Marc Alan Lee

Marc Alan Lee, (March 20, 1978 - August 8, 2006) age 28, was a United States Navy Seal. He was the first seal to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lee was killed August 2, 2006 in a fierce firefight while on patrol against insurgents in Ramadi. Lee was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor and the Silver Star. On March 20, 2013, the Marc A. Lee Training Center building was dedicated at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.

Personal life
Marc was born in Portland, Oregon and moved to Colorado when he was a year old with his mother Debbie and brother and sister. When he was 7, he and his family moved back to Hood River, Oregon. Lee was home-schooled until his Junior year and graduated from Baptist Christian School in 1996. 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 and in an indoor soccer match the night before tryouts he blew out his knee requiring surgery on his ACL and meniscus. He attended The Master's College in California with a major in Bible & Theology and played on their soccer team. His 2nd year he changed his major to Law. In May 2001, Lee went into the Navy with a contract to tryout for the SEAL’s.