shell-back

Axelson was cited for covering a team mate’s escape and Dietz for “undaunted courage” in fighting off 30-40 Taliban militia men.

The acts of courage of Axelson and Dietz allowed a lone teammate to escape and survive, and he has also been awarded the Navy Cross, but the military has withheld his name for security reasons because he is still on active duty.

The terrible gunfight started high in some of the world’s most rugged terrain along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, when the SEAL team went into enemy territory on a secret mission to get a Taliban militia leader. Later that day, three of the SEALs lay dead, along with all occupants of a MH-47 Chinook helicopter that crashed during a daring rescue attempt.

It was the worst death toll in a single day since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, and the biggest single loss of life for the Naval Special Warfare forces since the invasion of Normandy in World War II, the Navy reported.

The unfortunate mission — Operation Red Wing — began June 27, when Axelson, Dietz, Lt. Michael P. Murphy and the fourth unnamed SEAL, bearded and camouflaged, were inserted into heavily forested terrain east of the Afghan town of Asadabad to track down militia leader Ahman Shah.

The next day, according to information that we have obtained from another source, the SEAL team was spotted by an Afghan shepherd who wandered right into their position. They captured him, but determined that he was not a Taliban soldier and decided to release him rather than harm him - knowing full well that there was some risk that this person would possibly compromise them. That’s what happened - he went back and told the story in the village and the next thing that you know, a group of Taliban soldiers showed up and attacked, killing 3 of the 4 patrol members. So when you hear any of the negative stories that the media likes to tell about American soldiers using too much force or being too quick to shoot, remember this story about 3 SEALs losing their lives for trying to do the right thing with a non-combatant.
Three of the four SEALs were wounded. About 45 minutes into the firefight, Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., made radio contact with Bagram Air Base outside the capital, Kabul, asking for air support and reinforcements. Soon afterward, the Chinook lifted off with 16 special operations troops aboard on a mission to extract the surrounded SEALs. The Chinook rushed into the fight, it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed, killing all 16 men aboard.
Meanwhile, Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, Calif., “ignoring his injuries and demonstrating exceptional composure” urged his teammate to escape, according to the medal citation. “With total disregard for his own life and thinking only of his teammate’s survival, he continued to attack the enemy, eliminating additional militia fighters, until he was mortally wounded by enemy fire,” it said. His body was recovered July 10 after a massive military search effort in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.
Dietz was lauded for “undaunted courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and absolute devotion to his teammates” as he remained behind to fight to defend his partners after he, too, was wounded.

The only surviving member of the patrol, a corpsman, is trying toget into medical school. There is word that the SEAL command is planning to put him in for the Medal of Honor.

__________________
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge. ----Daniel Boorstin
Billy Beal
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