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Lone Survivor Essay

Example #1

The Lone Survivor was a story of four navy SEALS who came to Afghanistan for the operation against Al Qaeda leader, Sharmak, who was responsible for the tragedy of the World Trade Center. It was the turn of America to take any action against it by capturing Sharmak. Marcus, the only survivor, has told about the horrific experiences in Afghanistan and how his friends died in the mountains of Hindu Kush. During the operation, they came across three goat herders whom they suspected to be related to goat herders. The SEAL officers couldn’t decide that what they should do with them, whether they should execute the goat herders or let them go. They couldn’t trust them. They tried to get connected with headquarter, but they were not picking up the call. In the end, they decided that whether to let them free or to kill them. Morally, legally and strategically it was difficult to make a decision. This was a dangerous task that could even lead to their deaths.

If we look at this argument from a moral point of view, it is very wrong to kill unarmed civilians. Those goat herders were not friendly at all. Along with that, they even told us they were not Taliban, but we cannot trust them as their intentions were not clear. The chances are that the goat herders would tell Sharmak and his men. This would lead to serious trouble in a way that the Taliban would try to look down on SEALS. They had only two choices left, either to kill them and assure their security or to let them go and get ready to be killed by Taliban. They could save themselves or three unarmed civilians. They were there on behalf of America to take blood revenge. They knew that letting goat herders go would cost them their lives, hence they have justification for killing those unarmed civilians. However, they did not have the legal right to kill the goat herders.

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Usually, during an army mission, there are some decisions that soldiers make in order to handle matters smoothly. According to American law, they didn’t have the justification to kill the goat herders as they were unarmed. Equally, they also have a right to save their own lives. They knew they would have to spend many years in a U.S civilian jail with murderers and rapists if they would kill the goat herders. It would be better to be in jail rather than being killed by the Taliban. Along with that, if they leave them there would be signs of danger then. Moreover, it is important that a person who doesn’t kill but inform someone is equally dangerous like a person who kills. In this way, they got the chance to get killed miles away from the homeland.

Other than this, in order to save themselves, they could have found any place and hidden the bodies, and no one would have found out about killing. And then they could have been moved with their plan of tracking Al Qaeda leaders and members. It was difficult for them to let go of those goat herders during an important mission. This was the major obstacle in their mission, that’s why should have killed them. When they let the goat herders go, after a while, they would have had to consider the Taliban in battle because many Taliban with heavily loaded guns were there. Both actions, killing the goat herder and letting them go require courage as both are dangerous. Navy SEALS mission was ruined by those goat herders. They were not murderers but they should have killed them to save their own lives, but morally it would be wrong.

There were four SEAL officers and all of them were Christians. According to their religion, they were not allowed to kill innocent people like goat herders as Marcus mentioned “I have another soul. My Christian soul. And it was crowding in on me. Something kept whispering in the back of my mind, it would be wrong to execute these unarmed men in cold blood” (pg. 234). After thinking a lot, Marcus’ faith persuaded him to let the goat herders go. Along with that, their government wouldn’t allow the killing of these unarmed civilians, and so they decided on obeying the rules of engagement of their country. He spends a lot of time commenting on the rules of engagement, the media, God, and Afghan society. Legally they didn’t have any justification to kill the goat herders. If they would kill the goat herders and their bodies would be found, the Taliban would take it to the maximum through Afghan media. After that U.S military would attack them without mercy for killing innocent unarmed Afghans and then they would be charged with murder.

If they had killed the goat herders, then what about the goats? Hiding goats would be a difficult task as they will hang around from one place to another. Also, their relatives would have come to find them, and if they won’t find them so they would suspect the SEALS to be the murderer of innocent Afghans. Arab media would spread that the British U.S armed force killed unarmed civilians. By letting them go had saved them from the consequences they would have faced by Arab and Afghan media, and jail for killing goat herders. Killing the goat herders or letting them go, in both situations, the SEALS had the potential of getting into trouble. Letting them go could cause their own death and that happened later.

Instead of letting them go or killing, the SEALS had many other options that would have saved them from the Taliban. Like if they doubted that the goat herders would inform the Taliban. They could have moved to a safer place. People like the goat herders look like simple citizens and are not easily suspicious. At last, either decision made by Marcus had the possibility of putting the lives of the SEALS officer in danger. They made the wrong decision by letting them go. To save their own lives and according to the mission situation, they should have killed them. The three soldiers serving with Marcus were killed. Marcus was able to escape, but not without significant injuries to his back and left leg.

 

Example #2

Motion picture films are evolving at a very fast rate in today’s world, it is one of the biggest industries in the world, and it is growing bigger and bigger every year. There are countless hit movies that are known around the world. This includes a very well know film Lone Survivor it is among some of the best and most well-known movies in history, partially because it is based on a true event that took place and the event that did take place made history and today’s world. With great actors and an outstanding directing team, this film has created talk for years to come. The film itself is unique in the way that isn’t just some made-up story that they came up with, all the events that happen in the film are spot on with what happens in real-world events.

In Afghanistan, Taliban leader Ahmad Shah is responsible for killing over twenty United States Marines, as well as villagers and refugees who were aiding American forces. In response to these killings, the United States Navy SEALs are assigned to perform a counter-insurgent mission to capture Shah. As part of the mission, a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team is tasked to track Shah’s whereabouts. The four SEAL teammates are team leader Michael P. “Murph” Murphy; hospital corpsman and sniper Marcus Luttrell; sonar technician Matthew “Axe” Axelson; and communications specialist Danny Dietz. The team is inserted into the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, where they make their trek through the mountains.

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Example #3

Based on a true story, the movie ‘Lone Survivor’ features four Navy SEALs that set out on a mission to Afghanistan with orders to capture and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The Navy SEALS are detected by villagers and the mission was compromised. Ultimately, the mission had been discovered and the men found themselves surrounded by dozens of Taliban soldiers. One of the Navy SEAL soldiers managed to dispatch to the base and retrieve assistance but the Taliban shoot down the helicopter. During the battle, three of the Navy SEAL soldiers were killed leaving one still alive. Director Peter Berg based this movie on Marcus Luttrell the survivor of Operation Red Wings. The second scene of socializing is when the SEAL team introduces new members into the group. In the movie, the character Shane Patton recited a pledge to the former Navy SEALs that expresses the mission statement that Navy SEALs live by. If a new member is able to cite this mission statement it shows a lot about the individual’s character and becoming part of the elite team.

An example of social interaction seen in the film is found mid-way through the film. An Afghan village lives by the Pakhtunwali code, meaning if anyone from that village takes in an individual that community will fight to tell the death of that person. In Marcus Luttrell’s case, these Afghan villagers took him in and cared for his wellbeing. Senior Taliban leader found out that the village was protecting him and tried bribing the community with money to give up the soldier. The village’s spiritual values helped to keep Marcus Luttrell alive and send him back to the United States. In this part of the film it is interesting to see the diversity in Afghanistan and the different views the people live by. Some will go out of their way to protect someone they have never met before. Mohammad Gulab, the person who saved Luttrell has a very close relationship with him. Although there is a language barrier between the two, both say they can still understand what each other is trying to say because they share a special bond.

 

Example #4

At the beginning of the book, Marcus Luttrell describes his childhood and his training to prepare for the Navy SEALs with Billy Shelton. After joining the U. S. Navy and completing SEAL training, Luttrell describes his posting in Afghanistan, in the Hindu Kush mountains of the Kunar province. With him are the rest of SEAL Team 10, except Shane E. Patton, for whom Danny Dietz was substituted. Their mission, Operation Red Wings, was to stake outside a village and capture or kill a leading Taliban member thought to be allied with Osama bin Laden. One night in June 2005, while hiding out, the team encountered three Afghanistan shepherds, including a boy. The team debated sparing or killing the three shepherds but after a vote, team leader Michael Murphy had to make the decision. To uphold the Rules of engagement, Murphy let the shepherds go. About an hour later, the four SEALs were surrounded by more than a hundred Taliban warriors. The two parties engaged, the odds drastically against the SEALs, all but Luttrell were killed in action.

The New York Times sums up the story: “Mr. Luttrell was the only one of four men on the mission to survive after a violent clash with dozens of Taliban fighters. Eight members of the SEALs and eight Army special operations soldiers who came by helicopter to rescue the original four were shot down, and all aboard were killed. Mr. Luttrell was then rescued by a group of Afghan Pashtun villagers who harbored him in their homes for several days, protecting him from the Taliban and ultimately helping him to safety. “The theme of hospitality as understood by the Pashtun culture The book Lone Survivor is about Marcus Luttrell and his journey as a US Navy SEAL. He went through the impossible training of becoming a deadly warrior. One of his deployments were in the Hindu Kush mountains in the Kunar Province. He and his team were sent to go on a mission called “Operation Red Wing. ” This operation was a stakeout operation where the team had to go and capture or kill a Taliban leader known to be associated with Osama Bin Laden.

The mission went to hell and they were faced with an entire large force of Taliban warriors as they were trying to escape down a mountainside. Over time each of the teammates was killed. Marcus was the only one left. His leg was blown to hell so the only thing he could do was crawl and hope he would find a village that would help him. The only thing he had was his rifle and nothing else. No water, no nothing. After almost an entire day of crawling, he encountered a Shepard who was kind enough to take care of him and take him to his village. The military eventually found him and took him home. His actions were awarded medals from the president. I would recommend this book to everyone. These men are the reason people are allowed to have freedom. People need to know what the warriors of this country do for them. This book opened my eyes to this kind of stuff and I know it will definitely open yours. After reading this book I always cringe when I hear someone say they don’t like the military. Those men are the reason that military haters are able to say they hate the military. Everybody needs to read this book.

 

Example #5

The “Lone Survivor” is a story of courage, loyalty, and even friendship. In any military organization, we can see how courageous or loyal the armies or navies are especially in times of missions, not only in simple missions but also in tough and relevant missions. This book test the combat skills and attitudes of military forces to deal and execute their missions. And also in the book we can see how these friendships were built and how strong were the friendships that were developed in the military organizations. This book truly gives the idea or shows some instances and how a military individual managed to act and deal with the circumstances or consequences of the missions they had given him. This book is my choice because it tackled the military. And because I admire those individuals who are connected with the military services I choose the book. I admire these individuals because they were truly modern heroes who had so much or great obligations for the country as compared to President who held the highest position.

These characteristics of individuals are what countries really needed because they kept on protecting the countries and their fellowmen from dangerous terrorist acts. And also I chose this book because it is one of the greatest books that are familiar to more individuals. I chose this knowing that it is familiar because I think it would be a kind adventure book as heard from others. As reading the first part of the book “Lone survivor”, I took myself to a military setting that I thought I was really a part of that tour or journey of the missions. I also knew how well the military was trained not physically but also emotionally and psychologically. I had seen how military individuals undergo training not just for their own sake but for the nation’s sake. In the first part, after training a group of the navy were given a mission; a mission to search for an Al Qaeda leader (Luttrell, 2007).

They were given the instructions to capture or kill that said leader. In this mission, the courage or loyalty, or friendship of the group will be tested. And also, it will show how well the training had helped them build and develop more tough skills. As entitled “Lone survivor”, I can easily depict what would happen in the story. Only one of the groups that had been given the mission to capture an Al Qaeda leader will remain standing alone. Even though not given the title “Lone Survivor”, we can still foresee the result of the combat operations of the groups. Because once an army or navy in a battle they were already presumed dead. It only means that when they were on a mission, expect it consequence is losing lives; both sides will possibly lose lives.

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In connection with friendship, courage, and loyalty, the mission of the group will test their friendship on how they would take losing friends. It is whether they would take it as inspiration or mere discouragement for them to resume their mission or goal. I think when the time comes that they will lose their buddy, in the end, those who remained standing will even take more courage and much eager enough to battle or combat with their enemies. They or he will be taking many strategic actions to fulfill the mission; it was not only for the countries honor but only in honor of his dead companions. I also presumed that in the end this lone survivor or the remaining standing will be recognized for the things he had done not only for the country but also for his buddies that he is considering his friends. He will be given the honor for the things he had done. Even if the mission was either a success or failure, he will still be given recognition.

 

Example #6

The Lone Survivor is a movie based on a book written by a Navy Seal veteran Marcus Luttrell about a failed mission called Operation Red Wings starring Mark Wahlberg. Mark Wahlberg played the lead character, Marcus Luttrell. 1The rest of the four-man team is played by Eric Bana, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster. Eric Bana is an Australian film actor who played Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen, also played Bruce Banner in the HULK. Taylor Kitsch played Lieutenant Michael P. “Murph” the on-ground leader and also played as Gambit in X-Men Origin. Emile Hirsch played Danny Dietz SEAL Team 10’s communications officer and had roles in The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog. Ben Foster plays Sonar Technician Matthew “Axe” Axelson and also played in Hostage, and X-Men: The Last Stand. The Drama/war film had an R rating and had a run time of 1 hour and 21 minutes. The film had been expected to make 45. 1 million dollars at the box office and had a budget of 40 million.

Operation Red Wings was a Navy Seal 10 mission on June 28th, 2005. The team set out on a clear night into the mountain outside of a Taliban village. They were then ordered to locate and terminate an Anti-Coalition leader Ahmad Shah. The movie was announced to be the best war film since Saving Private Ryan The film’s theme was behind enemy lines and the movie went over the operation according to Marcus Luttrell’s story. The movie had excellent special effects and stunts. They made it seem like you were right with them in the mission. The film had been filmed in the mountains of New Mexico, but it was to look like Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan.

The actors added to the experience by going through a brief military training, so they knew how to move through the field. It won four rewards so far it won Best Action Film and was placed in the top ten films of the year from 2013 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards. It won the Best Actor in an Action Movie which had been awarded to Mark Wahlberg and Best Action Film from 19th Critics’ Choice Awards. It is still pending on other rewards Therefore, the In theater experience is amazing with the sound effects and picture. The film had emotional closings also because they honored the fallen soldiers and their families. The movie was short for a war film, and I felt it could have had more details and training, but I would rate this movie at a solid 7, but I would not put it over Saving Private Ryan.

 

Example #7

Lone Survivor was written by Marcus Luttrell shortly after his service as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. With help from Patrick Robinson, Luttrell was able to write this very detailed account of how he overcame one of the most daunting situations in his career as a Navy Seal. The book begins with Luttrell describing his childhood in Eastern Texas, explaining how he looked up to his veteran father and was always willing to work hard. Pushed by his father and older brother Morgan, he grew up to become Navy Seal. Luttrell describes the training he had to go through in order to become a SEAL and the strength it took him to finish the BUDS(Basic Underwater Demolition) course, one of the toughest six months of his life. During that process, he saw many people quit and decided that he would not be like them. Once he graduated as Navy SEAL, he went on various missions and was successful, Until the night of June 27th, 2005 where he faced the most difficult mission of all.

He was sent on a mission with four of his most trusted seals, Danny Dietz, Michael Murphy, and Matthew Axelson. Their mission was known as operation Red Wing, and it was to capture or kill a Taliban leader associated with Osama bin laden. They were to find high cover within the mountains and try to shoot him from afar range. On the mountainous terrain, they encountered difficulty trying to find a good angle to shoot this wanted man. They had to stay longer than expected and encountered a trio of goat herders that were underage and from the village, they had under target. They had two options. To let them escape, knowing they will go back to the village and send an army of warriors to their location, or to kill them which could have been morally incorrect. They decided to let them go and try to escape the mountains before they were surrounded. Soon enough they were quickly surrounded by eighty men.

They had minimal cover and no access to the base where they had come from. They had to fight back in the most valiant way in order to survive. They fought for hours against heavy artillery in the rocky terrain. Soon enough Luttrell had to see his friends take hits and eventually die one by one, giving their lives up for the sake of their “brothers”. Completely alone and badly injured, Luttrell had to hide in order to survive this attack. Eventually, Luttrell was helped by a man named Gulab, who lived in a village down the mountainside. This Afghan man risked his life helping Luttrell because the Taliban wanted to kill Luttrell and would do anything to take him from that village. The book ends with the other SEALs rescuing him from the village and killing the Taliban fighters that had surrounded the village.

The characters in this book are Danny Dietz, Michael Murphy Matthew Axelson, and of course Marcus Luttrell. These three brave men risk everything to do the moral thing and let a couple of kids escape. Danny Dietz was “A little reserved, but underneath he could be very funny and was a sweet-natured person”(p182). Michael Murphy was recognized by Luttrell as a trustworthy man who could get the job done. Mathew Axelson was a strong hard working man who always had his back. These three men fought valiantly against all odds, eventually giving up their lives for the US. I don’t relate to any of these characters who risked their lives in a valiant and courageous effort to try to save the lives of their fellow soldiers. They are also Navy SEALS, which is the hardest military position you can be in. It takes strength, will power, dedication, and years of training in order to be a Navy SEAL. I also respected their decision making when choosing what to do with the goat herders they encountered.

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The book’s theme is that sometimes you regret the important choices you make in life. This is best seen in Luttrells writing “I looked at Mickey right in the eye, and said, “We got to let me go” It was the stupidest most southern-fried, lame-brained, a decision I have ever made in my life. I must have been out of mind. I had actually cast a vote which I knew could sign our death warrant.”(p206). The book shows how one man’s decision can alter the course of his life and can either cause him to regret it like in the case of Marcus Luttrell or continue a regular life. I liked that this book was written from the eyewitness perspective. This was because the battle between the Taliban fighters and Navy SEALs was very descriptive and even a bit gruesome. This detail was interesting to read about, learning about the dangers of war and what brave people actually have to go through for this country. I didn’t like the fact that in the end the choice he made, ended up killing his fellow soldiers. It must be tough for Lattrell to go through that guilt every day. I would recommend this book because it’s action-packed and shows the detailed story of how one man survived so many trials and pain.

 

Example #8 – interesting ideas

What do you think about the movie Lone Survivor? I just notice that there were 4 Navy Seals movies from last year & today. Which is Zero Dark Thirty, Act of Valor, Captain Philips, & Lone Survivor.

Answer. What I’ve discovered about movies:

  1. They’re movies.
  2. They’re written, cast, and directed with the intent of making money.
  3. They’re not going to give anything classified away.
  4. They are designed to appeal to the population… to give them what they want to see.
  5. They are NOT real.
  6. They are entertainment.

What I’ve discovered about a real-life experience.

  1. It’s never vicarious.
  2. No two people seem to experience the same thing exactly the same way.
  3. In real life, if you die, YOU ARE DEAD. There’s no rewind button. There’s no reset button. The game’s over. You lose. You don’t even get to watch anymore.

What I think about “Lone Survivor”… haven’t seen it. Don’t intend to… for all the reasons above. People watch some dumb movie and think, “That’s what I want to do.” That’s insane. It’s like watching a Superman movie and jumping off a building thinking you can fly. All you have is a popularized glimpse of something about which you know absolutely nothing. It doesn’t make any difference how badly you “want it.” It doesn’t make any difference how hard you try. It doesn’t even make much difference if you’re a particularly “nice” or “friendly” guy. You DO it or don’t bother. Nobody can tell you how. And if anybody has to sell you on the idea, don’t bother. If you’re over 16 and can’t swim, don’t bother. You don’t have to be particularly fast. I saw a college kid beat the socks off a SEAL Corpsman in a 100 Free.

The SEAL looked like he got kicked in the teeth until I pointed out that they’d just swam a hundred yards, the college kid was DONE… he wasn’t going another stroke for a while… while the SEAL could have kept up that pace for hours. That’s stuff you can’t get from a movie. You’ll find that they don’t care much if you can do an O-course with a house on your back while delivering a lecture on quantum theory. They want to know if you will complete the mission… on your own if necessary. They’re wondering if they could trust you with their lives, and the lives of their buddies. You can’t get that from a movie either. I suspect that elected officials might wait until those movies come out on DVD, watch them once or twice — more if they think they’re exciting, and think they know everything there is to know about SEAL. And because of that, they’ll feel qualified to demand they be deployed to the scene of every traffic accident on “the Beltway.”


Did Patrick Robinson write Lone Survivor? So Marcus Luttrell did not write Lone Survivor word for word? It was Robinson who wrote it but Marcus who told his story to Robinson who later edited what Marcus told him? Let me recite a passage in Lone Survivor, “All right. All right. No hero bullshit. I was crying like a baby.” Was that passage edited by Rob after Marcus told him about that moment? Would have Lone Survivor been different by word choices if a different ghostwriter other than Robinson had written Lone Survivor?

Answer. You cannot “say” anything in Lone Survivor was NOT the words of Marcus Luttrell. Using an established author to assist simply means Patrick Robinson was 99% there to provide a grammatical foundation, build the story “structure”, so the words of Marcus Luttrell or any speaker’s story would flow, in clear concept without bouncing around from topic to topic. I met Marcus Luttrell at a book signing and listened to him speak. He is a manly-man type, but when you face fear, life-threatening, no BS kinds of moments, crying happens, as does screaming, praying, and even laughing. It depends on what mood raises its ugly head.


Lone Survivor or American Sniper? Im doing a book report I need to know which one I should do. I have both books but I don’t know which 1 to pick.

Answer. It depends, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10 is a non-fiction book written by Marcus Luttrell with assistance from novelist and ghostwriter Patrick Robinson and published by Little, Brown, and Company. The narrative takes place in Afghanistan, where the reader follows Marcus Luttrell and a group of U.S. Navy SEALs. That book sounds adventurous, and historical almost, it sounds like you would have fun doing that one. American Sniper: The autobiography of one of America’s best sniper. It sounds thrilling and dangerous, almost spy-like. I’d prefer American Sniper


When a commercial airliner crashes w/300 on board & 299 dies, why does the lone survivor say, “God was looking?
out for me – he must have a purpose for me in life that I have not fulfilled. What about the other 299 passengers who died? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the lone survivor to say, “I feel terrible for the 299 who perished, and I am just terribly lucky to be alive”. How come you always hear the former – that God intended them to live – screw the dead people.

Answer. It sounds really self-centered for a person to say that. As if they believed God killed 299 other people to show them how special they were. But look at it from the other end of the binoculars. Someone who is the lone survivor of a crash like that is going to be in shock. OF COURSE, he feels bad about the people who died. Would you want to be in this position? I sure wouldn’t. A person in that situation, who believed in God, might really not understand how that could happen. In that state of mind, he might genuinely believe God intervened in his life, and wonder why God did that.


 

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