by James E. Wise and Scott BaronFrom the publisher:
This collection of profiles in courage highlights the sailors and marines awarded the U.S. Navy's highest honor for valor, the Navy Cross. It is the first book to focus on the stories of those recognized for their heroic actions while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan--twenty-one in all, including a Marine sergeant who received his Cross on 19 January 2007. Unknown to most, they have been honored for putting their lives on the line to save others. The book also includes selected profiles of Navy Cross recipients from previous wars whose stories stand out as the best among an elite group. Coauthors James E. Wise and Scott Baron, whose previous collaboration cited exceptional women at war, wrote this book to call attention to those who have done extraordinary things to ensure the freedom of future generations of Americans.
The descriptions of bravery read like the scripts of Hollywood action films, but these are actual events about real people. Readers will be awestruck by the incredible courage shown by the Marines and Sailors during hellish firefights against the insurgents in Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Fallujah, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Kandahar. Yet the recipients remain modest about their actions, saying they were merely doing their duty as would any other Marine or Sailor. Among the recent Navy Cross recipients included are Chief Petty Officers Stephen Bass and Britt Slabinski, both Navy SEALs, and the "Fallujah Seven" Marines: Capt. Brent Morel, Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III, 1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal, Sgt. Robert J. Mitchell, Cpl. Jeremiah Workman, Sgt. Jarrett Kraft, and Lance Cpl. Dominic D. Esquibel.
JAMES E. WISE Jr., a former naval aviator, intelligence officer, and Vietnam veteran, retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain. His books include Stars in Blue and U-505: The Final Journey, among many others. He lives in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
