According to radio station KJO 105.5, based in Maryville, Missouri, the father of fallen Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark T. Carter has written a book meant to honor his deceased son, and to benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation, a non-profit that provides immediate and ongoing support and assistance to members of the Naval Special Warfare community and their families.  The author, Dr. Thomas M. Carter, MD, is an emergency medicine physician who works for SSM Health St. Francis, in Maryville.

The book, titled “Badger: What He Died For: In Memory of SEAL Mark T. Carter, SOC,” aims to share stories from Carter’s “family, friends, and SEALs that will help preserve the memory of a true American patriot,” according to the book’s website.  Doctor Carter stated that he wrote the book to honor his son, who was a SEAL assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group when he was killed in combat in Iraq in December 2007.

According to Military Times, Chief Carter was 27, and based in Fallbrook, California, when he was killed December 11th in Balad, Iraq, as a result of enemy action while conducting combat operations.  Carter joined the Navy in 1998, according to Navy records, and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 1999, with class 226 (this author graduated with class 227, right after Carter’s class).  Chief Carter had previously been assigned to SEAL Team 3 and SEAL Team 7, both based on the West Coast.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Carter’s SEAL teammates gave him the nickname “Badger” after the 5-foot-5-inch Carter beat a 6-foot-5-inch opponent in a wrestling match.  They thought the small but ferocious animal seemed an apt mascot for the diminutive — but powerful — SEAL.  They were right.

The book is available for purchase now through Dorrance Publishers.  It is available here and at Amazon.

(Featured image courtesy of the Department of Defense).