by Trish Wood
OPERATION BATON ROUGE: An offensive by American soldiers and Iraqis launched against insurgents in the city of Samarra in 2004. The city had been a no-go area for coalition forces.
OPERATION SPEAR: a mission in the summer of 2005 near the Syrian border by marines and Iraqi soldiers, aimed at disrupting insurgent activity in the area
OPERATION RESTORING RIGHTS: A fall 2005 push into Tall Afar, headed by the famous army colonel H. R. McMaster
ORHA: Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, a Department of Defense body in charge of postinvasion reconstruction, until it became the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer
PA: physician’s assistant
PALADIN: artillery vehicle used by the army
PT: physical training
PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder
QRF: quick-reaction force
RCT2: regimental combat team two, United States Marine Corps
ROE: rules of engagement. “Directives issued by competent military authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which United States forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered.” (Department of Defense)
RPG: rocket-propelled grenade, a favorite weapon of the insurgency in Iraq
SAPI PLATES: small arms protective inserts, ceramic armor plates used in vests to repel fragmentation and small-arms fire
SAW: squad automatic weapon, a machine gun
SOP: standard operating procedure
TCN: third country national
THERMOGRAPHIC VISION: infrared night vision
3RD ID: 3rd Infantry Division
TRACK: short for amtrack vehicle
VBIED: car bomb, a combination of vehicle-borne and IED
WMD: weapons of mass destruction
XO: executive officer
ZIP-STRIPPED: bound with plastic U.S. military issue zip-strip handcuffs
ZODIAC: inflatable boat
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project is entirely the result of collaboration with many, many people who laid bare their souls, authentically and without self-consciousness. I am humbled by their courage and will measure the success of this book by the participants’ own judgments on the final product. I pray that I have done their stories justice and that the whole is as worthy as each of the parts.
Everything We Had: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Thirty-Three American Soldiers Who Fought It, compiled by Al Santoli, was the inspiration for this project and set the bar extremely high. It is still in print, and as a work of both history and psychology, Everything We Had stands the test of time. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about the American soldier.
Iraq war veterans Pablo Chaverri, Mark Castellucci, Clifford Alves, and Brittney Moore all added much to the manuscript even though their own Iraq stories don’t appear.
Pablo Chaverri, a true and loyal friend to the late marine Jeffrey Lucey, also helped me in my search for interview subjects. Jeff’s parents, Kevin and Joyce Lucey, shared their time, their grief, their wisdom, and their home. I’ll always remember our sad meditations in the basement under the clothesline where Jeff was found and at dusk beside Jeff’s snowy grave. Rosemary Palmer, despite her own heartbreak over the death of her beloved son, Edward “Augie” Schroeder, was never too busy to offer up a telephone number, a suggestion, or a new way of looking at the war. “Gunny” Matthew Hevezi was generous with his time, his spirit, and his cell phone. The United States Marine Corps lost a good and kind man. Maria Bueche and Lilian Ybarra looked for answers so that everyone will know that the soldiers who die in combat-related accidents are heroes too.
Julian Goodrum won my heart with his unfailing sweetness while recuperating and for showing stalwart courage in the face of nearly insurmountable trouble. Andrew Pogany was never too busy to take my calls and always has time for soldiers struggling with the aftershocks of this war. He is the right man to carry the message of healing.
I was enlightened and supported by many capable and dedicated reporters, some of whom became friends. Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted understood the essence of the Iraq war and how it might play out for the Americans fighting it, long before just about anyone else in journalism. Their commitment to the troops was total and fierce. The hours we’ve spent hashing over the nature of the conflict and its effect on some of the soldiers helped lay the groundwork for this book, and the insights we shared with each other lightened the load during some very sad times. Greg Mitchell at Editor and Publisher is a remarkable editor who works harder than anyone I know at holding the print media accountable during a time that no one will ever say was its finest hour. Rita Leistner, a fellow Canadian, took some astonishing photographs while she was “unembedded” in Iraq and also introduced me to three of the most interesting characters in the book. I am also grateful to Lucian Read, who, while photographing the war, seemed to be present at nearly every newsworthy event involving the United States Marine Corps. Based on the stories I heard, it is incredible that Read nailed the pictures he did without getting seriously wounded or worse. I do not know Jacob Silberberg of the AP, but one of his photographs appears in this book, and given the circumstances under which it was taken, he deserves extra credit. Amy Dimond was a generous resource on the April 29, 2003, checkpoint suicide bombing—the first of the war—that killed four young soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division. Greg Jaffe of the Wall Street Journal, Mark Mazetti of the Los Angeles Times, Todd Shields of the Rolling Meadows Review, and Morris Karp, Gil Shochat, Reynold Gonsalves, Dave Field, Max Allen, and Coleman Jones of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were quick to help. Dan Wettlaufer stepped up on a Friday night to help with some last-minute sound editing. Mark Perry, who really is the smartest guy in the room, endorsed and supported this project from the get-go. So did Marissa Vitagliano and Jo Russo. Ian Olds and the late Garrett Scott were two of the first journalists to understand the tricky relationship developing between American troops and the Iraqis. If their documentary, Occupation Dreamland, is to be Garrett’s legacy, it is an important one. Just a few months before I undertook this project, former New York Times Vietnam War correspondent and author Gloria Emerson died. I admired her more than any other reporter for her inability to see anything but the truth of things. Her tour de force, Winners and Losers, which I read as a young journo, taught me and countless others to look beyond the hardware of the battle and into the hearts of the men who fight.
Jack Mordente was an invaluable contact and a gracious host. All Americans should feel about veterans the way Mr. Mordente does. Southern Connecticut State University is a shining example of meaningful veteran support.
Major Christopher Toland, whose marines were killed by an IED in August of 2005, spent hours discussing one of the most tragic episodes of the war. I am grateful beyond words that he had the courage to relive that terrible morning. Christopher Borne, who was blown out of the destroyed and burning AAV, blessedly remembers nothing. His positive attitude about the future is an inspiration to me. Steven “Brad” Monaco, still healing after a brush with death on a highway in Iraq, offered photographs and encouragement. Lieutenant Colonel Alan King was working on Twice Armed, his own book, and yet still found the time to participate in this project and has unselfishly offered help and advice along the way. Seth Moulton plans to write a book telling his own story, and that is as it should be.
John Pike at GlobalSecurity.org walked me through some of the military terminology and did so with a wicked sense of humor. Adam Anklewics patiently supervised my scary but seamless conversion from PC to Mac in the middle of this project. Iraq veterans’ guardian angel Steve Robinson reviewed the manuscript and offered invaluable insights. Vietnam veteran Wayne Smith got this ball rolling and taught me a great deal about what it means for a man to “be in the hope business.” Everyone should carry themselves with the dignity of Wayne Smith.
I owe the United States Marine Corps an apology for the subtitle of this book. I do know that m
arines are technically not “soldiers,” but I took poetic license. Listing all the services separately just doesn’t have the same ring. Sorry.
I will never be able to repay the debt I owe to Bobby Muller, a lifelong friend and recently a colleague, who championed this project from the beginning. After fighting for the rights of Vietnam veterans, he is now committed to a new generation coming home from war.
Geoff Shandler, my extraordinary editor at Little, Brown, turned fractiousness in the manuscript into narrative cohesion and embraced the young Americans whose stories are in it. Junie Dahn is New York publishing’s Zen master. He kept me on track without a single nag. Hawkeyes Mary Tondorf-Dick, Peggy Freudenthal, Marie Salter, Jen Noon, and Karen Landry were patient while I wrestled with the vagaries of translating Iraqi-Arabic into English and at times translating English into English. Also at Little, Brown, Heather Fain, Heather Rizzo, Carolyn O’Keefe, and Amanda Guccione were full of ideas for promoting the book. My agent, Gail Ross, worked hard to make sure this project found a good home, and I can’t thank her enough. Her associate, Howard Yoon, is one of those really funny, really smart people you would be glad to be shipwrecked with.
I think I couldn’t have listened the way I did to the men and women in this book if I hadn’t fought my own secret wars over the past ten years. I owe credit for whatever small victories I’ve had to Bill W., Helen B., “David and David,” Linda M., the Reverend Dr. Ellen Redcliffe, and the Reverend Kevin Little. Patsy Pehleman, Susan Baker, Heather Kelly, and Arlene Bynon listened generously as I picked over some of the veterans’ more troubling stories and kept me sane through long-distance telephone calls during some rough times on the road. Tudora Penelska and Deshka Angelova kept me in line and my household in order.
My children, Thomas Hayes and Truman Wood-Lockyer, endured some turmoil that came with the crafting of this book. There were absences—both physical and emotional—as I struggled against some pretty dark material. The presence of these two astonishing young men was a constant reminder of what many, many mothers have lost since the war in Iraq began more than three years ago. I know that I can never thank my own boys enough for illuminating my world. I owe them everything.
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. www.whatwasaskedofus.com
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.