🇨🇵Paddy69🇨🇵✝️

He wrote a farewell letter to his wife before deploying. He never imagined she would have to read it after he was gone. On March 4, 2002, Navy SEAL Petty Officer First Class Neil Christopher Roberts fell from a damaged MH-47 Chinook onto a snow-covered mountain in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda. He was 32 years old, a husband to Patty and father to their young son Nathan. Born in Woodland, California, Roberts followed his father’s example and enlisted in the Navy after high school. He became a SEAL in 1992, later serving with DEVGRU (SEAL Team Six). As the helicopter approached the summit of Takur Ghar, enemy fighters opened fire. An RPG struck the aircraft. Roberts fell from the rear ramp onto the mountainside, alone on enemy-held terrain. Evidence indicated he survived the fall, set up a defensive position, and fought back before being fatally wounded. His teammates launched a desperate rescue that turned into one of the bloodiest small-unit battles of the early Afghanistan War. Seven Americans died on what became known as Roberts Ridge: - Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts - Air Force Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman - Air Force Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham - Army Sergeant Philip J. Svitak - Army Corporal Matthew A. Commons - Army Sergeant Bradley S. Crose - Army Specialist Marc A. Anderson Roberts was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He was the first Navy SEAL killed in action during Operation Enduring Freedom. In the letter he left for Patty, he wrote that he loved being a SEAL and that if he died doing something for the Teams, he died doing what made him happy. Very few people have that luxury. To the nation he was a warrior who answered the call. To Patty he was a husband. To Nathan he was a father. To his parents and eleven siblings he was a beloved son and brother. His brothers never stopped fighting to bring him home. Rest in Peace, Petty Officer First Class Neil Christopher Roberts.