SEAL falls on grenade to save comrades
CORONADO, Calif. – A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor had been near the only door to the rooftop structure Sept. 29 when the grenade hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor, said four SEALs who spoke to The Associated Press this week on condition of anonymity because their work requires their identities to remain secret.
“He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it,” said a 28-year-old lieutenant who sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs that day. “He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs’ lives, and we owe him.”
Monsoor, a 25-year-old gunner, was killed in the explosion in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. He was only the second SEAL to die in Iraq since the war began.
The full story is here.
Froggy at Blackfive attended the memorial service for Michael Monsoor and reports back in this must-read post, In the Presence of Greatness.
The only other SEAL to give his life in Iraq was Mark Allen Lee, who was featured by Blackfive on Pundit Review Radio back on the August 14, 2006 edition of Someone You Should Know. You can listen to Mark’s incredible story here.
Real Clear Politics has a group of links for blogger reaction to the selfless heroics of Michael A. Monsoor. Check them out here.