On March 27, legendary Navy SEAL Mike Day ended his own life.

If you never heard of Day, he was famous for a 2007 firefight in Fallujah where he took 27 bullets and somehow kept fighting. After breaching a room with two Iraqi scouts, Day took fire from 4 enemies in a hallway to his left. The bullets that didn't hit him knocked the rifle out of his hand.

Day dropped to the ground and switched to his pistol, killing two of the bad guys. One dropped a grenade that detonated, wounding Day with shrapnel. He briefly lost consciousness, but was able to snap back and shoot the other enemies.

Day then directed his Iraqi allies to help women and children in the building and radioed his SEAL team.

It was only when they found him that Day realized how badly he had been injured. His body armor had stopped 11 bullets, but 16 others had torn through him. He was airlifted out form medical assistance, but he insisted on walking to the MEDEVAC chopper without a stretcher or assistance.

Day retired from the Navy in 2010 with the Navy Cross, two Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart. His autobiography was published in 2020.

Now, he is gone.

He's not the only one.

For more than 2 decades, multiple generations of Americans have fought in our recent wars with the assumption that they were making the world a better place. America stood for liberty against a world of terrorists and tyrants.

But elite operators understand more than all of us how things have shifted in recent years.

...A nation I once served & admired turning violently against its principles.

The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the corruption in politics, the unjust Justice System, the FBI being weaponized against the American people, the unconstitutional mandates and lockdowns, and more...

It stings our wounded warriors more than you realize. They gave everything to protect us and liberty, but slimy bureaucrats have tainted their honor by using their legacy and service as means to achieve power.

My military career feels like wasted time now.

If you know someone who served – especially someone who was wounded in battle – reach out to them. Let them know that they have support and that what they fought for was not in vain.

War is hell. There is bloodlust and greed and hate in the midst of death and destruction, and the aristocrats who send young men to die on their behalf often reap the spoils from the comforts of their own palaces.

But there is also honor and courage and faith that stares abject evil in the face so it cannot destroy what is beautiful and good. We need men like Mike Day – desperately need them – to help us sort through whatever is happening to our nation, because they know how to face demons and dragons. They have protected us from afar for so long, but one day soon, we may need them to protect us here. We need them to teach us how to defend ourselves and our families, and how to prepare both body and mind for difficult times. We need the knowledge and wisdom that can only come from those warrior poets who have been in the heat of battle.

If only those like Mike Day could see how badly they are still needed, and how much they are valued... perhaps not by the government that has used them as pawns, but by their countrymen who still haven't forgotten what honor and brotherhood mean.

I'll leave you with this interview with Mike Day from two years ago. Even though he is gone, we can still learn from him. May we honor his legacy.