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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lone Survivor, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Politics and the War on Terror
Bigotry and America’s Enemies
Machismo and the Navy SEALs
Ethics and the “Rules of Engagement”
Survival and Trauma
Summary
Analysis
On July 18, 2006, Luttrell receives the Navy Cross for his heroism in combat. There, he shakes hands with President George W. Bush. Bush smiles in a way that seems to say, “We’re both Texans, right?” Bush shows Luttrell the Lone Star patch Luttrell sent him, and says that it’ll be in his future museum. Finally, he tells Luttrell to give him a call if he needs anything at all. Luttrell is awestruck to meet this “very great United States president.”
The memoir ends with a scene conveying Luttrell’s Texas roots, his pride in his own military service, his idolatry for Bush (and, more implicitly, the Bush administration’s policies)—in short, all the major themes of the book. Luttrell is a talented, undeniably brave soldier. Whether he’s right to condemn ROE, say that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, or praise America for its aggressive foreign policy during the War on Terror, though, is much more debatable.
Themes
