Operation Red Wings – Lone Survivor (2/11)

Lone Survivor depicts Operation Red Wings, which was fought between the Taliban and United States forces in Afghanistan in 2005. The main focus of the film is on four United States Navy SEAL’s who were supposed to embark on a secret reconnaissance mission, but were instead discovered by a force of over 250 Taliban fighters who also occupied the high ground. The SEAL’s fought heroically against overwhelming odds and gunned down several of the Taliban fighters, but three of the four were killed while the lone survivor, Marcus Luttrell, managed to get away and hide in an Afghan village despite being heavily wounded himself. In addition, an attempt to rescue the four SEAL’s by helicopter was met with disaster when RPG’s shot the helicopters down and killed all of the men inside.

By a stroke of luck, the people of the village Luttrell ended up in had a tradition of protecting guests against outside enemies, and refused to let the Taliban kill or hurt Luttrell. He was eventually rescued by the United States military, but he’s still coping with the physical and emotional effects of the battle to this very day. The entire film Lone Survivor is virtually a big shootout that vividly depicts the whole of the shootout.