In the Shadow of Greatness

by Welle, Joshua; Ennis, John; Kranz, Katherine; Plaster, Graham; Gergen, David

• ISBN13: 9781612511382
• ISBN10: 1612511384
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-15
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

Their stories needed to be told. And classmates working together, under a blanket of trust and friendship, was the only way to allow people to open up. It was a three year journey into the hearts and souls of America's youngest heroes to gather these important historical accounts, but it was worth every hour spent. Inside this book are the voices the first Annapolis graduates into a decade of war and they remind us that America is in good hands. They were walking to class on 9/11, wearing Naval Academy "summer working blues", when the towers were struck. The campus went to general quarters, battle stations. They would be the first class after this attack to graduate into a nation at war and would be faced, like so many past graduates, of rising to the challenge to keeping America great. President Bush and Vice President Cheney articulated a world at the crossroads, and the U.S. would preemptively in seek enemies who threatened the national interest, America would not again be terrorized. In the Shadow of Greatness addresses issues that go beyond one USNA class, it explains the trials of most military veterans of this era. Understanding how a young person enlists to serve, deploys to the fight, and returns home is unknown to most Americans. Veterans pack up their uniforms, but never lose the call for service when the return to civilian society. The profiles in this book represent the "Next Great Generation" of American leaders. Men and women who lost their innocence in battle and their youths to a decade of deployments, throughout which they never gave up hope. In exchange for down range scars, they gained an unbreakable sense of purpose to America's ideals--freedom, equality, and democracy. The compilation is the most authentic and raw narrative to emerge from the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond. The reader enjoys a spectrum of stories, each patriotic and honorable. The narratives are meant to inspire, educate, and reveal a world many don't understand. Its contents are readable and easy to appreciate. The Class of 2002--and more broadly, the one million veterans of the Long War--are America's leaders of tomorrow. Read this book to learn what they endured and why they are prepared.

Table of Contents

List of photographs	p. xi
Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction: Non Sibi Sed Patriae	p. 1
Four Years by the Bay	p. 3
Inside the Gates of Annapolis	p. 5
The Leadership Laboratory, Fleet Tested	p. 21
Honor at Sea	p. 24
Selflessness from the ICU	p. 29
Ship, Shipmate, Self	p. 36
Fulfilling a Top Gun Dream	p. 41
Find a Way, or Make One	p. 46
Courage under Fire	p. 51
A Lovely Afternoon over Baghdad	p. 54
Bad Karma	p. 61
We Serve Where We're Needed	p. 69
The Real Hurt Locker	p. 76
Evacuating the Injured	p. 81
From the Cradle to the Grave	p. 88
Dhow in Distress	p. 93
From Fallujah to Now Zad	p. 98
Beyond Battlefield Bullets	p. 105
Military Diplomats	p. 109
Shaking the Hand of Fate	p. 113
Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure: Unsung Heroes	p. 119
Lending a Hand in Tsunami Relief	p. 125
Training with the Enemy: Iraq and U.S. Naval Partnerships	p. 131
UN Peacekeeping in Practice	p. 136
Casey vs. the Volcano	p. 141
Inland Sailor	p. 148
Integrity, Teamwork, and Sacrifice	p. 157
Sacrifices for Country	p. 161
Sometimes Dreams Do Come True	p. 166
Forward Deployed to...Louisiana?	p. 171
Working Where the Land Meets the Sky	p. 175
On Building Submarines and Building Character	p. 179
Lost at Sea	p. 185
Dual Military Couples: Twice the Challenge	p. 190
When No One's Watching	p. 194
The Next Great Generation	p. 201
One Wild and Precious Life	p. 204
Serving Beyond the Uniform	p. 209
Rings of Courage and Love: Fighting for Gay Rights in the Military	p. 217
Command, Citizenship, and Government	p. 224
Conclusion	p. 231
Epilogue	p. 237
In Memory of the Fallen Naval Academy Graduates since September 11	p. 241
Acknowledgments	p. 245
Read More Online	p. 247
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