In the Company of Heroes: The Inspiring Stories of Medal of Honor Recipients from America's Longest Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

by James Kitfield

Overview

An award-winning military journalist tells the amazing stories of twenty-five soldiers who've won the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.

In the Company of Heroes will feature in-depth narrative profiles of the twenty-five post-9/11 Medal of Honor awardees who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. This book will focus on the stories of these extraordinary people, expressed in their own voices through one-on-one interviews, and in the case of posthumous awards, through interviews with their brothers in arms and their families. The public affairs offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the individual armed services, as well as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, have expressed their support for this project.

Stories include Marine Corps Corporal William "Kyle" Carpenter, who purposely lunged toward a Taliban hand grenade in order to shield his buddy from the blast; Navy SEAL team leader Britt Slabinski, who, after being ambushed and retreating in the Hindu Kush, returned against monumental odds in order to try to save one of his team who was inadvertently lost in the fight; and Ranger Staff Sergeant Leroy Petry, who lunged for a live grenade, threw it back at the enemy, and saved his two Ranger brothers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781546085812
Publisher:	Center Street
Publication date:	08/30/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	664,595
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

James Kitfield is currently a contributing editor and former senior national security correspondent for the Atlantic Media Company and National Journal. Mr. Kitfield's articles on defense, national security, intelligence and foreign policy issues have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, National Journal, Bloomberg View, Yahoo News, Breaking Defense, Defense One, The National Interest, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Newsday, Los Angeles Magazine, Army Times, Air Force Magazine, The Stars & Stripes, Off Duty, and other publications. 

He is the only three-time winner of the prestigious Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense, most recently for his first-hand reporting on the Afghan War. The Military Reporters and Editors Association (MRE) and the Medill School of Journalism have awarded Mr. Kitfield their top prize for excellence in reporting an unprecedented six times, most recently in 2016 in the "Online Journalism" category for his articles in POLITICO Magazine, Yahoo News and Breaking Defense. Mr. Kitfield is author of three books, most recently Twilight Warriors: The Soldiers, Spies & Special Agents Who Are Revolutionizing the American Way of War (Basic Books, 2016). He lives in Alexandria, VA.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 Where Angels Fear to Tread Navy Senior Chief (SEAL) Britt K. Slabinski Air Force Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman 1

2 The Gates of Baghdad Army Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith 31

3 No Greater Love Marine Corps Corporal Jason L. Dunham 43

4 House of Broken Mirrors Army Staff Sergeant David G. Bellavia 57

5 The Valley of Shadow Navy Lieutenant (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy 71

6 A Meaningful Life Army Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti 85

7 Saint Michael's Day Navy Petty Officer (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor 97

8 The Hardest Choice Army Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis 107

9 A Soldier's Calling Army Staff Sergeant Travis W. Atkins 115

10 Rock Avalanche Army Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta 123

11 Last Man Standing Army Specialist Kyle J. White 137

12 The Natural Army Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller 149

13 Shok Valley Army Staff Sergeant Ronald J. Shurer II Army Sergeant Matthew O. Williams 167

14 The Ranger Creed Army Staff Sergeant Leroy A. Retry 183

15 The Lone Defender Army Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts 191

16 The Battle of Ganjgal Army Captain William D. Swenson Marine Corps Corporal Dakota L. Meyer 203

17 Defending the Indefensible Army Staff Sergeant Clinton L. Romesha Army Specialist Ty M. Carter 221

18 An Indomitable Spirit Marine Corps Lance Corporal William "Kyle" Carpenter 237

19 Immigrant, Soldier, Hero Army Captain Florent A. Groberg 247

20 Shadow Warriors Navy Chief (SEAL) Edward C. Byers Jr. 261

21 Last Man Out Army Sergeant First Class Thomas Patrick Payne 271

Editorial Reviews

05/24/2021

Journalist Kitfield (Twilight Warriors) profiles post-9/11 medal of honor recipients in this brisk and stirring account. Established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, the “nation’s highest military award for bravery in combat” requires a months-long investigation and approval by the secretary of defense and the president. Kitfield notes similarities among recent awardees, many of whom volunteered after the September 11 terrorist attacks and have family members who served in the military. Highlights include the story of U.S. Navy SEAL team leader Britt Slabinski and Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman, who took part in a mission to rescue a soldier who had been left behind in Taliban and al-Qaeda territory near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. After landing in a “fishbowl, with entrenched enemy machine gunners firing down on them from three sides,” Slabinski and Chapman (who received the award posthumously) took out multiple bunkers, allowing the majority of the team to escape down the mountain. Marine Corps corporal Kyle Carpenter, the youngest medal of honor recipient at age 21, underwent more than 40 surgeries after throwing himself on a Taliban hand grenade to protect a friend. Kitfield sheds light on each recipient’s background and delivers action-packed recaps of their heroic exploits. Readers will be touched by these stories of courage and sacrifice. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly