Navy SEAL ‘Died Doing What Made Me Happy’

Before he left for Afghanistan, Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts wrote a letter for his wife to open in case he did not return.

“I loved being a SEAL,” he wrote. “If I died doing something for the Teams, then I died doing what made me happy. Very few people have the luxury of that.”

Roberts, 32, a petty officer 1st class from Woodland, Calif., and six other Americans died Monday after U.S. helicopters were hit by enemy gunfire in Afghanistan. Roberts fell to the ground as his stricken helicopter veered up and away. He apparently survived the fall and was shot on the ground.

The family released a portion of the letter because Roberts’ widow, Patty, wanted to tell people about her husband.

“He loved his country and would want everyone to know that this is how he would have wanted to go,” she said in a statement.

Roberts, who is survived by his wife and 18-month-old son, Nathan, thanked his family, which includes a twin brother, Galen, 10 other brothers and sisters, and his mother, Jan, all of whom still live in Woodland.

“My family is the reason I am the person I am today,” he wrote. “They supported and cared for me in the best way possible.”

He also expressed how much being in the Navy meant to him: “Although I sacrificed personal freedom and many other things, I got just as much as I gave. My time in the Teams was special. For all the times I was cold, wet, tired, sore, scared, hungry and angry, I had a blast. The bad was balanced equally with the good.”