A Gift

My son, Josh, fought for a year in Afghanistan beginning in April of 2004. About 10 days ago when he was at our house he gave me a book he had just finished and said I might be interested in it. The title is My War:Killing Time in Iraq. The author is Colby Buzzell, a soldier who fought for a year in Iraq. The book comes from his journal and from a blog he created while he was in Iraq. Josh got my attention when he said that if I read the book it would be almost like reading his journal. He said the accounts in the book were right in line with his experiences. So I stayed up late a couple of nights and read the book.

It's a powerfull read. Not as graphic as I expected, but powerful. Starting with the recruitment pracess and basic training and going all the way through uintil his return to the US. It is an account of the deception practised by at least some recruiters, the tedium of much of life in a combat zone, and the thrill and horrer of being in a firefight. One of the tough things for me to process in terms of Josh was the description of how the Army takes young men and women and turns them into killers. The book was also powerful in talking about the difficulty of coming out of the Army and trying to find your way in the now strange civilian world. Buzzell was cleqar at the end that he would not encourage persons to enlist, but the pull of the community of the Army was very evident in his story, and he does not regret serving.

The most significant thing to me abiout the book was the fact that it gave me new ways to talk to Josh about his service and new opportunities to learn from him. We have already had some substantive conversations coming out of my reading the book, and I expect there will be more. I am so grateful he put me in touch with the book.

Jimmy