Text of Slain SEAL Letter

[oracle]

Text of Slain SEAL Letter (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61254-2002Mar8.html)

The Associated Press
Friday, March 8, 2002; 1:09 PM


A portion of the letter that Navy SEAL Neil Roberts left for his wife to open in case he did not return from fighting in Afghanistan:

"I consider myself blessed with the best things a man could ever hope for. My childhood is something I'll always treasure. My family is the reason I'm the person I am today. They supported and cared for me in the best way possible.

"The Navy, although I sacrificed personal freedom and many other things, I got just as much as I gave. My time in the Teams was special. For all the times I was cold, wet, tired, sore, scared, hungry and angry, I had a blast. The bad was balanced equally with the good.

"All the times spent in the company of my teammates was when I felt the closest to the men I had the privilege to work with. I loved being a SEAL. If I died doing something for the Teams, then I died doing what made me happy. Very few people have the luxury of that."

[RocketScience]

I could have written those same words.

I, too, have been so very blessed in my life considering both the good and the bad. I feel the same about the Navy.

This guy makes me so proud, I could bust. He truly was the "best of the best".

Rocket

[**DONOTDELETE**]

http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-03-22/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/seal_roberts.JPG
Navy SEAL Fought
To the Death


By MAKI BECKER
Daily News Staff Writer

avy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts — shot dead and dragged off by Al Qaeda fighters March 4 — went down fighting.

Thrown from his helicopter on the first night of Operation Anaconda, the Navy SEAL found himself alone and in enemy territory, according to two new accounts, including an e-mail circulating among military personnel.

His survival instinct in high gear, Roberts — a married father of a toddler son — grabbed a machine gun from a felled commando nearby, CBS News reported last night.

He opened fire with the machine gun and a pistol on the enemy fighters around him until he ran out of ammunition.

Roberts, 32, then stood and threw all his grenades before being cut down by enemy fire.

Helpless and horrified, his commanders watched via a reconnaissance drone's camera as Roberts' valiant last stand ended with Al Qaeda fighters dragging off his body.

CLICK HERE for rest of the story (http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-03-22/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-145219.asp)

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Valhalla holds a place at a special table for such a warrior as he. Thank whatever god to whom you may pray, that there are men of iron and fire that will give their lives to protect those who have not the courage nor the sinew to stand tall for themselves. And then kiss the ground under your feet for providing the FREEDOM that allows these men to be MEN.