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

two weeks, during which time Mom fought a fierce running battle with the Pepsi
bottle bug, trying to get some weight on me.
Scott Whitehead’s boys had thought of everything. They even had the house
phone wired up in my new residence, and the first call I received was a real
surprise. I picked it up and a voice said, “Marcus, this is George Bush. I was
forty-one.”
Jesus! This was the forty-first president of the United States. I knew that real
quick. President Bush lives in Houston.
“Yessir,” I replied. “I very definitely know exactly who you are.”
“Well, I just called you to tell you how proud we all are of you. And my
son’s real proud, and he wants you to know the United States of America is real
proud of you, your gallantry, and your courage under fire.”
Hell, you could tell he was a military man, right off. I knew about his record,
torpedo bomber pilot in the Pacific, World War II, shot down by the Japanese,
Distinguished Flying Cross. The man who appointed General Colin Powell as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Victor of the Gulf War.
Are you kidding! “I’m George, forty-one, calling you to let you know how
proud we are of you!” That really broke me up. He told me if I needed anything,
no matter what, “be sure to call me.” Then he gave me his phone number. How
about that? Me, Marcus? I mean, Jesus, he didn’t have to do that. Are Texans the
greatest people in the world or what? Maybe you don’t think so, but I bet you see
my point.
I was thrilled President Bush had called. And I thanked him sincerely. I just
told him at the end, “Anything shakes loose, sir, I’ll be sure to call. Yessir.”
By mid-August, still being in the U.S. Navy, I had to go back to Hawaii
(SDV Team 1). During my two weeks there I had a visit from the chief of Naval
Operations, Admiral Mike Mullin, direct from the Pentagon.
He asked me to come over to the commanding officer’s office and promoted
me right there on the spot, made me a Petty Officer First Class, no bullshit.
He’s the head of the U.S. Navy. And that was the greatest honor I had ever
received. It was a moment I will never forget, just standing there in the presence
of Admiral Mullin. He told me he was very proud of me. And it doesn’t get a
whole lot bigger than that. I nearly cracked up.
Perhaps civilians might not appreciate why an honor like that means all the
world to all of us; that sacred recognition that you have served your country
well, that you have done your duty and somehow managed to live up to the
highest possible expectations.