Media: The Associated Press
Byline: THOMAS WATKINS
Date: 13 October 2006


CORONADO, California_An elite 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 the insurgent hotbed of Ramadi. He was only the second SEAL to die in Iraq since the war began.

Two SEALs next to Monsoor were injured; another who was 10 feet to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) from the blast was unhurt. The four had been working with Iraqi soldiers providing sniper security while U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted missions in the area.

Monsoor has been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions May 9 in Ramadi, when he and another SEAL pulled a team member shot in the leg to safety while bullets pinged off the ground around them.

Monsoor's funeral was held Thursday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. He has also been submitted for an award for his actions the day he died.

The first Navy SEAL to die in Iraq was Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc A. Lee, 28, who was killed Aug. 2 in a firefight while on patrol against insurgents in Ramadi.

Sixteen SEALs have been killed in Afghanistan. Eleven of them died in June 2005 when a helicopter was shot down near the Pakistan border while ferrying reinforcements for troops pursuing al-Qaida militants.

There are about 2,300 of the elite fighters, based in Coronado and Little Creek, Virginia.

The Navy is trying to boost that number by 500, a challenge considering more than 75 percent of candidates drop out of training, notorious for "Hell Week," a five-day stint of continual drills by the ocean broken by only four hours sleep total. Monsoor made it through training on his second attempt.

"The Boys in Company C"

May he rest in peace

A real hero. Rest in peace.

Originally Posted by chronoserpent

A real hero. Rest in peace.

Thats right. These are the men that little kids should be looking up to. Not those fake actors people call wrestlers, not those movie stars with "superpowers", but real men who put others befores themselves.

A remarkable man. A true hero who has made the world a lesser place without him by his courage to save his fellow SEALs.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, brother to brother...

The SEALs have lost a true hero there!
Rest in peace!

How many people would unhesitatingly sacrifice themselves to save others? I think he was among the very few amazing individuals who have and will give their all. God bless him and his family that now have to grieve him.

Spoczywaj w pokoju dzielny żołnierzu - Rest in peace brave soldier