Operation Homecoming
Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, Updated Edition
9780226094991
Operation Homecoming
Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, Updated Edition
Operation Homecoming is the result of a major initiative launched by the National Endowment for the Arts to bring distinguished writers to military bases to inspire U.S. soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and their families to record their wartime experiences. Encouraged by such authors as Tom Clancy, Tobias Wolff, and Marilyn Nelson, American military personnel and their loved ones wrote candidly about what they saw, heard, and felt while in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on the home front. These unflinching eyewitness accounts, private journals, short stories, and letters offer an intensely revealing look into extraordinary lives and are an unforgettable contribution to wartime literature.
“One of the chanted mantras of our time is, ‘But I support the troops.’ Terrific. Now read Operation Homecoming to find out who they are, what they think, feel, want, have learned, won and lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.”—Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
“This anthology is the honest voice of war. . . . In the end, they are all one voice, a voice we must hear, and must not forget.”—Jeff Shaara
“These voices are stirring, chilling, and unforgettable.”—Bobbie Ann Mason
“[Captures] what journalists cannot, no matter how close they get—firsthand accounts from the warriors and the families they leave behind.”—Chicago Tribune
“One of the chanted mantras of our time is, ‘But I support the troops.’ Terrific. Now read Operation Homecoming to find out who they are, what they think, feel, want, have learned, won and lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.”—Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
“This anthology is the honest voice of war. . . . In the end, they are all one voice, a voice we must hear, and must not forget.”—Jeff Shaara
“These voices are stirring, chilling, and unforgettable.”—Bobbie Ann Mason
“[Captures] what journalists cannot, no matter how close they get—firsthand accounts from the warriors and the families they leave behind.”—Chicago Tribune
See a website for the book at the National Endowment for the Arts.
432 pages | 6 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2008
History: Military History
Psychology: General Psychology
Sociology: Occupations, Professions, Work
Reviews
Table of Contents
Preface by Dana Gioia
Introduction by Andrew Carroll
1. And Now it Begins
Heading into Combat
2. Hearts and Minds
Interactions with Afghans and Iraqis
3. Stuck in This Sandbox
Gripes, Humor, Boredom, and the Daily Grind
4. Worlds Apart
Life on the Home Front
5. This is Not a Game
The Physical and Emotional Toll of War
6. Home
Returning to the United States
Acknowldegments
Glossary
Credits and Permissions
Index of Contributors
Index of Titles
Introduction by Andrew Carroll
1. And Now it Begins
Heading into Combat
2. Hearts and Minds
Interactions with Afghans and Iraqis
3. Stuck in This Sandbox
Gripes, Humor, Boredom, and the Daily Grind
4. Worlds Apart
Life on the Home Front
5. This is Not a Game
The Physical and Emotional Toll of War
6. Home
Returning to the United States
Acknowldegments
Glossary
Credits and Permissions
Index of Contributors
Index of Titles