The Catholic Navy SEAL Who Sacrificed His Life on the Feast of Saint Michael: His Courageous True Story

Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor died on September 29, 2006, after shielding fellow service members from a grenade in Ramadi, Iraq. Petty Officer Second Class Monsoor, a member of Navy SEAL Team Three, was part of a group providing security from a rooftop that included three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers.

According to the book Defend Us in Battle, an insurgent threw a live grenade onto the rooftop. Monsoor, who was positioned closest to the staircase, dove onto the fragment grenade to absorb its impact. His actions saved the lives of the men with him, though shrapnel still struck two of his fellow SEALs. Monsoor was scheduled to return home less than one week after the incident.