This is Jockel Podcast number two 17 with Echo Charles and me, Jockel Willink.

Good evening, Echo. Good evening.

The Chaplain wanted me to visit one family in particular.

They were caring for their severely wounded service member, a Marine master sergeant named Eden Pearl,

who'd been part of the Marine Corps forces special operation command Marsok.

I'd met a lot of severely wounded vets by then, but the severity and extent of Eden's wounds set him in a category by himself.

His family, especially his wife Alicia, remained some of the strongest, most courageous people I've ever met.

Eden was muscular, tattooed, and once sported a bushy red beard, they called him the Viking.

Other Marines knew him as an exemplary combat leader.

He served in Kosovo from 1999 to 2001, helping to prevent ethnic cleansing.

In 2003, he was one of the first Marines on the ground in Iraq.

He redeployed to Iraq in 2004 and 2005, then deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.

In August of 2009, Eden and his unit were involved in a massive gun battle against terrorists in the area surrounding a small Afghan village.

The battle raged so intensely that the Marines made the difficult decision to leave the village so they could return at a more strategic time.

As they left the Humvee that Eden rode in, struck a hidden roadside IED, exploded, and burst into flames.

The interpreter and the driver, Army Corporal Nick Roush, were killed immediately.

The remaining four troops inside the vehicle received severe burns, but none as terrible as Eden.

Here's the remarkable thing. Eden was finally pulled from the vehicle and placed under a burn blanket.

Still coherent.

The first thing he did was ask if his troops were okay.

The family asked me if I'd go into the intensive care unit for a while to sit with Eden.

I nodded and a nurse fitted me with a gown, gloves, and booties and placed a nylon hat over my hair.

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