When Navy SEALs Call 9-1-1

They are the military’s “guardian angels.” They are trained paramedics, paratroopers, and combat divers. This is the story of one such airman, and the mission of a lifetime. [View in Browser]( [Esquire Sunday Reads]( Still need a gift? Check out our list of 31 retailers that make last-minute shopping easy. [SHOP NOW]( Still need a gift? Check out our list of 31 retailers that make last-minute shopping easy. [SHOP NOW]( [The Savior Elite: Inside the Special Operations Force Tasked]( The Savior Elite: Inside the Special Operations Force Tasked with Rescuing Navy SEALS In 2007, his life adrift, St. Clair walked into a military recruitment office in Portland, Maine. He was 20 years old. He had decided to leave college, to join the military, and to begin a new life. His mind was set on the Special Forces, and when he learned about the U.S. Air Force Pararescue—parajumpers, PJs for short—he signed up. The unit traces its lineage to 1943 during the Second World War. A C-46 had failed and the dozens of airmen it carried had bailed out over the jungles between China and present-day Myanmar. The only route to reach the men was by air. So two medical corpsman parachuted down and stayed with the men for over a month, tending to injuries until they could reach safety. By the Vietnam War, Pararescue was an official unit. For many across the armed forces, however, the PJ is a cowboy. Their wild legacy contains numerous exemplars: PJs jumping with patients from exploding helicopters, PJs flying into hurricanes and 80-foot waves, PJs taking bullets to the head and then returning to combat. One story tells of two PJs wrestling in an Afghan hut after a grenade rolled by; each tried to shield the other, competing over who should save whom. [Read the Full Story]( [MORE FROM ESQUIRE]( [Shop Esquire Editors' Favorite Gifts Of 2023]( Shop Esquire Editors' Favorite Gifts Of 2023 Why stress about finding the perfect present when you can crib from our shopping list? We sourced our expert editors on what they have their eye on this season. Between classic staples that people always love to some of the hottest tech gadgets of the year, we curated everything that we would love to receive or give to a loved one this season. Whether you're looking for your mom who claims she has it all, your dad who loves the outdoors, or your friend who loves random shit on the internet, there's no doubt at least one thing here will catch their attention (and yours!). Here are twelve of our favorite new products of 2023. We’ve tested and approved them all, so you can buy with confidence—even if you’re really shopping for yourself. Spoiler alert: we're obsessed with the TV that's also a briefcase and obviously the perfect tie from Hermes. [Read the Full Story]( [What's a Circus with No Animals?]( What's a Circus with No Animals? What do you call a six-wheeled unicycle? A sexcycle? Tonight is the first show of the all-new Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—six years after they shut the whole thing down—and the unicycles keep getting taller and taller. Wesley Williams, the One-Wheel Wonder, breaks his own Guinness World Record for the second time by riding a 34-and-a-half-footer. Meanwhile, Stix the Drummer shouts “Let’s rock this place out!” and performs a drum solo and a guitar solo. A man brings out a cannon, which propels his daughter Skyler the Human Rocket across the arena at 65 mph. This is the circus in 2023, and while giant unicycles and human cannonballs remind you of the circus you saw as a kid, there’s something, or somethings, missing: trumpeting elephants and hoop-jumping tigers (not to mention clowns). For most of its 146-year run, from 1871 to 2017, animals pretty much defined the circus, but their use became increasingly unpopular in recent years. When my high school’s physics class took a field trip to the circus over a decade ago, I stood outside the school with the newly-formed Animal Rights Club holding a picket sign. My fellow protesters and I—and a lot of other people—wanted an animal-free circus, but we didn’t think much about what that might look like. Now I’ve come to Bossier City, Louisiana on opening night to find out what defines the circus now. [Read the Full Story]( [15 Luxury Gifts That Are (Surprisingly) Under $500]( 15 Luxury Gifts That Are (Surprisingly) Under $500 Some might say its materialism, some might say its just good taste, but either way, luxury gifts are always appreciated during the holidays. Getting a luxury gift for somebody is a classy move, and when you bestow something elegant and tasteful onto somebody else, it shows your eye for opulence in being the gift-giver, as well as theirs in being the recipient. I'm not saying you have to go out and spend your life savings for the holidays, because you don't. Leather bags and silk scarves and red-bottomed shoes are great and all, but the same brands you know and love for having expensive gifts also have great selections of gifts than you can get for under $500. These include home decorations, small leather goods, jewelry, accessories, and sometimes even clothes. [Read the Full Story]( [The Best Martinis in America, 2023]( The Best Martinis in America, 2023 Order a martini and you may be asked: gin or vodka? Shaken or stirred? Wet or dry? Olives or a twist? Perhaps it’s the ritual of hospitality—which is the unspoken ingredient in every martini—that makes it a sacred cow of cocktail culture. Treat the martini with respect and it will respect you. Today you’ll find martinis that better reflect the diaspora of American drinkers and drink makers, like the umami bomb that is the MSG martini at Bonnie’s, a Cantonese-American restaurant in Brooklyn, or one with a blend of Korean sojus at Naro in Rockefeller Center. You’ll notice some leaning into the culinary prowess that the best bars possess, like the Old Bay martini at Denver’s Yacht Club, which captures licking your fingers after eating crabs and taking a swig of a gin martini. You may even run into a real curveball, like the tequila martini at the Beverly Hills location of the martini temple Dante. Tequila? In a martini? For me, that’s within the rules. You'll find our 50 favorite martinis in America below, listed alphabetically by state, kicking off with our Martini of the Year. [Read the Full Story]( [J.Crew's Giant Fit Chinos Deserve the Hype]( J.Crew's Giant Fit Chinos Deserve the Hype I am very into pants. Sounds weird, perhaps, but I am. And as someone who is very into pants, I feel uniquely qualified to tell you that the time to trade in your skinny-fit anything is now. I found a pair that absolutely needs to be added to your wardrobe. Those pants are J.Crew’s Giant Fit Chinos. If I sound urgent, it’s because I am. These pants went viral on TikTok not too long ago, and have been pretty hard to score ever since—they’re often sold out, and if they’re not, it’s you and me versus hundreds of other menswear enthusiasts trying to score a pair from J.Crew. But out of the goodness of my heart—nay, out of my civic duty—I’m sharing these perfect pants with you in the hopes that you can get them by (and for) the holidays. The bad karma that would certainly result in me keeping these all to myself is too threatening to risk. [Read the Full Story]( [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice]( | [CA Notice at Collection]( Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779