Sebastian Junger's Comments

thank you Sebastian! I am deeply disappointed i cannot be there though. I am hosting a book signing, sponsored by Soldiers' Angels, out on the Island the same night for SEAL of Honor. SEAL of Honor is the new book about USN SEAL Lt Michael Murphy, KIA 6-28-2005 Operation Redwings, near the Korengal Valley. I am friends with the Murphy family, and it was to honor Michael that i began supporting the Army soldiers serving at the Korengal Outpost. Cannot wait to receive my copy of WAR though, already preordered! Thank you again for your support of Battle Company!

thanks sebastian. some of the guys got their books today, looking forward to reading it and seeing the movie.

Hi Sebastian,
We met briefly at the Half King a few years back. I posted an article on your website a friend wrote about my trip to Afghanistan. I was there Sept.-Oct., 2009.
I had wanted to enter Afghanistan in October of 2000 but it was in the immediate aftermath of the USS Cole bombing and I was warned against travel there. Just prior to that, I had traveled from Kazakhstan to China and taken the Karakoram Highway down through northern Pakistan to Islamabad.
I believe you were with Massoud in northern Afghanistan about that time.
Also, I was in Sarajevo in '95 when the Dayton Peace Accords were signed. So, I guess we have come close to crossing paths a few times overseas.
Anyway, look forward to your event at Half King, reading your book and seeing your film.
Barry Misenheimer

Thanks so much for the book!! Truly honored....

Thanks Sebastian! So today is the big day!! How are you doing? Are your nerves going through the roof?

I would like to thank you for a profound look at a difficult subject under dangerous circumstances that most of us will obviously never experience. Philosophically I have serious doubts about the wisdom of sending our young men abroad on military expeditions intended to repair failed states or overthrow repressive regimes. I also have serious misgivings about the way in which we often glorify war and killing. When I was the age of many of the men in Battle Company, I chose the Peace Corps not the War Corps. At the same time, and particularly after reading your book, I unequivocally admire the courage, dedication, and selflessness of the men of Battle Company and their comrades in peril around the globe and particularly in the Middle East.

I was particularly impressed by the analysis in the book of survival of the individual depending paradoxically on commitment to the group. One often hears the phrase "Brothers in Arms" but one rarely is confronted with a situation in which the phrase is more literal than metaphorical.

Though there were a multitude of other lessons in the book, the other point that I found exceptionally poignant was the difficulty of readjustment. (I always think of the song "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.") I also deal professionally from time to time with the Department of Veterans Affairs, so I sometimes get a tiny glimpse of how difficult it is for some vets to reintegrate themselves into society. Whatever our views on war or this war, I think that as Americans, we could probably all do a little more to look out for the people we send into harm's way. We could all learn something from Battle Company's ethic of no man left behind. So thanks again for this important book, which I predict will become a classic.

Hi Sebastian,
I sent one of "my" soldiers to see you while you were in DC on May 19th at Border's. I don't know if he told you about himself, name is Zack, is a SFC in the Army, served at the KOP with Viper Co for a year. Anyway, he gave you high praise. -Jo

WAR discussion and book signing went well tonite in Raleigh. Super nice to meet u.
Your book certainly opens our eyes to a perspective many of us never see.
Thanks
Steve

Sebastian,

It was truly a great honor to have a chance to speak with you and shake your hand. Thanks again for coming to Memphis, and wishing me luck in the Sudan. I hope we speak again. Never know when I might need some advice.

Always-
Ryan

I read your book this week. I wrote and submitted a positive review to the St. George, Utah Spectrum. Your book moved me as my brother was a medic in the Vietnam War and was shot but survived. His adjustment to civilian life was difficult. All the men he took care of were killed in an ambush. He suffered psychologically for years, took long clandestine trips to talk with parents of young men who died in the ambush, displayed sudden violent behavior and drank until he was knee walkin, commode huggin, face puking DRUNK! He recovered and recently retired as the supervisor of the Blackhawk Depot in Corpus Christi. He maintained most of those Apaches you spoke of.
He'll read this book next. I know it will move him. Write me for a copy of the review.

Two iems for you: 1. We're making progress in bringinging "Restrepo" to South Florida....and all of Florida. I am in touch with Nat Geo and working with them on some ideas. 2. I saw this in the Washington Post and thought of the 173rd:

By Greg Jaffe and Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Pentagon has recommended that the White House consider awarding the Medal of Honor to a living soldier for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to U.S. officials.

The soldier, whose nomination must be reviewed by the White House, ran through a wall of enemy fire in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley in fall 2007 in an attempt to push back Taliban fighters who were close to overrunning his squad. U.S. military officials said his actions saved the lives of about half a dozen men.

It is possible that the White House could honor the soldier's heroism with a decoration other than the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. Nominations for the Medal of Honor typically include detailed accounts from witnesses and can run hundreds, if not thousands, of pages. The review has been conducted so discreetly that the soldier's family does not know that it has reached the White House, according to U.S. officials who discussed the nomination on the condition of anonymity because a final decision is pending.

Pentagon officials requested that The Washington Post not name the soldier to avoid influencing the White House review. Administration officials declined to comment on the nomination. (more at the link):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063005346.html?hpid=topnews

Sebastian,
Thanks for the invitation to watch Restrepo with you, Tim, and O'Bryne in New York. Thanks for introducing me and for those nice words you said. I hope the film continue to be a success nationwide and hopefully be shown in Italy soon. Let me not forget… thanks for inviting me to your Bar Restaurant... I really enjoyed that delicious Burger! Thanks for signing a book for me and The Perfect Storm for my wife Arianna. Her next wish is to shake hands, hug or perhaps even kiss G. Clooney…dream on girl…right?
Sammy “Chief Rod”

Hi!
Thanks for writing the book!
take care and all the best,
koon yee ;)

I had to see Restrepo on the 4th. AMAZING.

I had an instructor at Ontario College of Art in Toronto named Ken Bell(1981-85). Ken was a WW2 war photographer. He showed us some incredible as well as horrific images of war that will be forever etched in my memory. Your experience in Afghanistan was a compelling journey. I admire you for joining the troops and enduring the highs and extreme lows of the battle theatre to get a grasp of the real ground truth. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Toronto. Rob

The public need to hear the stories of soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan and every conflict that is happening. These are such important stories. I had the honor of attending the presentation of dispatches on the base in Edmonton. It was incredible to hear what our soldiers had done and it was sad to realize that their stories would not be told to the general public. North Americans live such rich lives and nearly all of us are clueless to the circumstances and situations happening everyday around the world.

I was with the 26th Marines as a sniper in 1967/68 and persdonally saw the 50 cal with the scope on it that was fired by Carlos Hathcock my mentor you mentioned it in your book and I wanted to authenticate that fact as he was one of a kind and deserves to be acknowledged for that! Your book "War" is outstanding and should be read by not only vets that about to go to war but those who question whay we are there! I thank you!

Robert Liberttine USMC ret