Haunted by Heroes: Honoring SEAL Team 6, Extortion 17, and the Fearless Operators Who Didn’t Come Home

Haunted by Heroes is the powerful follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Fearless, revealing the untold stories behind the story while honoring fallen SEAL Team 6 warriors whose voices still echo from the battlefield and beyond.   In May 2011, just days before SEAL Team 6’s daring raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, New York Times bestselling author Eric Blehm was approached to write the story of an unknown Navy SEAL from the top-secret unit. His name was Adam Brown, and according to a teammate, he was “. . . the one SEAL from our command who deserves a book.”   What began as the biography of an extraordinary life became an unexpected deep dive into a brotherhood of elite warriors. Guardedly, Adam’s SEAL teammates led Blehm into their hidden world—not to tell their own stories but to honor their fallen brother and fulfill his final request: that his full story be told. Not his heroics but his addiction, his failures, and the long, hard road to redemption.   From remote training grounds in Alaska to the backrooms and coastline of Virginia Beach, these men shared with Blehm the reality of their profession: maritime hostage rescues, knife fights with pirates, and high-risk missions targeting the world’s most dangerous enemies. Above all, they shared what it means to be a protector, to confront evil with violence . . . then return home to ordinary life, mowing the lawn and lighting candles on a birthday cake in a room full of toddlers.Seven weeks later, nearly all of the men from Adam’s squadron who shared their memories with Blehm were called back into action. Without hesitation, they boarded a CH-47 Chinook helicopter—call sign Extortion 17—and rushed into battle to reinforce troops engaged with the enemy in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan. Minutes later, an enemy rocket struck the aircraft.  All thirty-eight aboard were killed.In the wake of that tragedy, Adam’s story—Fearless—was released and went on to touch the hearts of millions of readers around the world. But for Blehm, the story did not end there. The men who had fought so hard to bring Adam home and to preserve his legacy had stories of their own—stories left untold. Unfinished.    A raw and gritty memorial wrapped inside a heartrending memoir, Haunted by Heroes returns to those men, honoring their lives, their sacrifice, and the brotherhood that bound them together, ensuring that their voices, like Adam’s, will not be forgotten.  Read more