Lone Survivor

[Rubiks06]

Medal of Honor Question

So heres a question. I just finished Lone Survivor. Good book gave me chills. The question comes with regards to the MOH that Lt Murphy was awarded. I absoloutly agree that his actions deserve such a decoration. There was a marine recently that was awarded the silver star and the reason given for not receiving the MOH was that there were not two other marines there to witness his actions. If this were truly the case how could Lt Murphy receive the MOH if there was only one survivor? Again i totally agree that he deserves it, i was just curious if there are hard and fast rules for being awarded.

 

[FLYTPAY]

So heres a question. I just finished Lone Survivor. Good book gave me chills. The question comes with regards to the MOH that Lt Murphy was awarded. I absoloutly agree that his actions deserve such a decoration. There was a marine recently that was awarded the silver star and the reason given for not receiving the MOH was that there were not two other marines there to witness his actions. If this were truly the case how could Lt Murphy receive the MOH if there was only one survivor? Again i totally agree that he deserves it, i was just curious if there are hard and fast rules for being awarded.

I am not sure about the lack of witnesses. Murph stood out in the open and made contact with HQ while under fire....the guy on the other end is directly involved and thus "witness" to the firefight having received the call.....this easily corroborates Luttrell's story of what happened.

 

[navy09]

I believe they had an "eye in the sky" for almost the entire engagement...not sure though.

 

[FLYTPAY]

I believe they had an "eye in the sky" for almost the entire engagement...not sure though.

Then why would Murph need to call in their posit? I don't buy that, especially since they were ambushed.

 

[bubba716]

I'm reading Lone Survivor right now and would agree with all, pretty good so far. Although I would agree that it is poorly written. A couple other good one's about the Afghan campains are "Not a good day to die" and Robert's Ridge.

 

[Crowbar]

A couple other good one's about the Afghan campains are "Not a good day to die" and Robert's Ridge.

I read those both and thought they were great.

 

[ProwlerPilot]

Since we are talking about the book, I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks about the SEALS letting the guy and his son go, which eventually led to their demise. I found the chapter about the ROE and the American press / perceptions of what they do in combat very interesting. It is definitely a hard question, but if they had not let them go, it is very possible they would not have been discovered and ambushed.

 

[Orion4life]

Since we are talking about the book, I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks about the SEALS letting the guy and his son go, which eventually led to their demise. I found the chapter about the ROE and the American press / perceptions of what they do in combat very interesting. It is definitely a hard question, but if they had not let them go, it is very possible they would not have been discovered and ambushed.

I found that part of the book hard to get through. I had a friend at BUD/S while I was reading the book. I don't know enough about the ROE to have my opinion matter, but personally, I wouldn't have let them go.

 

[bluesig1]

I'm reading Lone Survivor right now and would agree with all, pretty good so far. Although I would agree that it is poorly written. A couple other good one's about the Afghan campains are "Not a good day to die" and Robert's Ridge.

I Liked "Roberts Ridge" over " Not a Good Day to Die". Lone Survivor, was an interesting read, It was sad all those that were lost, not just the seals.

 

[DSL1990]

... Almost like Marcus just wrote down what he said when telling his story in a bar.

did you ppl see this video of marcus luttrell at the NRA convention? obviously he does spend a lot of time in bars! haha

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2507

 

[Zissou]

I Liked "Roberts Ridge" over " Not a Good Day to Die". Lone Survivor, was an interesting read, It was sad all those that were lost, not just the seals.

"Not a good day to die" was riddled with BS. Though Capt. Self's story was pretty good and very accurate.


"sad all those that were lost, not just the SEAL's" Agreed though I think you are confused. Operation REDWING is Marc's story and happened years after Neil Robert's was killed.

Marc's story of survival is extreme and the circumstances of Neil's death is legend. That is why these two men happen to be remarkable in the midst of so many men doing ballsy things. Not the Trident they happened to wear.

The "good" books will come out 15 or so years from now, when other guys are more comfortable discussing it. Marc's book was the first told from first person perspective but anyone who has met Marc can tell you that isnt him writing the words in Lone Survivor.

 

[Zissou]

Since we are talking about the book, I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks about the SEALS letting the guy and his son go, which eventually led to their demise. I found the chapter about the ROE and the American press / perceptions of what they do in combat very interesting. It is definitely a hard question, but if they had not let them go, it is very possible they would not have been discovered and ambushed.

The particular area they were in was/is BAD. If you fart? Charlie smells it.

Alot of people I know believe bad things were coming no matter what.

A tough call? Not as much as it sounds, IMO. You have to remember these mountain farmers know their land, in a way thats hard to express. When those two came up missing? Maybe 3-5 minutes? An armed party would have been on the search, and they know EXACTLY where he would have been grazing his animals.

They would have been rolled up AND been enemies with the same people who ended up saving Marc's life.

More than that I dont think any of those guys would have smoked an unarmed boy for anything. I doubt there was much debate at all. I think the "should we kill them" was a instinctive reaction to the horrible situation they just realized they were in. It passed quickly and the rest is history.

My 2 cents on it anyway