From Alex Metherell:

I have been thinking about what a privilege if has been for us to have been the parents of such an outstanding young man.  As I look back I have come to realize some amazing things about Mark.

For example, I cannot recall a single time when he lost his temper. - - Well there was the time when he was about 4 when Auntie Dee-Dee gave him a 2 wheel bike.  Upon trying to ride it for the first time he fell off and said to his mom “Give it to the Salvation Army.”

He never showed any fear - - not even the time when he was 5 and Alison was 3 in Miami and I was in Medical School.  They had just gone to bed and I crept in with a human skull and a flashlight shining inside while making moaning noises.  Alison screamed in terror and 5 year old Mark just laughed his head off.  - - Of course, I got properly scolded by Pam.

This fearlessness served him well when he became a SEAL.  When faced with a tense dangerous situation he would become very calm and controlled.

One such situation was when his SEAL team was deployed to Kodiak, Alaska in winter. He was out in a small open boat – a RIB I think it was – when the outboard motor quit.  There was another SEAL with him, along with a visiting Admiral who came along for the ride.  The seas were pretty rough and the boat was drifting towards some nasty rocks.  The Admiral started freaking out while Mark calmly figured out how to get the engine restarted and they got safely out of there.

This fearlessness and a lack of a temper gave him a unique ability to defuse a tense situation.  When faced with hostility his amazing gift with words would calm everyone down immediately.

Mark loved people, especially children.  With kids he would make funny faces, tickle them and, in effect, become like one of them.  He was like a “Pied-Piper.” Children would flock to him because he was so much fun.

His people skills were unsurpassed.  Even with people who spoke an unfamiliar language, he could communicate immediately.  No one was afraid of him.  These personal traits and characteristics qualified him uniquely for the job he was assigned to, most recently.

He never really told us much about what he did or where he went.  He did not want or need any recognition for his work.  He just loved doing it and told us this was his dream job.

A couple of years ago, when he came back from one of his deployments, he told us a little bit about how he was living.  The people he was with, were among remote feudal tribes in a region close to Pakistan.  These tribesmen don’t even trust people from neighboring tribes, let alone a foreigner.  He not only made friends with them – they welcomed him in as a brother – so much so, that he was invited to be part of a wedding.  This is unheard of for a foreigner.

Such were his people skills.  I can just see him growing a beard, playing with their children and winning the minds and hearts of the people.

His most recent mission was serving as a Special Advisor training Iraqi Special Forces.  These brave Iraqis were made up of the sects who for generations have been killing one another, but these Iraqi patriots set aside those differences – no doubt with the help of Mark – to serve a more noble cause.

Mark and 7 Iraqis, who were the best-of-the-best of their Special Forces, were killed by a massive IED that destroyed the lead vehicle in which they were riding in the early hours of April 11 on the outskirts of Baghdad. We are not surprised that Mark was in the lead vehicle.

I feel confident that out of that blood soaked soil will grow a stable, peaceful, free Iraq with a government OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people, with complete freedom of religion and expression.

When this happens they may look back and count those 7 patriotic Iraqis among the Founding Fathers of their reborn nation. They will, hopefully remember Mark Metherell as a patriotic American hero who stood by their side.

Mark was the ultimate peacemaker.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount—“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”