Background
Marc was born in Portland, Oregon and moved to Colorado when he was a year old with his mother Debbie and brother and sister.
Marc was born in Portland, Oregon and moved to Colorado when he was a year old with his mother Debbie and brother and sister.
Lee was home-schooled until his Junior year and graduated from Baptist Christian School in 1996. He attended The Master"s College in California with a major in Bible & Theology and played on their soccer team
He was the first Sea, Air, Land to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom when he was killed in a fierce firefight while on patrol against insurgents in Ramadi. On March 20, 2013, the Marc A. Lee Training Center building was dedicated at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. When he was 7, he and his family moved back to Hood River, Oregon.
In 1997, he moved to Colorado once again to pursue his dream of a career in professional soccer.
He was scheduled for tryouts with the Colorado Rapids. In an indoor soccer match the night before tryouts, he blew out his knee requiring surgery on his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and meniscus.
In his 2nd year, he changed his major to Law. In May 2001, Lee went into the Navy with a contract to tryout for the SEALs.
Military Lee was the first Navy Sea, Air, Land killed in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A fellow Sea, Air, Land Team 3 member, Ryan "Biggles" Job, was critically injured by a sniper and Lee single-handedly provided cover fire while other team members prepared Job for medical evacuation. The team re-engaged the enemy force after the evacuation of Job. Lee was mortally wounded when he exposed himself a third time to draw fire from enemy forces away from his teammates.
His Silver Star citation reads:
During the operation, one element member was wounded by enemy fire.
The element completed the casualty evacuation, regrouped and returned onto the battlefield to continue the fight. During the assault, his team came under heavy enemy fire from an adjacent building to the north.
To protect the lives of his teammates, he fearlessly exposed himself to direct enemy fire by engaging the enemy with his machine gun and was mortally wounded in the engagement. His brave actions in the line of fire saved the lives of many of his teammates.
Petty Officer Lee"s courageous leadership, operational skill, and selfless dedication to duty, reflected great cr upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: August 2, 2006
Job survived his wounds but was left permanently blind. Lee was portrayed by actor Luke Grimes in the 2014 film American Sniper.
Petty Officer Lee conducted clearance operations in South-Central Ramadi as a member of a Naval Special Warfare Combat Advisory element for the Iraqi Army.