's important to have ownership of the high ground. The Afghans know that, just like we know it. narrator: But according to Shea, surveillance has shown that particular area is mined. ♪ ♪♪ - And I happened to look up on this hilltop that I'd said "Do not go up that hill." We knew it was mined. And I see ChemLights leading up the hill which means they've already found mines. - They're basically little sticks that could mark ground that you should avoid. I think I was up on the hilltop maybe five minutes or so. - And...the most bizarre thing happened. The only thing I regretted in my entire life happened at that moment. [intense musical build-up] [boom] Team 7 Commander Thom Shea is nearby. He sees them moving on to high ground he considers far too dangerous. ♪ ♪♪ - I'm like, all right, I wanna stop this. I grab my radio and hit the push to talk section or the button... and right when I hit the button, the whole mountain goes off. [boom] ♪ ♪♪ - Move in! Move it up! - I remember...a flash. I don't remember any noise. I remember being on the ground. narrator: Cnossen takes the brunt of the blast, suffering terrible injuries. - The explosive was right at knee level, so blew his legs off above the knee. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Moments later, Cnossen comes to from the blast. - I had no pain, no indicating... but I couldn't get up or anything. No sensation that my legs were gone. narrator: IEDs are usually in clusters. There could easily be many more. But the operators around Cnossen-- though many of them barely know him-- follow the SEAL ethos. They rush in to aid a fallen comrade. - You're okay, buddy. - When things hit the fan, SEALs do good work. - How you doing, Dan? Stay with me, man. Stay awake. - The guys performed flawlessly, heroically. narrator: While Cnossen fights for his life. Shea is filled with remorse. - Probably the only thing I regret is that I allowed that clearance to happen. [boom] The only emotion that I have from combat was Dan. And I don't know if he's ever heard this from me, but...deeply regret what happened to him. [dramatic sting] narrator: Right now, there is no time for regret. Cnossen could bleed to death in minutes. The SEALs race to save his life. [dark music] - When the tourniquets were applied, that was quite painful, but... that wasn't even anything compared to being dragged. - All right, Dan, we're gonna move you. Ready? One, two, three. [Dan screaming] One, two, three! narrator: The SEALs must pull Cnossen across rocky terrain to quickly reach a chopper landing zone. [Dan groaning] - That was a new threshold of pain that I don't think I'll ever experience without passing out. - All right, guys, let's go. narrator: After reaching flat ground, the SEALs signal their position and put Cnossen on a stretcher. ♪ ♪♪ The area has been checked for IEDs, but there is not enough time to be thorough. ♪ ♪♪ - So we run across a mine field to clear another potential mine field for the helo to land to rescue Dan. [dramatic music] It all transpired in probably 17 minutes from the time his legs evaporated till the helo came and picked him up. [dramatic music] narrator: Cnossen now begins a week's long journey across the world from hospital to hospital. ♪ ♪♪ - I remember asking a doctor, "Are my legs gone?" And he said yes. It didn't seem like a huge surprise. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: But Cnossen is not ready to let go of his life as an athlete warrior. - I don't have a choice. My legs are not gonna come back. I'm gonna make the best of it. I want to get back. I want to run, 'cause I love running. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Within a year of his injury, he runs his first mile. But Cnossen will reach even higher in a sport that combines skiing and marksmanship-- the biathlon. - I thought, well, this is actually what I wanna do. narrator: Cnossen does it so well, he competes in the biathlon at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi. [intense musical build-up] Cnossen says he owes his new life to the SEALs who risked everything to save him. - It's really quite special to be around a group of guys that would lay down their life for you. [helicopter blades thrumming] narrator: U.S. Navy SEALs are some of the most highly trained warriors on the planet... an elite group of only 2,500 operators. [tense music] But there are thousands of specialized personnel who risk life and limb alongside them. Perhaps none face greater danger than the Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians known as EODs. - I think being a good EOD technician requires a prerequisite sort of craziness, I guess. narrator: EOD Lieutenant Brad Snyder deploys to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 10 in 2011. [dark music] It is his first time attached to a SEAL team. He quickly learns that he is now part of the SEAL brotherhood, and they always have his back. [ominous music] - So we're about to approach this village, and a guy comes out of his house. And I'm about 50 yards away from him. ♪ ♪♪ We don't know that he's a friendly, but we know that I'm exposed. All I did was kneel down. And the second I kneeled down, there were three infrared lasers on this guy's chest. Three SEALs behind me immediately addressed that threat and were protecting me. narrator: But in the coming months, Brad Snyder will have plenty of chances to return the favor. [intense music] [boom] [uneasy music] ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Early in his deployment, Snyder finds himself outside what is likely the lair of an expert IED maker. [tense music] - Clear! Clear. - Clear! - So I peeked around the edge of the building and saw--it was just a myriad of everything you could imagine from detonating cord to some jugs that looked like fertilizer to a couple football-sized mortars. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Snyder must play a deadly game of wits, because the bomb-making materials could be bait, the area wired to explode. ♪ ♪♪ - I saw a wire running up through a tree and then over this fence. [dramatic musical sting] narrator: It could be what is called a command wire connected to a detonator in the hands of an enemy nearby. Snyder makes a difficult decision: cut the wire. He hopes that will disarm any explosive, but it could do the opposite: blow the area sky-high. [intense music] [music builds] ♪ ♪♪ [snip] - Whew. - If there was a booby trap, we negotiated it safely. - It's clear! narrator: But Snyder can never let his guard down. [edgy music] ♪ ♪♪ Weeks later, Snyder and the SEALs patrol into a different village. - The particular village that we were working into we knew was an area that we had encountered trouble before. narrator: Snyder is joined by his EOD teammate who he will identify only as "Adam." ♪ ♪♪ On patrols such as this, EODs have a cardinal rule. - The path of least resistances is almost always booby-trapped. I never really wanted to walk where you might expect that we would walk. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: But two afghan commandos veer off the path that has been cleared by Adam. They move through a well-traveled area-- exactly the type of terrain most likely to have IEDs. [tense music] - Right around at 7:30 in the morning, I saw the worst thing you can possibly imagine from halfway back in that patrol. [intense musical build-up] [boom] - Two men down! narrator: One of the commandos has set off an IED. Both Afghans are gravely wounded. - So now we have a difficult situation. We have to medevac two commandos. [ominous chords] - We're good! ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Snyder moves up to the blast site. There is no time to carefully clear the surrounding ground. ♪ ♪♪ - Close it up! ♪ ♪♪ - I did my best to work that first casualty, but it was really difficult. - Hold still. narrator: Any movement across the terrain is dangerous. But Snyder must go to the back of the patrol for a litter to carry one of the wounded. - I made this tactical decision to run around to where Adam was with that other downed commando. I made this decision that I could run across that area relatively safely. [boom] Then--boom. All of a sudden, I was on the ground. narrator: Snyder has stepped on another IED. [dark music] He is barely conscious and convinced he is dead. - And I thought, am I going to heaven? Am I going to hell? - Hey brother, I'm right here. - My cognizance started to come back just bit by bit, and I started to realize Adam was calling to me. - Hey, brother. I'm right here. I'm right here. I'm here, brother. - I remember starting to panic, because now I realize I'm alive-- what's the damage like? And I remember asking Adam-- - How--how bad is it? - Your face is [bleep], man. You gonna be--you gonna be okay, though? Can you stand? - I think so. - All right, brother. - [grunts] - Let's get you up. - Let's get him out of here. - Come on. - And then I fell asleep. I kind of emerged into this sort of dream-like state in Walter Reed. narrator: Half-conscious, Snyder learns the painful truth from his doctor. - He said, "Lieutenant Snyder, you have a less than 1% chance "of being able to perceive light with your right eye. "We're gonna remove your left eye so you'll be blind on your left side." That's doctor speak for you're blind now and you'll be blind for the rest of your life. narrator: As an EOD man, Snyder's warrior ethos is the same as that of the SEALs. Self pity is not an option. - So as soon as I could get up, I was getting up. Basically this narrative was, "Dude, I'm fine." [whistle blowing] narrator: A few months later, his life takes another dramatic turn. [starting pistol fires] Snyder is a former captain of the Naval Academy Swim Team, but has not competed in years. An association for blind athletes invites him to a meet. -I went to that meet just to kinda see where I stacked up, and it ended up that I was fifth in the world at that point. Within a few months of training, I was first in the world. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: Snyder competes in both the 2012 London Paralympics and the 2016 Rio Games. He wins five gold medals. He dedicates his medals to the men doing one of America's most dangerous jobs, his brothers in EOD. - I really thought it would be incredibly selfish of me to victimize myself over the loss of my vision when I have very dear friends who didn't make it back at all. narrator: Ramadi, Iraq. 2006. In the battle to take back the city from al Qaeda insurgents, SEAL Team 3 experiences one of the most violent deployments in SEAL history. Andrew Paul is Assistant Officer in charge of Team 3's Delta Platoon. One of his junior SEALs is making a name for himself. 25-year-old Michael Monsoor. - He routinely carried more than his fair share of the weight. He was a communicator and a heavy weapons gunner. Sometimes at the same time. narrator: Early in the deployment, Monsoor drags a wounded teammate to safety, for which he will receive the Silver Star. ♪ ♪♪ He is also admired for his one-of-a-kind personality. - He had such a flair to him. - I wake up in the middle of the night, couldn't sleep, whatever. I always knew I could find this faint glow and there's Mikey. He was always awake and he always had a movie going on his laptop and he always had some food that he'd squirreled away in here. That's why we called it Mikey's Palace. ♪ ♪♪ narrator: On September 29th, 2006 Monsoor and his teammates are nearing the end of their deployment. But al Qaeda is still wreaking havoc in key areas of Ramadi. Monsoor is assigned to a mission called Operation Kentucky Jumper. It is a mission that will make him a SEAL legend. ♪ ♪♪ [indistinct radio chatter] ♪ ♪ Monsoor is on a team providing sniper protection for conventional forces, clearing an insurgent stronghold. In the morning, Monsoor and his teammates observe al Qaeda fighters scouting the area. ♪ ♪♪ The SEALs open fire. [gunfire] ♪ ♪♪ When the dust clears, the SEALs have taken out two of the insurgents. But they know the fight is far from over. [gunfire] Early in the afternoon, the enemy retaliates with automatic weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. [explosions] Unable to dislodge the SEALs, the enemy tries another tactic... one that will demand a split-second decision. - The guys were on the roof, looking to engage the enemy from where they might be coming from and from an unseen location, a guy threw a grenade up onto the roof. narrator: The SEALs are right in the grenade's path. - It hit Mikey in the chest. It landed at his feet. - Grenade! - He yelled, "Grenade," dropped down and smothered the blast. And it saved the lives of the other two guys. - Man down! narrator: Monsoor is gravely injured. ♪ ♪♪ He is evacuated, but dies from his wounds. For the men of SEAL Team 3, the news is devastating. - And you have such a strong connection to a brother the idea of losing somebody was really troubling for me. - I wanted to see him, of course it's terrible, but I wanted to see-- I wanted to see him. It's just something I had to do, Maybe I shouldn't have done it. But I go, "Where is he?" In there. I gotta see him. I unzipped the bag and I looked at him, I said, "Okay--bye brother." And I zipped it back up. Then I went back to work. ♪ ♪♪ - Grenade! narrator: As details emerge, Monsoor's heroism takes on another dimension. - The other two guys were pinned in in such a way only he had the option to potentially take cover down the stairwell. [explosion booms] But he made a clear choice that day. He says, no, you're-- you're not gonna take my friends today. I will go in their place and he gave his life for theirs. narrator: In 2008, Monsoor posthumously receives the Medal of Honor. At the ceremony, President George W. Bush is moved to tears. - Mr. and Mrs. Monsoor, America you a debt that can never be repaid. May God comfort you, may God bless America. narrator: The legacy of Navy SEALs such as Michael Monsoor, who have died or suffered life-altering wounds in America's longest period of war is far-reaching. Even when they are gone, their message lives on. A reminder to honor the warrior ethos on the battlefield and beyond. - Wow, how lucky am I? I am still alive and I have this life because men like Mikey went before us, went in our place, and I lived. When I get up in the morning, I think am I honoring Mikey's sacrifice? I would just say to my military brothers out there who are wrestling with life after the military and things like that-- we honor our brothers, guys who have died-- great men like Michael Monsoor. We honor their sacrifice. We honor them in how we live. ♪ ♪♪

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Channel: HISTORY

Views: 520,929

Rating: 4.8908224 out of 5

Keywords: History, Navy SEALs, America's Secret Warriors Fallen Heroes, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, navy seals full episodes, America's Secret Warriors, Navy SEALS seasson 2 episode 5, navy seals se02 e05, navy seals s2 e5, navy seals 2X5, navy seals season 2 clips, history navy seals, navy seals clips, watch history shows, watch navy seals, navy seals full episode, watch history full episode, navy seals full episode clips, Secret Warriors, Fallen Heroes

Id: G8RuDYQ_VFU

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Length: 40min 57sec (2457 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 12 2020