‘Man Down’: Teammate Recalls Losing Marc Lee, the 1st SEAL Killed in Iraq
Marc Lee, a Navy SEAL who served with SEAL Team 3 in the Battle of Ramadi, was killed in action Aug. 2, 2006. Photo courtesy of Kevin Lacz.
“Our run of invincibility had ended, and the close calls that foreshadowed August 2 would haunt us long after.”
Kevin Lacz, a former Navy SEAL sniper and corpsman, wrote those words in his memoir, The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team Three Sniper’s True Account of the Battle of Ramadi. Lacz’s teammate and friend Marc Lee became the first SEAL killed in Iraq on Aug. 2, 2006. Lee and Lacz served together as “new-guy” SEALs in Cadillac Platoon, aka “the Punishers” of SEAL Team 3’s Task Unit Bruiser, during the Battle of Ramadi in 2006.
Task Unit Bruiser, composed of SEAL Team 3’s Cadillac (Charlie) and Delta platoons, was commanded by Jocko Willink. Led by Chris Kyle’s 91 confirmed kills, the Punishers developed a reputation in Ramadi as one of the deadliest units in Iraq. Michael Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for jumping on a grenade to save his brothers in arms on Sept. 29, 2006, was a member of Delta Platoon.
Lacz was on his first deployment as a SEAL when he worked alongside those legendary frogmen. In the emotional video below, he recalls what it was like the day Marc Lee was killed in action.
Read Next: What It Means To Be a Navy SEAL, According to 5 SEALs
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Mac Caltrider is a senior staff writer for Coffee or Die Magazine. He served in the US Marine Corps and is a former police officer. Caltrider earned his bachelor’s degree in history and now reads anything he can get his hands on. He is also the creator of Pipes & Pages, a site intended to increase readership among enlisted troops. Caltrider spends most of his time reading, writing, and waging a one-man war against premature hair loss.
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