They Fought for Each Other The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq

by Kennedy, Kelly

• ISBN13: 9780312672096
• ISBN10: 0312672098
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-15
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

Based on #x1C;Blood Brothers,#x1C; the award-nominated series that ran inArmy Times, this is the remarkable story of a courageous military unit that sacrificed their lives to change Adhamiya, Iraq from a lawless town where insurgents roamed freely, to a safe and secure neighborhood. Army Timeswriter Kelly Kennedy was embedded with Charlie Company in 2007, went on patrol with the soldiers and spent hours in combat support hospitals, leading to this riveting chronicle of an Army battalion that lost 31 soldiers in Iraq. During that period, one soldier threw himself on a grenade to save his friends, a well-liked first sergeant shot himself to death in front of his troops, and a platoon staged a mutiny. The men of Charlie 1-26 would earn at least 95 combat awards, including one soldier who would go home with three Purple Hearts and a lost dream. This is a timeless story of men at war and a heartbreaking account of American sacrifice in Iraq.

Author Biography

Kelly Kennedy served as a soldier in Desert Storm and Mogadishu, Somalia. She has written for The Salt Lake Tribune, The Oregonian, the Chicago Tribune, and Army Times. She works for USA Today.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Second Platoon Meets Adhamiya	p. 1
Adhamiya Moves from Acceptance to Hatred	p. 8
Charlie Company Learns to Fight the Insurgents	p. 15
Charlie Company Faces Its First Losses	p. 42
The Commander's Wife Handles Adhamiya's Deaths at Home	p. 66
Top Keeps Morale High in Hell	p. 73
Ladue Earns Three Purple Hearts in Two Months	p. 85
McGinnis Earns a Medal of Honor	p. 100
The Mission Continues at Home	p. 114
Charlie Company Tries to Play Nice with the Neighbors	p. 127
Charlie Company Continues the Battle, but Faces More Death	p. 142
A Change of Command Brings a Taste of Progress	p. 162
Charlie Company's Leaders Look for Signs of Combat Stress	p. 168
Charlie Company's Mission Changes	p. 180
Adhamiya Becomes a Gated Community	p. 189
Charlie Company Beats Down Flames with Friendship	p. 194
Alpha Company Moves to Old Mod	p. 207
Charlie Company Senses a Storm and Tries to Remain Calm	p. 217
Charlie Company Faces Its Worst Day	p. 232
Charlie Company Pulls Back, but Seethes	p. 246
A First Sergeant Breaks Down	p. 253
Charlie Company Responds to Alpha's Catastrophic Loss	p. 264
Charlie Company Mutinies and Is Torn Apart	p. 267
The Battalion Faces Its Last Casualty	p. 277
Charlie Company Works Toward Healing	p. 281
Charlie Company Goes Home	p. 292
Afterward	p. 319
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