Review: What is it like to be a Warrior?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
“Being a fighter pilot is not just about flying planes!” - Colonel James “Bulldog” Rippenger.Bulldog is one of the important characters in this book; but the most important character is, of course, Captain Harry Miles of the USAF, the hero of “Harry's War” by Ed Benjamin. Harry is a fighter pilot like no one else. Dedicated to the point of being obsessed with his job, completely committed, determined to be the best and extremely capable. Harry proves his superiority by  taking down 3 enemy planes in close air-to-air combat in a single day's action, one of the few in the US Air Force to have done so.But Harry's battles have just begun. A mysterious illness leads to his honorable discharge from the Air Force. Harry, so long used to being a warrior-hero, being the center of attention and admired by one and all, suddenly finds himself as a lowly private investigator in a small town. Instead of handling multi-million dollar worth highly advanced, technologically superior fighter planes, Harry is now an alcoholic and a  recluse, drinking away his depression.This is where the “Warrior Ethos” come through. All warriors all not soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force, fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan – they could be ordinary men and women like you and me, doing ordinary, everyday jobs, taking on life's challenges, big and small.This is what Harry learns, and this is a lesson that I, as a reader of this magnificent book with such an amazing, life transforming message, also did learn.This truly remarkable book deserves 10 stars, not just 5. I look forward to reading Harry's new adventures as a private detective, as writer Ed Benjamin has promised will be out soon!