Mike Day survived being shot 27 times during a single gunfight in Iraq, then spent the rest of his life helping other wounded veterans heal. This guide lays out the verified facts about his service, his awards, his memoir, and his death in 2023, since no official English Wikipedia article about him currently exists.
Background
Douglas “Mike” Day was a United States Navy SEAL whose story became one of the most talked-about survival accounts in modern special operations history. He is best known for a single night in April 2007, when he led a raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq’s Anbar Province and walked away after taking 27 gunshots.
People search his name for a few different reasons. Some want the details of that 2007 firefight. Others are looking for facts about his memoir, “Perfectly Wounded,” which he co-wrote with author Robert Vera and which carries a foreword tied to Admiral William H. McRaven. And a growing number of people search “Mike Day Navy SEAL Wikipedia” specifically because there is no dedicated Wikipedia biography for him on the English-language site, even though there is enough public record to answer most of the common questions. A short entry exists on a separate site called EverybodyWiki, which hosts pages that were removed from or never accepted onto Wikipedia itself, and a factual summary sits on Wikidata. Neither of those is the same as an official Wikipedia article, which is worth knowing if that’s what brought you here.
Latest Update
There is no new development in Mike Day’s story to report. He passed away in March 2023, and nothing has surfaced since then that changes the public record. Search interest in his name tends to spike around anniversaries of his death, mentions in veteran advocacy circles, or when his memoir gets referenced in military news coverage. If you saw a claim suggesting something new or different has happened, treat it as unconfirmed until it’s reported by a credible outlet, because no such report currently exists.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Public sources disagree on some basic details of where and when Mike Day was born, and that disagreement hasn’t been resolved anywhere in the public record. Some sources, including a Wikidata entry citing Find a Grave, list his birth date as May 24, 1975, in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the claim that he was raised in Auburn, Washington. A separate source, the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, lists his birth date as May 14, 1971, in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
⚠️ Because these two credible-seeming sources conflict, both the exact birth date and birthplace should be treated as unconfirmed rather than settled fact. What is consistently reported is that Day enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1989.
Career Path
Day’s Navy career spanned about 21 years. He came up through the ranks as an enlisted SEAL, reaching the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer, an E-8 pay grade. Early in his career he served with SEAL Team Eight, with records showing him training there around the year 2000. He later served with SEAL Team Four’s Foxtrot Platoon, and by 2007 he was assault force commander for a Naval Special Warfare Task Unit operating out of Fallujah, Iraq.
The event that defined his public story happened on the night of April 6, 2007. Day’s unit, working alongside Iraqi Army scouts, raided a house believed to be sheltering a high-level al-Qaeda cell. Day was first through the door of a small room where several insurgents were waiting. He was hit almost immediately, and his rifle was knocked from his hands by gunfire. He drew his sidearm and kept fighting, killing an insurgent who was preparing to throw a grenade. That grenade detonated and knocked him unconscious. When he came to, he directed Iraqi scouts to protect a group of women and children found in the house and used a fallen teammate’s radio to call for help. In total, he had taken 16 bullets to his body and another 11 that were stopped by his armor.
He was awarded the Silver Star, the Navy and Marine Corps’ third-highest combat decoration, along with two Bronze Stars, one with a Valor device, and a Purple Heart. A few fan and hobbyist sites describe his top award as the Navy Cross rather than the Silver Star, but that claim conflicts with his official Silver Star citation as reported by Navy Times and Task & Purpose, so it should be treated as unconfirmed.
Day’s physical recovery took close to two years. He also carried lasting injuries that don’t show up on an X-ray: post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury from the blast. He retired from the Navy in 2010 and shifted his focus to helping other veterans, working as a case manager with the Special Operations Command Care Coalition and as a tactical training instructor for special operations units and law enforcement. In 2020, he published a memoir called “Perfectly Wounded: A Memoir About What Happens After a Miracle,” written with Robert Vera. He also founded a nonprofit called Warrior Tribe, aimed at giving veterans and trauma survivors tools for building resilience.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Enlists in the U.S. Navy |
| c. 2000 | Serves with SEAL Team Eight |
| April 6, 2007 | Shot 27 times leading a raid on an al-Qaeda cell in Anbar Province, Iraq |
| 2007–2009 | Undergoes roughly two years of physical recovery |
| 2010 | Retires from the Navy after 21 years of service |
| 2020 | Publishes memoir “Perfectly Wounded” |
| March 27, 2023 | Dies by suicide at age 47 |
Age
Because his birth date isn’t confirmed in one consistent source, his exact age can’t be stated with certainty. What multiple outlets agree on is that he was 47 years old at the time of his death in March 2023.
Religion
No credible source publicly documents Mike Day’s religious affiliation. This detail is unconfirmed and should not be assumed either way.
Spouse/Partner
Some tribute articles mention that Day “left behind a family,” but none of the sources reviewed for this article name a spouse or confirm his marital status at the time of his death. This detail is currently unconfirmed in public reporting.
Net Worth
No verified net worth figure for Mike Day has been published by a financial or news outlet. Given that his public income came from military pay, speaking engagements, and book royalties, any specific dollar figure circulating online should be treated as a guess rather than a fact.
Parents
Public sources do not name Mike Day’s parents. This detail is unconfirmed.
Height
No source reviewed for this article lists a specific height for Mike Day. This detail is unconfirmed.
Education
Public records reviewed for this article don’t detail Day’s schooling before he enlisted in the Navy in 1989. His professional training came through the Navy’s SEAL pipeline rather than a civilian degree program, but specifics of any pre-Navy education remain unconfirmed.
Hometown/State of Origin
This is another detail where sources conflict. One source says he was raised in Auburn, Washington; another says he was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Given the discrepancy, neither location can be confirmed as definitive without a source that resolves the conflict.
Official Social Media
Mike Day’s Instagram account, referenced in coverage of his life and death, was @mikeday5326. As with any account belonging to someone who has passed away, the profile may not be actively managed.
Reader Questions (FAQ)
How did Mike Day get shot 27 times?
He was the first SEAL through the door during a 2007 raid on an al-Qaeda cell in Iraq’s Anbar Province. He took 16 bullets to his body and another 11 rounds were stopped by his armor, along with grenade shrapnel, while clearing the room and later the rest of the house.
Did Mike Day survive being shot 27 times?
Yes. He survived the 2007 shooting, recovered physically over roughly two years, and continued serving in the Navy before retiring in 2010. He passed away separately in 2023.
How did Mike Day die?
He died by suicide on March 27, 2023, after a long struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury connected to his combat service. His death was confirmed by Naval Special Warfare Command and reported by Navy Times and Task & Purpose.
What awards did Mike Day receive?
His confirmed awards include the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with one carrying a Valor device, and a Purple Heart. Claims that he received the Navy Cross instead appear on a few informal sites but conflict with his official citation and are unconfirmed.
Is there an official Wikipedia page for Mike Day?
No dedicated article for him currently exists on the English Wikipedia. A separate site called EverybodyWiki hosts a page about him, and a factual entry exists on Wikidata, but neither is an official Wikipedia biography.
What book did Mike Day write?
He wrote “Perfectly Wounded: A Memoir About What Happens After a Miracle,” published in 2020 and co-written with author Robert Vera, with contributions tied to Admiral William H. McRaven. The book covers the 2007 firefight and his recovery from both physical and psychological wounds.
What is Warrior Tribe?
Warrior Tribe is a nonprofit organization Mike Day founded to provide resiliency training and support resources for veterans and trauma survivors. It continues his advocacy work following his own recovery from combat injuries.
How long did Mike Day serve in the Navy?
He served approximately 21 years, enlisting in 1989 and retiring in 2010 at the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer.
Wrap-Up
Mike Day’s story sits at the intersection of two things that don’t always get told together: an almost unbelievable act of survival, and an honest account of what combat trauma does to a person long after the physical wounds close. The 2007 raid made him a name people search for out of disbelief at what the human body can survive. His later work, through his memoir and through Warrior Tribe, made him a name people search for because his account of PTSD and traumatic brain injury felt honest in a way that a lot of hero narratives don’t.
The gaps in his public biography, like the conflicting birth details and the absence of confirmed spouse or family information, aren’t unusual for someone whose fame came from a single event and a book. Rather than guess at those details, it’s more useful to know clearly what is and isn’t confirmed, especially since no single authoritative Wikipedia page pulls it all together yet.
✔️ If Mike Day’s story is new to you, the most reliable starting points remain his own memoir, the Silver Star citation reported by Navy Times, and the statements released by Naval Special Warfare Command after his death. Those sources agree on the core facts of his service and his passing, even where smaller biographical details remain unsettled.
John Wood is the founder and lead editor of Biography Region. He researches and writes accurate, engaging biographies of celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers, and public figures, delivering well-sourced, reader-focused content that informs and inspires.