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

Epilogue: Lone Star
On September 13, 2005, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson were awarded the
highest honor which either the United States Navy or the Marine Corps can
bestow on anyone — the Navy Cross for combat heroism. I was summoned to
the White House to receive mine on July 18 the following year.
I was accompanied by my brothers, Morgan and Scottie, my mom and dad,
and my close friend Abbie. SEAL Team 5’s Commander Lenway and Master
Chief Pete Naschek were also there, with Lieutenant Drexler, Admiral Maguire’s
aide.
Attired in full dress blues, my new Purple Heart pinned on my chest, close to
my Trident, I walked into the Oval Office. The president of the United States,
George W. Bush, stood up to greet me.
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” I said.
And the president gave me that little smile of his, which I took to mean,
We’re both Texans, right? And he said, a little bit knowingly, “It’s my pleasure
to meet you, son.”
He looked at the cast on my left wrist, and I told him, “I’m just trying to get
back into the fight, sir.”
I shook his hand, and he had a powerful handshake. And he looked me right
in the eye with a hard, steady gaze. Last time anyone looked at me like that was
Ben Sharmak in Afghanistan. But that was born of hatred. This was a look
between comrades.
Our handshake was prolonged and, for me, profound. This was my
commander in chief, and right now I had his total attention, as I would have
every time he spoke to me. President Bush does that naturally, speaking as if
there is no one else in the room for him. This was one powerful man.
I remember I wanted to tell him how all my buddies love him, believe in
him, and that we’re out there ready to bust our asses for him anytime he needs
us. But he knows that. He’s our guy. Even Shane in his leopard-skin coat