We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah

by Patrick K. O'Donnell

Overview

A riveting first-hand account of the fierce battle for Fallujah during the Iraq War and the Marines who fought there—a story of brotherhood and sacrifice in a platoon of heroes


Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company's 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, found itself in Fallujah, embroiled in some of the most intense house-to-house, hand-to-hand urban combat since World War II. In the city's bloody streets, they came face-to-face with the enemy-radical insurgents high on adrenaline, fighting to a martyr's death, and suicide bombers approaching from every corner. Award-winning author and historian Patrick O'Donnell stood shoulder to shoulder with this modern band of brothers as they marched and fought through the streets of Fallujah, and he stayed with them as the casualties mounted.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306815737
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	10/30/2007
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	151,179
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Bestselling author Patrick K. O'Donnell is a combat historian who has written nine books, including the William E. Colby Award winner Beyond Valor, Dog Company, and We Were One (selected for the Marine Commandant's Professional Reading List). The author is the recipient of numerous awards include the prestigious OSS Society's John Waller Award. Visit him at patrickkodonnell.com and Facebook.com/patrickkodonnell.

What People are Saying About This

Bing West

A magnificent tale of combat-mixing valor, grit, love, blood and sacrifice. This book defines what it means to be a Marine grunt.
—Bing West, author of The March Up and No True Glory

Hampton Sides

Here in these gripping pages is the Iraq War's fiercest battle, seen from the adrenaline-charged vantage of a few Marine buddies who are part of the next "Greatest Generation." We Were One is feelingly narrated by an intrepid war historian who risked his own life to capture every raw minute of their story.
—Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers

J. N. Mattis

As an embedded journalist in an Infantry Platoon, O'Donnell paints an authentic picture of our Nation's most precious assets--the Marine Riflemen--engaged in one of their fiercest fights. We Were One is 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.
—J.N. Mattis, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force

Willy Buhl

Pat O'Donnell was with us on the ground in Fallujah-house to house. His story is historically accurate and describes the greatest personal and professional test of our lives. We Were One is destined to be a classic of urban close combat, and honors the memory of all who made the ultimate sacrifice for their brother Marines. I am deeply thankful that Pat kept his oath to Lima Company.
—LtCol Willy Buhl, CO Task Force 3/1, Operation AL FAJR

Carlo D'Este

We Were One is a dramatic tale of courage, hardship and the extraordinarily difficult challenges faced by a gallant Marine unit in one of the world's most deadly places. Patrick O'Donnell brilliantly and compassionately recounts the story of our American sons called upon to fight, bleed, die, and survive in a hostile land.
—Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius For War

Editorial Reviews

"We Were One is feelingly narrated by an intrepid war historian who risked his own life to capture every raw minute of their story."—Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers

"A magnificent tale of combat—mixing valor, grit, love, blood, and sacrifice. This book defines what it means to be a Marine grunt."—Bing West, author of The March Up and No True Glory

"We Were One is a dramatic tale of courage, hardship, and the extraordinarily difficult challenges faced by a gallant Marine unit in one of the world's deadliest places. Patrick O'Donnell brilliantly and compassionately recounts the story of our American sons called upon to fight, bleed, die, and survive in a hostile land."—Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War

"As an embedded journalist in an Infantry Platoon, O'Donnell paints an authentic picture of our Nation's most precious assets—the Marine Riflemen—engaged in one of their fiercest fights. We Were One is 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."—J.N. Mattis, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force

"Pat O'Donnell was with us on the ground in Fallujah—house to house. His story is historically accurate and describes the greatest personal and professional test of our lives. We Were One is destined to be a classic of urban close combat and honors the memory of all who made the ultimate sacrifice for their brother Marines. I am deeply thankful that Pat kept his oath to Lima Company."—Lt. Col. Willard A. Buhl, CO Task Force 3/1, Operation AL FAJR

"A detailed, blow-by-blow description of the brutal street fighting...These Marines fought with great courage and the details of their battle make gripping reading."—Publishers Weekly

"[We Were One] clearly reflects valor and courage."—Kirkus Reviews

"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."—Marine Corps Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times, and Army Times

"One of the best books to come out of the recent conflict in the Middle East is this blistering account of fighting the toughest of Iraq's insurgents...Riveting and frightening...In many ways this has the same intensity of experience as Mark Bowden's classic Black Hawk Down. An exhilarating and instructive read."—Military Illustrated

"A blue-collar, in-your-face, real-life depiction of marines fighting an ingenious, determined, and radical mujahideen insurgency...This book's perspective makes it stand out among others that deal with such battles. The author's decision to write about Fallujah through the eyes and experiences of those who fought it-and to draw on his own observations-brings credibility and a real sense of truth to a compelling story of bravery, courage, and commitment to something greater than oneself."—Air & Space Power Journal

"O'Donnell depicts in graphic detail the sights and smells of urban combat and the bravery of young leathernecks, whom he describes, with some justice, as the 'next greatest generation.'"—Military Heritage

"O'Donnell takes the reader into the private world of a Marine infantry platoon...His descriptions of the Marines clearing houses, fighting the heavily doped-up insurgents, as well as the physical, mental, and emotional toll it takes on the Marines are among the most descriptive and heart-breaking accounts to come back from the Iraqi front...For those who want to begin to understand the deadly nature of fighting in an urban environment, the determination of the enemy, as well as the inherent problems in 4th Generation Warfare-as well to begin to understand the determination and dedication to their fellow Marines of those young men who are doing the fighting-then this is the book for you."—Leatherneck

"This is, being real, a more than harrowing tale...A graphic account...portraying in the starkest terms the infantryman's war."—Roanoke Times

"Superbly captures the human dimension of war that is missing in so many books of this genre...It is an extremely powerful and personal volume that will dramatically impact both those who have experienced combat and those who have not."—H-net.org

"Cover[s] the war that the mainstream media neglects: the story of countless acts of courage and sacrifice among the young soldiers and Marines who tend to remain anonymous unless they make a mistake."—Military.com

From the Publisher

Capture[s] vivid encounters between soldiers and civilians and re-create[s] loss and combat conditions.

Midwest Book Review

An exhilarating and instructive read.

Military Illustrated

Destined to be a classic of urban close combat and honors the memory of all who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Marine Corps Gazette

Military historian O'Donnell (Into the Rising Sun) embedded himself in the 1st Platoon of Lima Company, 1st Marine Regiment. His book describes its training and deployment to Iraq in 2004, where the platoon patrolled, fended off guerrilla attacks and finally "fought bravely and died in the Iraq War's fiercest battle" in Fallujah. Most of the book is a detailed, blow-by-blow description of the brutal street fighting, during which nearly the entire unit became casualties. As the author portrays them, these Marines were heroes and warriors with only macho flaws, such as heavy drinking or practical joking, while their enemies are simply terrorists. Maintaining that our troops fight because they love America and their buddies, but their opponents fight because they are drug-addled, suicidal maniacs, the author forgets what every military buff knows: one cannot be a great warrior without a worthy opponent. Like many embedded reporters, O'Donnell appears to have fallen in love with his subjects, adding to the growing genre of worshipful, jingoistic battle narratives about Iraq. 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. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Recollections of action by U.S. Marines who fought in the Iraq War's fiercest battle. Military writer O'Donnell joined up partway through the battle for Fallujah with a unit from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and accompanied them through several days until the notorious Iraqi city, with its denizens of insurgent fighters, was pulverized. The bulk of the book, the author explains, is based on "corroborated oral history interviews which have been vetted." They were gleaned principally from surviving members of the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, nominated by O'Donnell as the troops having "seen the worst" of what was obviously a horrendous experience for anyone involved-some 14 of its original 45 members were left standing at the close of hostilities. Given those definitive circumstances, it is clear that he writes for no purpose other than to reflect the fullest possible credit on the individuals he happened to be embedded with. They are portrayed as uniformly dedicated and patriotic, bonded by a hatred of the enemy mujahadin and the overriding desire to protect one another and do the Corps proud. Some "love combat," while others have been able to overcome fear through indoctrination. The descriptions of urban warfare are graphic and grisly; most encounters result in at least one disfigured corpse (sometimes that of a Marine). A redundant line of justification reminds the reader that insurgents fight dirty, don't follow any of the rules of war and use civilians as shields, and that Marines in Iraq are often handicapped by engagement rules stemming from biased or inaccurate media coverage, etc. Clearly reflects valor and courage, but this is hardly "history" as most understand it.

Kirkus Reviews