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We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today Rose Ray.
She co-wrote a book with George Monsour. George's son Michael is a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
And we're going to tell Michael's story. Most of you probably have never heard it.
And we're going to tell it a little bit because Rose went through talking to all of his buddies in the Navy.
So let me set this up a little bit that Michael Monsour joined the Navy, I think it was, in March of 2001.
Like a lot of kids, he wanted to test himself and be the best he could in service
and made his way through Buds and became a seal in March of 2005
and the action for which he ultimately received the Medal of Honor occurred in September in 2006
when he was on a rooftop post in Ramadi, Iraq and we'll tell that story.
But that's the time. Rose, how did you get involved in helping shape and write this book?
Yeah, it is a powerful one. Thank you so much, Jim, for having me and for, you know, kind of filling your listeners in a little bit.
I've done a lot of projects in the industry about 15 years now and nothing has been as meaningful to me as Michael's story
to really kind of uncover it and now share it with the world.
And the reason I even learned a little bit about it, took a lot of digging, Jim, is my husband is an active duty seal.
So we're, he's headed into his 20th year of service this summer.
So it's been a very colorful and challenging life to live, but we're so grateful for our military men and women that serve for us.
So he was at Seal Team 3 when they commissioned this absolutely breathtaking missile-guided destroyer.
I'm trying to say this correctly. They called it a super stealth missile-guided destroyer and it was named after Michael Montsour.
So my husband was at the commissioning and he brought home this beautiful book, this kind of, you know, that says who the sponsor of the ship is.
And, you know, there's a lot that goes into the name of the ship. I had no idea Jim, for you to interview some ship guys.
It's a huge honor and to be in one of the plank holders. I mean, the Navy has its own traditions and they're great.
And so that's what triggered...
They're stunning and they're so meaningful.
There was something there that triggered, hey, there's more of a story than I've ever heard about and you're in the Seal family.
Right. So my husband brings his book home and there's one paragraph. That's all it was. One paragraph.
And it said who Michael Montsour was, a little bit about him, just a tish. And something went off in my being, you know, my heart, a bomb.
And it was like, you've got to tell this boy's story. And that's what it is. He's a boy. He was 25 years old.
And I'm like, who is this? And so from there, you know, God willing, I had the connections because I was a Seal wife and I was able to reach out to Naval Special Warfare
and they put me in touch with Michael's parents and they said no to me, Jim, for two years because they're so private.
Bless their hearts. And, you know, they just, they'd been through enough. They had lost their son and it's been a lot.
However, you know, I was patient, but I just kept nudging and saying, you guys, listen, this is such a profound story.
People need to know what he gave for his country, right? What he gave up willingly.
And so that started everything. Then George was like, okay, let's do it. And we worked hand in hand and one by one, his teammates, it was such an honor.
And they felt safe with me, Jim, because I wasn't just a reporter. I wasn't just a random, you know, person off the street.
I was part of their community. And I think that was the way that it was always meant to be. And I do, I just, I feel so, so honored that I was able to play a small role
and now bringing his story to the world because George told me one of the reasons that finally got on to say yes was he said my son was so much more than just a boy who jumped under grenade
because that's what the, any person in the public knew him as. So this story really, and you know, you can attest and we'll share a little bit with your listeners, but he was so incredible.
So it really gives people a perspective and a glimpse into who was this boy that made this split second decision that changed lives forever.
Well, and one of the things, there are a number of lessons and I think we hold these men up who received the Medal of Honor so that we can learn some lessons.
And in the book, Defend Us in Battle, the true story of Navy Seal, Medal of Honor recipient Michael Montsour, and we're talking to one of the co-authors, Rose Ray.
One of the lessons here that I think folks learn, and it's kind of interesting, Michael had asthma as a kid.
Yeah.
And he had overcome all the challenges, the medical challenges that go through childhood when you can't breathe, when you have an asthma problem.
And you talk in the book about how, you know, he got into sports, hockey, football, and pushed himself and pushed himself to get over this medical challenge.
You know, I think there's a lesson for all of us there, isn't there?
It's so true.
And, you know, I don't think anyone sit back and think, oh, it's so easy for everyone else, but it's hard for us to see past our own difficulty sometime.
So when we're able to read about someone that we would aspire to be or someone who's done something really incredible, it just, you know, it inspires me too to be like, wow, Michael fought and fought and fought, even since he was little, to beat his ailment like he never gave up.
He had this unbreakable little will at such a young age.
And it was, it was so inspiring.
And then even before I jumped into really writing the story, I had no idea that he quit once. Jim, being the wife of a seal, like quitting is the worst thing you can ever do.
Well, and that's,
Michael quit.
I think that's one of the lessons, right?
Absolutely.
We all hit those challenges in life and it's so easy to ring the bell, which you do to get out of the buds and seal training.
You quit, but he didn't give up.
He quit, but he didn't give up and came back.
That's what I think is one of my favorite parts because, you know, even thinking about writing those words, I'll never forget that day.
But it's like my husband just helped you, who is a seal, he stood this side by side with me and, you know, he knew how you turn and the about face and the just the devastation and the reflection in the window.
I mean, it's like you can imagine for Michael, who gave everything he had to have to hang up and quit and ring that bell and be viewed by all of his classmates as a quitter.
I mean, that's crushing for someone, but he didn't give up.
He went back.
And again, that's the lesson to learn.
Don't consider yourself a loser.
Figure out what you need to do to get better, to get through whatever that challenge was.
And you tell the story of Michael improving himself and getting through buds.
He graduated, I think, in September of 2004 and joined the SEAL Team 3 in 2005.
But you got a chance to talk to his Navy Budds, Buddies, if you will, before he became a SEAL and importantly after he became a SEAL and served over in Iraq.
Tell us about finding those guys and in some measure pulling the stories out to make Defend us in battle.
Yeah, it was pretty incredible.
The fact that, you know, and George was instrumental in this, he was such a great little partner, you know, he may not have done the writing, but he knew, he knew the guys and he knew, right, like here's his childhood friend Rose and they just, all these guys love his father so much.
So it was just a joy to work with George.
He's super quiet.
Otherwise, he'd be joining us.
But so Jim, I was able to, you know, interview the childhood friend.
I was able to also became a SEAL, which is so cool behind the scenes little tidbit there, but and I, Michael definitely inspired him in that.
Michael was a SEAL first.
So, you know, Michael inspired and looked out for his friends his whole life.
And then you read about these guys in the story, you know, when Michael was in Italy and he was in this waiting pattern to go back to get the second chance because and you know, you hear we put in the story is what he told his mom or his brother.
He was like, you'll have to drag my body dead off the beach before I'll quit again.
Like he just, there was no other option for him.
And that I just thought was so incredible.
I was like, okay, this guy's doing it.
And so you see those friendships that were deep in there.
I mean, this really is a story about brotherhood.
If you can, you know, and father, father, son, you know, really relationship through how much they loved each other.
And then this brotherly love and which ultimately grows and grows.
And then at the end, I mean, and you'll have to tell me, Jim, you're listeners sometime, but after you saw how much he cared about his fellow teammates, I mean, didn't it almost make sense at the end as devastating as it was?
Oh, absolutely.
And I think that's the bonding that occurs that maybe the civilian population doesn't necessarily appreciate.
But I don't think we'll ever understand, Jim.
You know, only you guys, only the men and women who have served in these stressful situations can attest something happens, some sort of bonding and just, you know, love of your fellow man deepens in those situations.
One of the things you talk about is as Michael was going through and, you know, became a seal, he wanted to go on to Sniper School and talk a little bit about that role and responsibility that goes with being that automatic weapon operator.
It's no small thing.
I mean, the guys talk about the weight he carry, the extra weight, I feel like it was about 100 pounds extra, the guys were telling me.
From bullets from his AW gunner, which was, you know, you probably could go into more specifics, but I mean, it was a huge automatic weapon.
And this gun is, you know, it's nicknamed, what was it, the pig they call it because of almost a squealing sound because it's, there's so much force when they're shooting it.
So Michael just took all that on, you know, and he, he was never one to back down from anything.
In fact, he would continue to agree to do more where I remember his mom telling me, Michael, you can't do everything, you know, because he just continued to want to carry the extra load, the extra weight.
And then he had communications equipment and yeah, he just, he took a lot on, which is a lot to his character.
Right, exactly. I think this is where you sort of realize that when he was the automatic weapon operator carrying the MK-48 and all that extra weight, there's a responsibility to the other guys because you're carrying that weapon to protect them.
And, and as you tell the story and defend us in battle, the guys knew he, it seemed like the guys knew he knew he was taking on this extra responsibility to have their back.
Did you get that sense?
Yeah, and look at also the actual battle scenes in there were actually taken from after action reports.
So it wasn't like, oh, someone said something. I mean, these really happen like these. So with him, exactly with that weapon, he was providing cover fire, how many times, multiple times that we shared in the book.
And because of that, his men were able to get to safety. And the other thing that, you know, not everyone's going to understand the gravity of this, but he was a new guy.
New guys are like, you know, the bottom of the barrel, right? Like all the older guys get fun jobs. And I mean, the new guys still could do some fun things.
But for him to kind of step into this role and provide such wonderful, you know, tactical awareness and to do his job so well, I mean, it was just a huge, huge testament to him throwing himself in and giving his all, because not everyone can step in and do it that well that fast.
It's one, again, one of those things that demonstrates his character. A couple of other things that I think go to his character, which ultimately leads to him making the ultimate sacrifice.
His commanding officer in Ramadi in spring of 2006 was Lieutenant Commander Jocko Wilnick. Jocko is a widely known today, you know, lecture coach, podcaster, personality about the war in Iraq, and is a real leadership guru and was at the time.
But I think, you know, Michael probably got some of his good leadership principles from following along Lieutenant Commander Jocko.
Well, it was pretty powerful when I, which I put in the book of the men when Jocko had asked them, hey, I need you guys to go to this one area of Ramadi, you know, it's basically a crap hole.
It's in ruins, you know, but strategically, it is a very important spot like who's willing to go there.
And what happened? All of those guys in Michael's platoon willingly volunteered put their names on that whiteboard and agreed to go.
They knew they trusted, you know, Jocko enough to say, okay, it's not going to be good. It's not going to be easy.
But if you think this is a good strategic move like we're in, we'll go. So I just thought that was super, super incredible.
Another person in the book that I think reflects on Michael's character is Father Halliday.
Can you talk to us a little bit about learning that part of the story, which I suspect his parents knew nothing about when he was over in Iraq?
Yeah, they really didn't. It was definitely something Michael was so quiet.
They had his parents had no idea that he was operating on a nightly basis and the type of danger that he was.
He really wanted to protect them and, you know, I can't speak for him, but I assume that's why he kept it to himself.
But so him, you know, Michael obviously wasn't he knew what was going down. He was operating on this nightly basis, but he found he was Catholic and he found this incredible priest.
And I've met him and interviewed with him and now I'm like, I get it. I know why Michael continued to foster this relationship.
He's such a cool dude. He's so masculine, so strong. And he was there and he was there to offer him whatever instance Michael needed.
And it really what Michael appreciated over there, which was strength strengthening to him to do his job was the sacrament.
So Catholics use as a sacrament. So it was communion. It was Eucharist. It was confession, you know, being ready.
The sad thing is, I mean, Michael was ready to die at any time. And I'm sure a lot of those guys were Jim, but it was it was this cool relationship.
This almost this brotherhood camaraderie to between this Navy Chaplain Priest and Michael.
Yeah, I've had the chance to write on and interview a number of chaplains. These these men who are in the field with the warriors give great counsel, great solace.
It's not always a religious thing. Sometimes it's just you got to have somebody safe. You can express your fears with those chaplains of whatever denomination are doing great work with our men.
And I was really interested to read that that Michael Montsour, this Medal of Honor recipient had that kind of relationship with that kind of chaplain when he was in Iraq.
And I as suspected, his parents wouldn't have known about it, but probably gave them great comfort once they learned.
They did after and he was able to say that to them when they had met him after he had passed away.
And he said, you know, he died in the state of grace and, you know, for what Catholics believe with that with the sacraments and what else.
And then, you know, as you know, the end of the book, who says that powerful prayer at the end, who's able to be there in the huge commissioning of bringing his ship to life.
But Father Paul holiday, they flew him back over to do the honors. And I thought that was just so powerful.
Well, sometimes this arc is just perfect. And I think that was a good example of it.
But you record a conversation that George told you he had with Michael and again, the war over the last 10 or 20 years has been different because I'm an older vintage.
You didn't get cell phone calls and Internet FaceTime and that sort of thing.
But George got to talk to Michael and tell him, hey, don't be a hero.
And Michael responded, I have no regrets. A couple of powerful statements.
I know. And you know, from a mother perspective, it's heartbreaking. It really is because all you want for your child is a long life is, you know, happiness is comfort, right?
And Michael like turned all of that away, Jim, because he believed in a bigger ideal. So George, you know, even to talk with him about it, it's so painful.
But George knew like he knew his son was set, was set to do this was set to go to this war torn area.
And he wasn't afraid. He was not afraid.
Go ahead and set us up for what happened on September 29, 2006, when Michael and other snipers were there.
And I want to point out, it also happens to be St. Michael the Archangel's feast day as we as we bridge this Father Halliday, Michael's faith, the family's faith.
But but tell us about this day that will always be remembered.
So Michael, you know, they had a crazy deployment and super high tempo operating throughout the whole thing.
And then they were finally starting to wind down after about six months.
And Michael being the, you know, man that he was was aware of everything going on around him.
And he knew some of these guys were going home early. It's called turnover.
I've done many times with my husband and their platoons.
So the majority of the platoon will get ready. They'll pack up, they'll get things on, you know, their containers to head home.
And they'll start getting ready to phase out and the new team will come back in.
So Michael willingly volunteered to stay and continue operating.
One of his platoon mates was having a baby. He was like, you know, he wanted him and to make sure anyone else who wanted to would get home.
So he stayed and this was one of the last missions, which is just even worse.
But it was and he was operating with there was like, I don't know, eight of them total, I think, left out of a normal size of 15 to 20.
And they divided into two groups of four and they were providing bounding sniper overwatch for their band of brothers in a sensor, you know, the brothers in arms.
They were the first of the Army of first of the 506 battalion. And so they were down below doing what they need to be doing.
I think they're reinforcing some fencing with security measures and whatnot.
And then Michael and the other seals were on rooftops. So he had three seals with him.
And I think there's one or two Iraqi interpreters. I can't remember specifically, but so anyway, a very uneventful day at first, Jim.
But then they started to take fire. And ultimately, which happened pretty fast.
A grenade was thrown on the rooftop and Michael was the closest one where he could have jumped away from it.
But the other three could not have. So in that split second, which is all that he had, he jumped on top of it and shielded the blast with his own body.
He lived for 30 minutes longer. They were, you know, providing aid as fast as they could.
They got him evacuated off the rooftop, got him as fast as they could back to base.
But that's where he passed away. But all of the rest of the men, three seals and the Iraqi interpreters survived because of what Michael did for them willingly.
And he gave them a gift, just like he gave a lot of people who have heard the story this gift of, and you have to ask yourself, what makes a man do this?
And it's really a selfless sacrifice. And you end up giving this gift to those who are spared.
And you had a chance to talk to some of these men, kind of relate how that gift continues to ripple forward.
So powerful. So, you know, it's hard for the men he saved still, I would say 100%.
They feel a sense of guilt sometimes, survivor's guilt, because why my brother in arms and not me, right?
But on the flip side, such gratitude. And they are willing to go to the ends of the earth.
I mean, Mike Surrelly, one of the men he saved, his son is named Michael Anthony after Michael Anthony Montsour.
And actually, there's a neat little memorial section in the back of the book that, yes, there's these incredible memorials to him.
But what I thought to point out that the most powerful memorials right now are all of these sons who are named after him,
of the brothers he saved. So many guys have named their kids after him, because they just loved him so much.
And I would, I mean, and then it just goes on from there.
I mean, you know, with the building of the ship, I mean, you had middle school classes, want to make videos who learned about his story.
And you had winemakers make a special wine for him. They made him an honorary chief, because if he was alive, he still would have been.
And the guy who made the special, it's almost like a shadow box, but it's a decorative box.
He said, no, I want to do this. Don't pay me a cent. It is my honor to make it for him.
I mean, there was just so many situations, Jim, of people who are so moved by his act of charity, that they too want to make an act of charity.
And I just, it's to this day still blows me away.
Yeah, in reading the book, Defend Us in Battle, which is on the Harper Horizon imprint, when I started reading the memorials, again, you could, at the back of the book, as you mentioned,
you could feel how meaningful different memorials would have been to Michael, but more importantly, how different groups, whether it be at Fort Campbell or at Pendleton,
or she's in the Norfolk at churches, how they wanted to make sure his name and his story and his sacrifice continued on.
And so I thought that was a nice touch to add all that in.
So would you talk a little bit about, you know, we've talked a little bit about the reaction to the sacrifice,
but does the family feel that the sacrifice will, you know, going forward in a ripple effect? Will that continue to go forward?
Give us a little bit about how George is thinking about this, how the rest of the family is thinking about this.
Well, they're super private.
So, you know, even the children are not a big fan of media and they don't want to really be involved in this book at the time, not out of, you know, any sort of reason other than just let us be,
like, were his siblings just let us be, which I thought was beautiful and respectful.
You know, I think in today's world, people want to exploit isn't the right word that happens, right?
But people want to know everything all the time, Jim, and there's a healthy level of, you know, mystery or a privacy, like, let's let certain things be, right?
So those memories will always be within those children, which I love, you know, just let them have their brother.
And then for George and Sally's perspective, knowing that bits and pieces people do know, but the thing is, like, these these boys who served with Michael,
they're not going to have any sort of relationship with each other.
And so, you know, that's the thing that matters to them too, because their children want to know who Uncle Mikey was there, you know, who was I named after, you know, not everyone has made a comprehensive story yet.
So, so the sacrifice lives on, I think, in the sense of these guys and his parents and even the siblings, of course, will have a better, you know, because they don't know all the operations he went on either.
Sister and brother, so it just, it just marries together so many wonderful stories and memories.
And I think, you know, George will fight for his son and stand up for his memory his whole life, you know, and Sally recently passed away.
And they were married for 49 years, so that is very heartbreaking. But what we do have preserved in the book are all those stories she shared, Jim, so many she hadn't shared with the world.
Well, I think, again, another very important part because, you know, a mother's concern and pain you sort of mentioned and her prayers for her son are just a reflective of what every mother is doing.
When their boys are overseas, their daughters are overseas. So, again, a great story about a terrific young man who made the ultimate sacrifice for his mates selfless act does cause you to say every time I read one of these stories,
like, how did he, how do you do that? Do you have, who has the courage to do that? So, we're talking to Rose Array and she wrote the book, Defend Us in Battle with George Mansour, who's the father of Navy Seal Michael Mansour,
who received the Medal of Honor from President George Bush back in 2008 for his actions in 2006 in Iraq.
And Rose, thanks for bringing this story to life and adding it to the Library of Literature on Medal of Honor recipients.
It was my pleasure and it's been such a joy speaking with you and thank you for all that you are doing to bring awareness to our wonderful veterans.
And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim Fausone. It's been a pleasure to be your host. I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web.
You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio shows by going to veteransradio.net and until next time, you are dismissed.
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And until next time, you are dismissed.
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