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

the SEAL skipper, Commander Kent Pero, who was accompanied by my doctor,
Colonel Carl Dickens.
He came with me in the van, Commander Pero, a very high-ranking SEAL
officer who had always remembered my first name, ever since the day we first
met. He sat beside me, gripping my arm, asking me how I was. I recall telling
him, “Yes, sir, I’m fine.”
But then I heard him say, “Marcus.” And he shook his head. And I noticed
this immensely tough character, my boss’s boss, had tears streaming down his
face, tears of relief, I think, that I was alive. It’s funny, but it was the first time in
so long that I was with someone who really cared about me, the first time since
Mikey and Axe and Danny had died.
And I found it overwhelming, and I broke down right there in the van, and
when I pulled myself together, Commander Pero was asking me if there was
anything I needed, because no matter what it was, he would get it.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, drying my eyes on the sheet. “Do you think I could get a
cheeseburger?”
The moment I was secured in Bagram, they made news of my rescue
available. I had been in the hands of the U.S. military for some hours, but I know
the navy did not want anyone to start celebrating until I was well and truly safe.
The call went around the world like a guided missile: Bagram — Bahrain —
SATCOM to SPECWARCOM, Coronado — direct phone link to the ranch.
The regular call had come in on time at around one that afternoon, and they
were expecting another “no news” update at four. But now the phone rang at
three. Early. And according to my dad, when Chief Gothro came outside and
walked through the crowd to collect my mom, telling her there was a call from
Coronado, she almost fainted. In her mind, there could be only one possible
reason for the call, and that was the death of her little angel (that’s me).
Chief Gothro half carried her into the house, and when they arrived at the
bedroom where the phone was installed, the first thing she saw was Morgan and
my other brother, Scottie, with their arms around each other, sobbing
uncontrollably. Everyone thought they knew the military. There could be only
one reason for the early call. They’d found my body on the mountain.
Chief Gothro walked my mom to the phone and informed her that whatever
it was, she had to face it. A voice came down the line and demanded, “Chief, is
the family assembled?”
“Yessir.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Luttrell?”