by Dakota Meyer
First published 2012
In fall 2009, Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer watches from behind as Taliban fighters pin down one hundred Afghan soldiers and Marine advisors in the mountain village of Ganjigal. Artillery support gets denied repeatedly. The twenty-one-year-old receives orders to stay with the vehicles, but he cannot abandon his comrades to certain death. Meyer climbs into a gun turret and charges into the valley with a courageous driver. Bullets fly as he rallies Afghan troops to follow him. For five brutal hours, Meyer attacks again and again using machine guns, rifles, grenade launchers, and even rocks. He carries wounded soldiers to safety and provides cover for dozens to escape. The battle becomes legendary, earning Meyer the Medal of Honor as the first living Marine recipient in thirty years. This account follows Meyer from his Kentucky farm upbringing through sniper training to that fateful day and its aftermath. He faces investigations, returns to combat with Army soldiers, then struggles with civilian life and the loss of close friends.
Genres: military-fiction, action, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, heroic-sacrifice
Setting: Afghanistan, Ganjigal
Period: 2009
256 pages · Kindle Edition · Random House
Content warnings: violence, war