AFTER ACTION: THE TRUE STORY OF A COBRA PILOT’S JOURNEY by Not all wounds are visible. Dan Sheehan is a third-generation naval aviator. He was eager to test his skills as a Cobra gunship pilot in the theatre of combat – and then he got his chance, first, in East Timor, then during two tours of duty in Iraq. The scenes in After Action crackle with tension and excitement as we follow his path into battle. Bullets pierce their Cobras as Dan and his comrades struggle to separate enemy fighters from civilians – ultimately deciding who lives and dies. Through blinding sandstorms, the smoke of battle and chaos of low-altitude firefights at night, Dan puts us in the front seat of the Cobra – where we white-knuckle our way through barrages of enemy fire – and into his head as he makes split-second decisions that carry lasting consequences. But there is far more to Sheehan’s story than this – an important reason why he wants us to understand what military men and women experience on the front lines of war. And what they bring home.
After the adrenaline rush of combat, something inside Dan would not turn off. He was a warrior, willing and proud to serve his country and he was fortunate to come out of battle whole, time and again. But he had not escaped Iraq untouched.
The subtle agitation he felt continued to grow into – restlessness – wariness – the hyper-vigilant sense that he needed to be always on guard. Even as he struggled to ignore it, the edginess grew, trailing him long after the action was over. Eventually, it began to intrude into his personal life, his intimate relationships, and threatened to hurt those he loved the most.
What Dan Sheehan learned, and what he exposes so bravely and frankly in his writing, sheds light on the invisible marks left on the soul of many warriors. As he shows us, admitting those marks are there is the next step in a veteran’s journey after action.
If you are a warrior …or know one… you will want to read this brave and moving memoir.
- BLACK HEARTS: ONE PLATOON’S DESCENT INTO MADNESS IN IRAQ’S TRIANGLE OF DEATH by
This is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment—a unit known as “the Black Heart Brigade.” Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq’s so-called Triangle of Death, a veritable meat grinder just south of Baghdad, the Black Hearts found themselves in arguably the country’s most dangerous location at its most dangerous time.
Hit by near-daily mortars, gunfire, and roadside bomb attacks, suffering from a particularly heavy death toll, and enduring a chronic breakdown in leadership, members of one Black Heart platoon—1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion—descended, over their year-long tour of duty, into a tailspin of poor discipline, substance abuse, and brutality.
Four 1st Platoon soldiers would perpetrate one of the most heinous war crimes U.S. forces have committed during the Iraq War—the rape of a fourteen-year-old Iraqi girl and the cold-blooded execution of her and her family. Three other 1st Platoon soldiers would be overrun at a remote outpost—one killed immediately and two taken from the scene, their mutilated corpses found days later booby-trapped with explosives.
Black Hearts is an unflinching account of the epic, tragic deployment of 1st Platoon. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with Black Heart soldiers and first-hand reporting from the Triangle of Death, Black Hearts is a timeless story about men in combat and the fragility of character in the savage crucible of warfare. But it is also a timely warning of new dangers emerging in the way American soldiers are led on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.
- FIRST TO FIGHT: AN INSIDE VIEW OF THE U.S. MARINE CORPS by
In this riveting insider’s chronicle, legendary Marine General “Brute” Krulak submits an unprecedented examination of U.S. Marines–their fights on the battlefield and off, their extraordinary esprit de corps. Deftly blending history with autobiography, action with analysis, and separating fact from fable, General Krulak touches the very essence of the Corps: what it means to be a Marine and the reason behind its consistently outstanding performance and reputation. Krulak also addresses the most basic but challenging question of all about the Corps: how does it manage to survive–even to flourish–despite overwhelming political odds and, as the general writes, “an extraordinary propensity for shooting itself in the foot?” To answer this question Krulak examines the foundation on which the Corps is built, a system of intense loyalty to God, to country, and to other Marines. He also takes a close look at Marines in war, offering challenging accounts of their experiences in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, he describes the Corps’s relationship to other services, especially during the unification battles following World War II, and offers new insights into the decision-making process in times of crisis. First published in hardcover in 1984, this book has remained popular ever since with Marines of every rank.
- FORGOTTEN WARRIORS: THE 1ST PROVISIONAL MARINE BRIGADE, THE CORPS ETHOS, AND THE KOREAN WAR by
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Marine Corps was ordered to deploy an air-ground brigade in less than ten days, even though no such brigade existed at the time. Assembled from the woefully understrength 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Air Wing units, the Brigade shipped out only six days after activation, sailed directly to Korea, was in combat within ninety-six hours of landing and, despite these enormous handicaps and numerically superior enemy forces, won every one of its engagements and helped secure the Pusan Perimeter. Despite its remarkable achievements, the Brigade’s history has largely been lost amid accounts of the sweeping operations that followed. Its real history has been replaced by myths that attribute its success to tough training, great conditioning, unit cohesion, and combat-experienced officers. None of which were true. T. X. Hammes now reveals the real story of the Brigade’s success, prominently citing the Corps’ crucial ability to maintain its ethos, culture, and combat effectiveness during the period between World War II and Korea, when its very existence was being challenged. By studying the Corps from 1945 to 1950, Hammes shows that it was indeed the culture of the Corps—a culture based on remembering its storied history and learning to face modern challenges—that was responsible for the Brigade’s success. The Corps remembered the human factors that made it so successful in past wars, notably the ethos of never leaving another marine behind. At the same time, the Corps demonstrated commendable flexibility in adapting its doctrine and operations to evolutions in modern warfare. In particular, the Corps overcame the air-ground schism that marked the end of World War II to excel at close air support. Despite massive budget and manpower cuts, the Corps continued to experiment and learn even at it clung to its historical lodestones. This approach was validated during the Brigade’s trial by fire.
More than a mere battle history, Forgotten Warriors gets to the heart of marine culture to show fighting forces have to both remember and learn. As today’s armed forces face similar challenges, this book confirms that culture as much as technology prepares America’s fighting men and women to answer their country’s call.
- HESITATION KILLS: A FEMALE MARINE OFFICER’S COMBAT EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ by This riveting memoir is the first book written by a female Marine about the war in Iraq and one of the only books written by a woman who has experienced combat firsthand. Deploying to Iraq in 2003, Jane Blair’s aerial reconnaissance unit was assigned to travel ahead of and alongside combat units throughout the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout her deployment, Jane kept a journal of her and her fellow lieutenants’ combat experiences, which she draws on to convey the immediacy of life in the military, not just for a woman but for all Marines.
Jane’s stories highlight the drama and chaos of wartime Iraq along with the day-to-day challenges every Marine faced: from spicing up a “pasta with alfredo sauce” military ration to trying to stay clean after weeks without a shower. She also copes with a bullying superior officer while trying to connect with local civilians who have long been viewed as “the enemy.” She recounts the struggles specific to women, including learning how to be respected as a Marine rather than dismissed as “the weaker sex” and learns strategies from other officers in her unit how to effectively battle the prejudices of male Marines who don’t believe women belong in uniform. And always, she fights the personal loneliness of being separated from her husband, balanced with the challenge and joy of stealing a private moment with him when, by chance, his unit is nearby.
Jane describes not only her experiences as a young lieutenant and as a woman but also those of her fellow Marines, whom she lauds as the true heroes of her story. Ultimately, she learns from her commanding officer, and her fellows in arms, what it truly means to be a leader, both in the military and in life. Weaving her story together with the experiences of the ordinary people of Iraq, this book offers compelling insights into the profound impact of the war on the lives of service members and civilians alike. Jane also weaves in the narrative her impressions of the Iraqis and draws the reader in to her changed perceptions and growing understanding of Muslims and Iraqis as a whole. Her unforgettable narrative bridges the gap between those who have experienced the Iraq War firsthand and those in America who could only follow its life-altering events from a distance. - THE LAST STAND OF FOX COMPANY: A TRUE STORY OF U.S. MARINES IN COMBAT by
November 1950, the Korean Peninsula: After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 234 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like they will be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox. This is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism in the face of impossible odds.
- THE MARINES OF MONTFORD POINT: AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK MARINES by
With an executive order from President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, the United States Marine Corps–the last all-white branch of the U.S. military–was forced to begin recruiting and enlisting African Americans. The first black recruits received basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Between 1942 and 1949 (when the base was closed as a result of President Truman’s 1948 order fully desegregating all military forces) more than 20,000 men trained at Montford Point, most of them going on to serve in the Pacific Theatre in World War II as members of support units. This book, in conjunction with the documentary film of the same name, tells the story of these Marines for the first time.
Drawing from interviews with 60 veterans, The Marines of Montford Point relates the experiences of these pioneers in their own words. From their stories, we learn about their reasons for enlisting; their arrival at Montford Point and the training they received there; their lives in a segregated military and in the Jim Crow South; their experiences of combat and service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; and their legacy. The Marines speak with flashes of anger and humor, sometimes with sorrow, sometimes with great wisdom, and always with a pride fostered by incredible accomplishment in the face of adversity. This book serves to recognize and to honor the men who desegregated the Marine Corps and loyally served their country in three major wars.
- WE WERE ONE: SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THE MARINES WHO TOOK FALLUJAH by Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company’s 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, found itself in Fallujah, embroiled in some of the most intense house-to-house, hand-to-hand urban combat since World War II. In the city’s bloody streets, they came face-to-face with the enemy-radical insurgents high on adrenaline, fighting to a martyr’s death, and suicide bombers approaching from every corner. Award-winning author and historian Patrick O’Donnell stood shoulder to shoulder with this modern band of brothers as they marched and fought through the streets of Fallujah, and he stayed with them as the casualties mounted.
- WOMEN AT WAR: IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND OTHER CONFLICTS by Today, women in all U.S. military services are involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve as pilots and crewmen of helicopters, bombers, fighters, and transport planes, and are frequently engaged in firefights with enemy insurgents while guarding convoys, traveling in hostile territory, or performing military police duties. The advent of the insurgency war, which has no rear or front lines, has made the debate regarding women in combat irrelevant. In such a war zone, anyone can be killed or injured at any moment. While the book’s focus is on today’s women in combat, it also reaches back to Vietnam, Korea, and World War II to offer selected stories of inspiring women who fought and died for their country.
Follow our regular channel at Spotterup on YouTube
Follow our WEBSITE
Follow on Instagram
Visit our STORE
*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Spotter Up Magazine, the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.