ten years ten years is a long time a decade and in many ways it seems so far
in the past in some ways it doesn't seem so far away at all it isn't hard to
remember being deployed in Ramadi Iraq in the summer of 2006 and yes sometimes
that seems like a distant place a long time ago and yet sometimes it feels like
we were just there yesterday the sweltering heat the dust the danger the
crystal-clear focus on our mission when we had but one purpose in our lives to
close with and destroy an evil enemy bent on destroying us and our way of
life and it doesn't take much for the mind to return there to regain that
mindset to get into the combat mode and remember remember the operations out in
the city remember the tracer rounds in the night sky explosions shaking the
earth the weight of body armor and weapons and gear on our shoulders
remember the stress and the violence and the sweat and the blood and remember the
evil the pure evil that infected the city and committed
savage vile and disgusting acts of mortal
sin murder rape and torture inside that dark world a world ripped apart by war a
world war sometimes humanity seemed all but lost that is where we got to see and
experience the polar opposite for the counter to all that darkness against
that backdrop of evil we young men we band of brothers
we got to witness light and life and love so strong that it makes the
darkness fade and makes the evil cower and hide its wretched face evil boughs
down when it sees the bond we developed with the soldiers and Marines we fought
alongside evil cannot contest the bond we formed with our brother SEALs with
whom we become so close that there is no stronger force in the world nothing more
powerful nothing more meaningful than knowing that these men these frog men
that we would do anything for each other
we saw powerful acts of heroism and courage on an almost daily basis which
reassured us solemnly that good would triumph over evil and amongst all that
glory there were a few men the true heroes the ones that rose above the rest
of us to symbolize and personify courage and faith and selflessness and love mark
alan lee was one of those rare men one of those heroes one of the few men my
life that i literally described as a saint that is who mark was a mighty
warrior whose ferocity and combat was perfectly balanced by faith and humor
and compassion a man that left his mark on everyone that he met a mark of
happiness and positivity and of humility and of joy a man whose love for his
family and friends was so unbounded and so limitless that you could actually
feel it emanating from his heart and now he has left his mark on the world mark
Lee Mark Alan Lee
when faced with fear who else could bring a smile when faced
with sadness who else could bring laughter when faced
with hate
who else could bring love and when faced with death
who else could stand and say take me Lord not my brothers I will be their
shield now from death take me and let them live on and that is what Mark did
full of youth and energy and courage and humor and full of love
he stood he stood against evil and he stood against death and he gave his life
for his brothers and for our freedom on august 2nd 2006 in our Ramadi Iraq ten
years ago
ten years ago and in those 10 years think of all that has happened in our
lives big events like marriages children born birthdays new houses new jobs new
careers and small events a morning surf session lunch with your buddies a
weekend in the mountains a cold iced tea on a hot summer's day smile a laugh life
joy happiness in every moment of that happiness is a gift
a gift a gift given to us by mark who sacrificed everything for us who gave up
his own precious smile so we could all have ours now I can tell you without a
shred of doubt that on this day today mark would not want tears he would not
want sadness he would not want sorrow he would want smiles and laughter and joy
because that was his gift to us every smile every laugh every ounce of life
and love is all a gift from a warrior a friend a comedian a son a brother a hero
a saint
and what do we owe mark for mark each and every one of us must relish the gift
that he gave to us and cherish each and every day while remembering the
incredible man that gave us this gift of
life and to the seals that are listening the frog men you Oh mark what we owe all
our fallen brothers the grave commitment to carry the fire to hold the torch and
hold it high to take the fight to the enemy every chance you get without mercy
and without remorse until they are vanquished and there is peace
thank you Mark we will never forget you
god bless Mark's family god bless the teams god Bless America
and God bless mark Allan Lee