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They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq |  | Author: Kelly Kennedy
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 29658
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312570767
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.7044342
EAN: 9780312570767
ASIN: 0312570767
Publication Date: March 2, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Charlie 1-26 confronted one of the worst neighborhoods in Baghdad and lost more men than any battalion since Vietnam Based on “Blood Brothers”, the Michael Kelly Awardnominated series that ran in Army 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 secure neighborhood with open storefronts and a safe populace. Army Times writer Kelly Kennedy was embedded with Charlie Company in 2007, went on patrol with the soldiers and spent hours in combat support hospitals. 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.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 A gripping saga June 13, 2010
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Heroism under fire is the topic of THEY FOUGHT FOR EACH OTHER: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF THE HARDEST HIT UNIT IN IRAQ. It comes from a journalist who was embedded with Charlie Company 1-26 for her job - and placed her in the position of observing one of the worst neighborhoods in Baghdad in a unit that lost more men than any single battalion had since Vietnam. Her battlefield experiences create a gripping saga.
Required Reading! June 10, 2010
FL (East Coast)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is fairly simple - a definitive explanation of war zones and local attitudes and absolute horror. When I wasn't intrigued with the complexities and politics of their mission, I was openly crying for their many, many losses, many of which remain hidden from view. Ms. Kennedy, at times, very eloquently stated what the public needs to hear, the only thing worth dying for is each other. This book should be required reading, especially for those whose mantra is, "Support the soldier, not the war." As for me, an Army Reserves nurse, I will take the thoughts and images from her writing with me into my work to better serve my brothers.
 Worth a read but very emotional... June 6, 2010
John R. AlbersJr (The Dells, WI United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A good read but very emotional and depressing. Not this generation's 'Band of Brothers' as one reviewer put it but does show the humanity of the American soldier and that even when the mission became increasingly in doubt, their loyalty to one another and honor held them together.
The only reason I did not give it five stars is I would have like a map of the area of operations, a chart of the various units and sub-units to keep things straight and an index as I wanted to refer back to some things. Hopefully they will fix that in the paperback edition. And I agree the writing could be tightened up but its not as bad as one reviewer suggested.
I strongly recommend it especially if you have love one's in Iraq or who have served over there.
Another Companion Piece to Black Hearts May 17, 2010
W. Speers (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is another fine book about the Iraq conflict around the time of the surge. I read this book right after reading the riveting Black Hearts by Jim Frederick. This book is a great comparison piece to that one. This book reveals the troops of the 1/26th, First Infantry Division, an infantry division just as legendary, if not more so, than the 101st Air Assault Division.
In this book, the leadership seems to have done things pretty much right. The author reports on a unit that, despite numerous deaths and woundings, maintains its cohesion in the face of near-daily casualites, and who manage to take decent control of their AO despite conflict between Sunnis and Shi'ites, Mahdists and the government, the insurgents, and between pretty much everyone and the Americans. The first thing is officers who give a damn about their troops, were committed to them and show it; next, the troops take responsibility for themselves. Good supply and support helped a lot. Having a place where they could retreat from the pressures of being constantly at risk, where they could depressurize a little (albeit not very much, but enough). Finally, the men were bonded with one another far better than Bravo Company of 1/502d in Black Hearts.
The men in the two books don't seem to have been all that much different, but the 1/26 seems to have had a more workable mix of men. The experiences of the two units seem pretty similar in intensity and difficulty, but the units each responded differently in ways critical to their well-being.
The recent publication of books about units in Iraq has been very eye-opening for me, and I think it should be for all readers interested in trying to get a flavor of the experience of our combat troops at war in these present days. They Fought For Each Other is an outstanding addition to that body of literature.
This hits your soul hard May 16, 2010
Douglas L. Beste (Sacramento,CA USA)
Here is enougher well written book from the people of the Army Times. This book hits at very soul hard. You get to know who these soldiers are and the lives they are living, then you feel what all soldiers feel when comrades are killed. One of the other reviewers said this book does not go to much indef in to each soldiers lives and that this was simply written. If K. Kennedy did write more about each soldier the book would be over a 1000 pages. And about her writing style,this book is for every one,not just military types.She does not get boged down in military officer styed writing. And she never put her social/political view point in this book and said all soldiers think this way like some writers(officer) have done lately. She gets to the heart of what is going on in with this company and how they fall into the big picture of Iraq.
I would have given it 5 stars,but due to just a couple of items I had to give it 4. She could have put more photos of the soldiers who had died. I would like to have connected the lives of the fallen to a face. And MAPS,way are the books that are coming out about Iraq having no or really bad maps. I would like to know were these soldiers operated. She left a lot of loose ends open at the end about alot of the soldiers. She should have followed up with more soldiers after Iraq.Like who really had bad PTSD and what happened to alot of the married soldiers and there families.
The only military comment I am want to make is that the Lt Col who came in late to command the Batt. made to many snap calls about the soldiers of C Co. He did not get to know them and what they had gone thru before calling them the problem company. He was to quick to make his calls. He should have talked it over with the Batt officers and senior NCOs.I hope that he learns that making those quick and uninformed decisions can hurt more then helping soldiers.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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