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| Author | Patrick K. O'Donnell |
|---|---|
| Published | Nov. 1, 2006 |
We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah is a book written by Patrick K. O'Donnell published on November 1, 2006.
During the battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah, the writer joined with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment and recorded their stories.
The book received wide acclaim and is on the required reading list for U.S. Marines and is on the Commandant's Professional Reading List. [1] Praise came from luminaries ranging from U.S. Marine Corps General Jim Mattis to award winning historians Carlo D'Este and Hampton Sides, among others. [2]
New York Times bestselling author Bing West wrote of We Were One, "A magnificent tale of combat--mixing valor, grit, love, blood, and sacrifice. This book defines what it means to be a Marine grunt." [3]
General Mattis declared the book: "a gritty, boots-on-the-ground account that enables readers to witness the overwhelming will and courage of Marines as they move against the enemy." [4]
And per the Marine Corps Times... "First-rate reading...Admirably depicts the brutal realities of street-to-street, house-to-house fighting...Captures the sensory details and emotional drama of good men killing and dying for one another and their country." [5]
That said, the book is not without its criticisms. Publishers Weekly writes "Though these Marines fought with great courage and the details of their battle make gripping reading, the author's uncritical cheerleading reduces their accomplishment to fantasy heroics." [6]
Kirkus Reviews states "Clearly reflects valor and courage, but this is hardly 'history' as most understand it." [7]
The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004.
The Second Battle of Fallujah, initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury,Operation al-Fajr was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly six weeks, starting 7 November 2004. Marking the highest point of the conflict against the Iraqi insurgency, it was a joint military effort carried out by the United States, the Iraqi Interim Government, and the United Kingdom. Within the city of Fallujah, the coalition was led by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army, the battle was later described as "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. military have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968".
James Norman Mattis is an American military veteran who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A former Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: la Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam is a 1992 book by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and war journalist Joseph L. Galloway about the Vietnam War. It focuses on the role of the First and Second Battalions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, the United States' first large-unit battle of the Vietnam War; previous engagements involved small units and patrols. It was adapted into the 2002 film We Were Soldiers.
The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st Marine Regiment is also sometimes referred to as "Regimental Combat Team 1" or "Inchon".
Francis J. "Bing" West Jr. is an American author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration.
Safaa Mohammed Ali was an Iraqi militant who carried out the 2005 Amman bombings. He has been also referred to as one of the Al-Qaeda members who planned the 9/11 bombing on The Pentagon and the Twin Towers. He is also associated with a planned attack on the White House.
The United States bombardment of Fallujah began in April 2003, one month after the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. In April 2003 United States forces fired on a group of demonstrators who were protesting against the US presence. US forces alleged they were fired at first, but Human Rights Watch, who visited the site of the protests, concluded that physical evidence did not corroborate US allegations and confirmed the residents' accusations that the US forces fired indiscriminately at the crowd with no provocation. 17 people were killed and 70 were wounded. In a later incident, US soldiers fired on protesters again; Fallujah's mayor, Taha Bedaiwi al-Alwani, said that two people were killed and 14 wounded. Iraqi insurgents were able to claim the city a year later, before they were ousted by a siege and two assaults by US forces. These events caused widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis in the city and surrounding areas. As of 2004, the city was largely ruined, with 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed, and the population at 30%–50% of pre-war levels.
3rd Battalion 1st Marines (3/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed the "Thundering Third", the battalion consists of approximately 1,220 Marines and Sailors and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division.
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine Force Navy personnel. The 3rd Battalion falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment which falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division.
3rd Battalion, 24th Marines (3/24) was a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. It was located throughout the Midwestern United States and consisted of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battalion was part of the 24th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. On May 19, 2013, the battalion was deactivated (retired) as a part of 2013 Marine Corps Force Restructuring, along with the 24th Marine Regiment. 3/24 personnel were reallocated to 23rd Marine Regiment, with the majority of the companies becoming 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines.
Bradley Allan Kasal is a United States Marine who received the Navy Cross for heroic actions performed as the first sergeant of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines during a firefight in Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq on November 13, 2004. He received the decoration in May 2006 during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, followed by his promotion to sergeant major and reenlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps. He retired in 2018 after nearly thirty-four years of service.
Gates of Fire is a 1998 historical fiction novel by Steven Pressfield that recounts the Battle of Thermopylae through Xeones, a perioikos born in Astakos, and one of only three Greek survivors of the battle.
Douglas Alexander Zembiec, nicknamed the "Lion of Fallujah" and also referred to as the "Unapologetic Warrior", was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and member of the CIA's Special Activities Division's Ground Branch who was killed in action while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is best known for his actions during Operation Vigilant Resolve, which were detailed in the book No True Glory by Bing West and for an article that ran in The Wall Street Journal following his death.
The Anbar campaign consisted of fighting between the United States military, together with Iraqi security forces, and Sunni insurgents in the western Iraqi governorate of Al Anbar. The Iraq War lasted from 2003 to 2011, but the majority of the fighting and counterinsurgency campaign in Anbar took place between April 2004 and September 2007. Although the fighting initially featured heavy urban warfare primarily between insurgents and U.S. Marines, insurgents in later years focused on ambushing the American and Iraqi security forces with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), large scale attacks on combat outposts, and car bombings. Almost 9,000 Iraqis and 1,335 Americans were killed in the campaign, many in the Euphrates River Valley and the Sunni Triangle around the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
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Patrick K. O’Donnell is an American author of books on military history.
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