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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 956.704437 EAN: 9781594201653 ISBN: 159420165X Label: Penguin Press HC, The Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: May 01, 2008 Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The Studio: Penguin Press HC, The Editorial Review: Product Description: Based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Jim Sheelers unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead; Final Salute Is a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know, said Major Steve Beck. Since the start of the war in Iraq, marines like Major Beck found themselves thrown into a different kind of mission: casualty notification. It is a job Major Beck never asked for and one for which he received no training. They are given no set rules, only impersonal guidelines. Marines are trained to kill, to break down doors, but casualty notification is a mission without weapons. For Beck, the mission meant learning each dead marines name and nickname, touching the toys they grew up with and reading the letters they wrote home. He held grieving mothers in long embraces, absorbing their muffled cries into the dark blue shoulder of his uniform. He stitched himself into the fabric of their lives, in the simple hope that his compassion might help alleviate at least the smallest piece of their pain. Sometimes he returned home to his own family unable to keep from crying in the dark. In Final Salute, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Jim Sheeler weaves together the stories of the fallen and of the broken homes they have left behind. It is also the story of Major Steve Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Above all, it is a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Final Salute is the achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war. After the knock on the door, the story has only begun. Average Rating:
 Rating: - Salute to our troopsAn incredible story about a guy with one of the toughest jobs in the world, but who does it very well. Rating: - Great Book!I recommend this book! My son is a Marine and it breaks my heart that parents have to have that knock on the door, but the compassion, heart and feelings these Marines have was eye opening! The book was very well written. I have a new found respect for those Marines, because it too breaks thier heart to do their job and they did not volunteer for it. The Marines truly are a brotherhood! Rating: - Final Salute - A Former CACO's ReviewAs a former Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Officer (CACO) from 1968 to 1970 in Los Angeles, this book was very difficult for me to read as it brought back memories of nearly 40 years ago. During this period of time, it was my duty to notify over 75 families of their loss from combat actions in Vietnam. As the book was read, I could vividly recall the reactions of family members as I spoke with them and the book very accurately presents their wide range of emotions. Through this book, I can clearly ... Read More Rating:  - Sheeler paints a vivid pictureJim Sheeler, a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his story on which this book is based. The primary focus is Major Steve Beck, a Marine officer whose duty it is to knock on the door of a soldier's family to give them the unbearable news that their son or husband or brother is dead. Although Sheeler claims his book has no political agenda, FINAL SALUTE deals with matters that at least a portion of the general public would just as soon ignore, uncomfortable ... Read More Rating: - Service, sacrifice, and loss made visibleI am grateful to Jim Sheeler and especially to the soldiers and their families whose lives and losses are illuminated in this spare but moving chronicle. Sheeler tells the stories of families and soldiers who have borne a disproportionate burden during the Iraq war years, with a particular focus on the emotional cost to all involved when a soldier's life is lost and the next of kin are notified. Whatever one's feelings about the merits of the war in Iraq, this book is well worth reading for its compelling ... Read More |
