If I Don't Return: A Father's Wartime Journal

“This journal was once a gift to our young sons. It is now a gift to anyone who cares to read it.”

When Major Mark Hertling deployed to Iraq in 1990 as the operations officer of an armored cavalry squadron, his unit was told 50 percent of them would likely sustain casualties. To him, that meant he might not return home and may perhaps never see his family again. To prepare for that potential outcome, he began keeping a journal, hoping that one day, if he di...