27/05/2017
Grandmother, Grandfather, Father, Mother, Brother, Sisters, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Friend... Hero ❤️
You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you that Mike was number one in everything he did. Well, he was. He was always “in the groove” so to speak. That’s partly why he earned the nickname “Groove.” We met at the Naval Academy in the Summer of ’93 in boxing. He had just delivered a right cross to my nose which left me with a “distinguished” lean to the right side of my face ever since! We quickly became friends.
Groove and I wanted to be Navy SEALs when we graduated. He quickly developed a reputation among us Navy SEAL wannabes as someone to watch. There were only 16 slots available to over 900 graduates to attend BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL) training. To say it was competitive is an understatement. Groove set the bar by attending Army Airborne School, Army Combat Dive School, Air Force Freefall Parachuting School, and Mini-BUD/S (pre-SEAL training)–all during his Summer breaks–and graduated at the top of almost all of them. However, upon graduation he was not awarded one of the 16 annual SEAL Training slots, which surprised most of us.
As a testament to Groove’s perseverance and indomitable spirit, he did not let this setback dissuade him from his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL. Instead he went out to the Surface Navy, served honorably on a ship, and was awarded a transfer to SEAL training two short years later.
Our paths didn’t cross again until Groove was on his second SEAL deployment in Africa in 2003. It was a voluntary deployment for him. Only half of his task unit needed to deploy for 3 months on top of the 6 months they had just completed overseas. Of course Groove volunteered. He epitomized what it meant to be a selfless SEAL officer. We had a lot of fun together over those few months. Between missions we’d roll against each other in jiu-jitsu, lift weights, and drink beers when our schedule allowed. He had recently gotten married and just had a baby girl and never stopped talking about his new family. I remember feeling very happy for him. He returned home and deployed yet again a little over a year later–this time to Afghanistan. Sadly, I’d never see my brother Groove again.
On June 28, 2005 four of Groove’s teammates were pinned down by the Taliban in a fight for their lives. Groove and his SEAL squad, a Quick Reaction Force (QRF), immediately launched from base and flew to assist their comrades under fire. This type of mission is the most dangerous because the enemy knows you’re coming. As fate would have it the QRF Chinook helicopter was shot down on the way into the landing zone killing Groove and 15 other Americans aboard. Only one SEAL survived the entire mission. Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor, survived in part because of the diversion that Groove and his men made for the attacking Taliban force. Groove was gone, and he left behind his wife, Laura, and his one-year old baby daughter. https://memberwhen.com/memorial-day-tribute/ #