Lone Survivor_ The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 ( PDFDrive )

cross with honor.”
I sang those words all night. I can’t tell you how much they meant to me. I
can tell you, it’s little things like that, the words of a song, which can give you
the strength to go on. Nonetheless, the fact was I had no idea what to do.
It occurred to me I could just settle in right here and make it my last stand.
But I quickly dismissed this as a strategy. In my mind I was still committed to
Axe’s last request: “You stay alive, Marcus. And tell Cindy I love her.” Helluva
lot of good it would do Cindy Axelson if I ended up shot to pieces on the slopes
of this godforsaken mountain. And who then would ever know what my buddies
had done? And how hard and bravely they had fought? No. It was all up to me. I
had to get out and tell our story.
I was comfortable and very, very tired, but thirst drove me on. Screw this, I
decided, and I dragged myself up again and kept walking, hobbling, that is,
making the most of this apparent expanse of flatter ground. It was just beginning
to get light, around 0600. I knew that six hours from now, the sun would be in
the south, but it was such a high sun out here, almost directly overhead, and it
made navigation that much more difficult. I remember wondering where the hell
I would be next time I saw the friendly polestar.
Almost immediately I found myself on a trail which was going my way. I
could tell by the tight feel of the ground it was pretty well used, which meant I
would have to move with immense care. Trails frequently traveled invariably
lead to people, and before long I saw a house up ahead, maybe even three or
four. At this distance it was hard to tell.
My first thought was of a tap or a well. If I had to, I’d get into one of these
primitive residences and get rid of the occupants somehow. Then I could clean
up my wounds and drink. But as I grew closer I could see there were four
houses, very close together. To get their water I’d probably have to kill twenty
people, and that was too much for me. I elected to keep going, praying I’d
stumble upon a river or a mountain stream before much longer.
Well, I didn’t. The sun was up, and it was growing hotter. I kept going for
another four or five hours, and the hallucinations were getting worse. I kept
wanting to ask Mikey what we should do. My mouth and throat had just about
seized up. I could barely move my parched tongue, which was now firmly stuck
to the roof of my mouth. I was afraid if I tried to move it, it would tear the skin
off. I cannot describe the feeling. I had to get water.
Every bone in my body was crying out for rest, but I knew if I stopped, and
perhaps slept, I would die. I had to keep going. It was strange, but the thirst