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Today we hear a heartbreaking yet inspiring set of combat stories of three brothers, told by the only one to survive the post-9/11 battlefield: former Marine Beau Wise.

While serving in Afghanistan, SEAL veteran and CIA contractor Jeremy Wise was killed in an al Qaeda suicide bombing that devastated the US intelligence community (as you’ll hear in this interview and as depicted in this scene from Zero Dark Thirty and also in the book Triple Agent). 

Less than three years later, Green Beret Ben Wise was fatally wounded after volunteering for a dangerous assignment during a firefight with the Taliban.

Ben was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, while Jeremy received the Intelligence Star AND a star on the CIA’s Memorial Wall, which I can attest to.

Our guest, Beau, is the only known American service member to be pulled from the battlefield after losing two brothers in Afghanistan. This was a challenging interview but one that I’m eternally grateful that I was allowed to do.

The account you’re about to hear is detailed in the incredible book, Three Wise Men: A Navy SEAL, a Green Beret, and How Their Marine Brother Became a War's Sole Survivor, written by Beau Wise and Tom Sileo. 

Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:47 - Beau bio. 1:50 - Interview begins. 3:05 - “My mom was a walking encyclopedia of American conflicts.” 5:25 - Introducing Ben and Jeremy as kids. 10:12 - Life shaping event for Beau and his brothers. 12:25 - How on Earth do three brothers choose three different branches of service and become a SEAL, a Green Beret, and a Marine? 18:30 - How your mom might react after signing up for the Marine Corps. 22:10 - Beau’s description as an 0331 Marine. 27:57 - The loss of the first Wise brother, Jeremy, who was one of the seven CIA personnel killed at FOB Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan on Dec 30th, 2009. 33:28 - Mindset after a devastating loss and being sent back into the breach. 35:55 - Advice on how to handle the loss of someone close in combat. 40:18 - Beau’s experience identifying an IED emplacement in Marjah. 47:25 - A phenomenal training and then combat story from Jeremy Wise in his time as a SEAL. 49:55 - A combat story from Ben Wise during his time as a Green Beret medic and sniper. 54:15 - What happens after Beau learns of Ben’s passing. 56:48 - What did Beau, Ben, and Jeremy carry into combat for good luck. 1:01:30 - Would you do it all again, after all the pain and suffering?