One million steps
Subtitle: a marine platoon at war
By: Bing West
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 277
ISBN-13: 9781400068746; 9780812980912
Subjects: Campaigns; United States; American Personal narratives; United States. Marine Corps; Marines; Afghan War, 2001-; Biography; History
Description: Battalion 3/5 suffered the highest number of casualties in the war in Afghanistan. This is the story of one platoon in that distinguished battalion. Aware of U.S. plans to withdraw from the country, knowing their efforts were only a footprint in the sand, the fifty Marines of 3rd Platoon fought in Sangin, the most dangerous district in all of Afghanistan. So heavy were the casualties that the Secretary of Defense offered to pull the Marines out. Instead, they pushed forward. Each Marine in 3rd Platoon patrolled two and a half miles a day for six months--a total of one million steps--in search of a ghostlike enemy that struck without warning. Every day brought a new skirmish. Each footfall might trigger an IED. Half the Marines in 3rd Platoon didn't make it intact to the end of the tour. This is the story of the fifty brave men who faced these grim odds and refused to back down.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Shock; title: Leader lost; title: With the old breed; title: Leaders found; title: Toe to toe; title: Thanksgiving; title: Gone; title: Enemy respite; title: Midway to home; title: The routine; title: End of tour; title: The endless grunt; title: Who will fight for us?