What Was Asked of Us An Oral History of the Iraq War by the Soldiers Who Fought It

by Wood, Trish; Muller, Bobby

• ISBN13: 9780316016711
• ISBN10: 0316016713
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-02
• Publisher: Back Bay Books

Summary

"A visceral account of the war . . . honest, agenda-free, and chilling." - New York Times Book Review The Iraq war officially began on March 20, 2003, and since then more than one million young Americans have rotated through the country's insurgent-infested hot spots. But although stories of dramatic ambushes and attacks dominate the front pages of newspapers, most of us do not truly know what the war is like for the Americans who fight it. What Was Asked of Ushelps us bridge that gap. The in-depth and intensely probing interviews this book brings together document the soldiers' experiences and darkest secrets, offering a multitude of authentic, unfiltered voices - at times raw and emotional, at other times eloquent and lyrical. These voices walk us through the war, from the successful push to Baghdad , through the erroneous "Mission Accomplished" moment, and into the dangerous, murky present. "Monumental. . . . Amid the glut of policy debates, and amid the flurry of news reports that add names each day to the lists of the dead, Trish Wood has produced what is perhaps, to date, the only text about Iraq that matter."- San Francisco Chronicle "An illuminating glimpse of American fighters' experiences in Iraq . . . . There are moments of strange beauty in the soldiers' recollections." - Chicago Tribune "Stunning . . . chillingly eloquent. . . . Powerful and unflinchingly honest, Wood's book deserves to be a bestseller." -People

Author Biography

Trish Wood is an award-winning investigative reporter who has been working with veterans of the Iraq war for more than two years. She has been honored by the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Canadian Science Writers' Association, the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the National Magazine Awards, and the New York Film Festival. Bobby Muller was a marine infantry officer in the Vietnam War until a bullet severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the chest down. The founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, he is an outspoken advocate for veterans' rights and spearheads efforts to assist civilian victims of war. Recently he cofounded Veterans for America, a new program dedicated to meeting the needs of a new generation of veterans.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xiii
Preface	p. xix
Winners and Losers
"It went on the whole night"	p. 5
"How did it come to this madness and chaos?"	p. 15
"The first suicide bombing"	p. 29
"Three Kings"	p. 37
"The Word of the Day"	p. 50
Bringing Them America
"They don't have a security or reconstruction plan to implement"	p. 55
"Our mission was at odds with itself"	p. 66
"It was just a dog, another casualty of the war"	p. 70
"They thought we were bringing them America"	p. 72
"Just get me out"	p. 81
"I didn't pray for the Iraqis"	p. 88
"Indirect fire is really good at finding me"	p. 100
"There's going to be an uprising here soon"	p. 102
"Someone's going to Ricking pay"	p. 105
Don't Look Away
"Don't worry about it, we've got him"	p. 111
"If I died, I died"	p. 118
"For a split second...I thought I understood it"	p. 120
"It is gruesome to just beyond the realm of a horror film"	p. 136
"I just had a hatred for the Iraqis" Toby Winn	p. 140
"They were sending us out there in pieces of crap with no armor" Matthew Winn	p. 146
"Definitely not California"	p. 154
"In war, the best of you shines"	p. 160
"Killed in action"	p. 165
"I was an American soldier"	p. 177
"Some of these people are the lost generation"	p. 194
"Shot in the head"	p. 198
Nor Fear the Dangers of the Day
"Walking through the graves"	p. 205
"Just a matter of luck"	p. 220
"You don't want to look at your friend who has just been shot"	p. 222
"I am changed"	p. 228
"This is what happens when people speak to each other with rifles"	p. 232
"It's the cold, blunt truth. There was a little girl that died"	p. 239
"We just killed a bunch of dudes who were on our side"	p. 248
"And then I hear the explosion"	p. 253
"The next generation of insurgents"	p. 256
"Not dread the plagues of darkness"	p. 260
"War turns you into what your mother wishes you would never be"	p. 268
"I didn't get my happy ass blown up...That is what winning is now"	p. 282
"Hopefully I provided some relief" Maria Kimble	p. 284
"What the fuck is wrong with that guy?...He's an Iraq vet"	p. 292
"I'm glad you're doing it and not me"	p. 295
Glossary	p. 297
Acknowledgments	p. 305
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