Retired Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille woke up on Jan. 9, 2023, in Antarctica, ready to embark on the first of seven skydiving jumps that were deemed skydiving’s most elusive feat, the “Triple 7” — seven skydives on seven continents in seven days.
For Sarraille and his team of nine former United States and Canadian special operations service members, achieving such a feat would be their way of honoring their fallen brothers.
“When we say the words, especially with Memorial Day, ‘Never forget and to forever honor those who gave everything,’ never forget the example that these men and women set. And ‘forever honor,’ forever honor means living our lives to the fullest,” Sarraille said.
The team completed the seven jumps in six days, six hours, and six minutes, setting four world records in the process.
The jumps took the team from Antarctica to Chile, Miami, Spain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. Each of the jumps paid tribute to Michael Monsoor, David McDowell, Robert Ramirez, Marc Lee, Dave Hall, Lou Langlais, and Matthew Abbate.
Monsoor, a SEAL, jumped on a grenade 3 feet from Sarraille, saving his life and others around them.
“Something like that just, you can’t erase it from your memory. It’s seared in your mind. He’s never far from me,” Sarraille said.
The skydiving venture ended with an additional celebratory jump in Tampa, Florida, in honor of the 13 service members lost at Kabul Airport during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
“The world records mean nothing to us,” Sarraille said. “Life is about faith, relationships, character, and integrity. What these men and women found is the one thing for which you’re willing to give everything. … It was for America.”
The skydiving venture was documented in the new film Triple 7: They Said It Couldn’t Be Done.
The film was directed and produced by Dan Myrick, known for The Blair Witch Project.
“It was an opportunity for me to get into this very elite world, this very closed, kind of mysterious world, and sort of demystify a little bit about what these guys are about because Hollywood has the tendency to stereotype them and portray them either as broken soldiers or ‘Rambo’ types,” Myrick said. “I realized that they are these really super cool guys. They’re creative and empathetic, very smart, intelligent — emotionally intelligent — guys.”
“We don’t forget these individuals that gave up everything for us to do what we do,” Myrick added.
As the team completed the final jump, they briefly considered their accomplishments.
“We did something that people said, ‘It couldn’t be done.’ We proved them wrong, but guys like Mikey [Monsoor] and all the ones we’ve lost are never far from my mind. They gave their today and every one of their tomorrows,” Sarraille said. “This is also for the military families. They pay a cost, especially when a loved one doesn’t come home. Military families are the unsung heroes.”
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The film has raised $2 million of its $7 million goal for Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen service members or disabled veterans.
The “Triple 7” team consisted of the following special operations service members: Sarraille, Andy Stumpf, Fred Williams, Mike Barker, Glenn Cowan, Nick Kush, Logan Stark, Jariko Denman, and Jim Wigginton.
