Photo courtesy Marcus Luttrell Marcus Luttrell lives in the Magnolia area with his wife, two children and dog, Rigby.
Marcus Luttrell, former Navy SEAL and author of the bestselling book "Lone Survivor," has devoted much of his life to the U.S. military—a devotion that persists even in retirement through his work to help heal combat veterans upon their return home.
Luttrell was born and raised in Texas and—along with his twin brother Morgan—began training for the SEALs when he was 14 under the tutelage of former U.S. Army soldier Billy Shelton who lived nearby. Luttrell attended Sam Houston State University before joining the U.S. Navy in 1999. He graduated SEAL training in 2001 and served in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 10 in 2005.
On June 28, 2005, SEAL Team 10—made up of Luttrell, Michael Murphy, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson—went on a mission in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan to gather intelligence on Ahmad Shah, a high-ranking Taliban official. The mission, known as Operation Redwing, quickly went awry as the team was discovered and then ambushed. The ambush claimed the lives of everyone except Luttrell, including 16 soldiers whose helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade during an attempt to rescue the SEALs.
