News

By MC2 Christopher Menzie

PHOOOOOOOM!!!

Lt. Seth Stone paused, thinking the thundering sound he heard was a mortar landing in the distance. Then the Navy SEAL heard something else coming from his radio: the sound of pain.

It was his men, and they were in trouble.

"Grab a rifle, and let's get out of here right now!" he instructed his team of SEALs and support personnel. Stone and his men dropped their extra gear and raced down from the sniper post they had been using to protect coalition forces on the street below.

They pressed forward on the dusty path toward the source of the explosion. The team split up into two elements. While one laid covering fire toward hostile Iraqi insurgents, the other inched closer to the building where Stone's sniper over watch team was positioned. Switching roles, they steadily advanced toward the bullet-ridden Stone building where the other SEALs were known to have set up a sniper over watch.

Stone booted the door open and raced up the staircase to find a scene of chaos. Sprawled out along the floor, his fellow SEALs lay bleeding and incoherent. He saw petty officer Michael Monsoor, and understood what happened.

The 25 year old SEAL assault weapons gunner had used his body to shield the blast, protecting his teammates from an enemy grenade.

Three SEALs and three Iraqi army soldiers were saved as a result of Monsoor's actions. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously April 8 at a whit house ceremony.

President George W. Bush, fighting back tears, presented Monsoor's parents with the medal in front of 250 guests.

"The medal of honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it," the president said during the ceremony. "Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did."

Several SEALs who knew Monsoor said he stood out for his silent, professional attitude on and off the battlefield.

"He was a tough guy all around," remarked Special Warfare Operator 1^st^ class (SEAL) Tom Deshazo. "He never complained about anything. Most team guys don't complain about anything so for him to stand out in that regard, he was exceptional warrior."

Monsoor often carried a rucksack loaded with communications equipment in addition to his assault weapon and ammunition, collectively weighing more than 100 pounds.

"He had no attitude or ego that prevented him from doing exactly what I needed him to do at the precise moment I needed him to do it," remembers Stone. "Those flaws that some of us have with ego, he didn't have. So when it came time for someone to help an injured SEAL on the streets of Ramadi, he was the man to do it."

On May 9, 2006 Monsoor and a team of SEALs were providing security for an Iraqi army brigade and came under automatic weapons fire, resulting in the wounding of a SEAL. Monsoor responded with a withering hail of machine gun fire toward his enemy while dragging the injured SEAL to safety. Monsoor was awarded the Silver Star medal for his courageous actions.

Months later, the recovered SEAL had a dream in which he envisioned Monsoor coming to rescue him with a pair of angel's wings. Inspired by this vision, he had an image of the man who saved his life tattooed to his side. Inked in black is the vigilant Michael Monsoor with a pair of angelic wings, holding a machine gun and a prayer to saint Michael scrolled beside his image. Monsoor saved his fellow SEALs on the feast day of Saint Michael, Sept 29, 2006.

According to Stone, several of his men also have tattoos of Monsoor in commemoration for the man so fondly remembered by the SEALs.

"He was the ultimate teammate," commented Capt. Collin Green, who served as the commanding officer of Monsoor's SEAL team. "He had passion for his work, was loved and respected by his teammates and lived life to its fullest."

"Monsoor's selfless desire to protect his men at any cost says something about the way he was and the way SEALs are trained," said Stone. "It's something we learn during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School. We lay out lives down to some extent for our teammates, whether it's by helping them out in the surf zone, or talking them out of wanting to quit. Training gears our men to think and act in this manner, period."

Monsoor is remembered not just by the SEALs, but by the men who knew and worked with him. Army soldiers in Ramadi who had served with Michael hosted a memorial service in his honor and were present at the White House ceremony in support of the SEALs and Monsoor family. Iraqi military scouts who Monsoor helped train, sent their flag to the fallen SEAL's parents. Part of SEAL Team Three's new quarterdeck was dedicated in honor of Monsoor. His combat gear from Iraq stands encased on display.

At the White House, the president noted, "during his funeral, SEALs who passed by Monsoor's coffin, stabbed their trident warfare pins into the wood. By the end, the simple wooden box became a gold plated memorial to the man who meant the world to some of the toughest men on earth."