Posted on 07/08/2006 6:06:06 PM PDT by Valin
The Marines pride themselves as being no better friend, no worse enemy. David J. Danelo’s book “Blood Stripes: The Grunt’s View of the War in Iraq” respectfully shows both sides of that picture.
“Blood stripes” is the term for the red stripe that runs down each side of the dress blue pants of non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the Marine Corps, and it is a fitting title for this book.
The text focuses on a handful of Marine NCOs, who wear those “blood stripes” between February and September 2004 when they, their men or the enemy are bloodied in and around Fallujah, and Ramadi, Iraq.
The book is written from an extremely familiar perspective, a result of Marines who have served together in combat — members, as Danelo calls it, the “Spartan way” that is the Marine Corps.
Danelo is a Marine infantry officer who served in Iraq alongside these grunts. The book’s familiarity has seemingly brought about an implicit trust between the author and the Marines, as he shows both the positive and not-so-positive.
Its honesty is refreshing. It’s hard to imagine a Marine — especially an officer — writing about such things as his fellow Marines sneaking into mosques to post pro-American posters or selling bootleg alcohol. But, Danelo does, and does it respectfully to those Marines.
“Blood Stripes” fills a spot somewhere between the handful of personal accounts of the Iraq war and the numerous texts describing the big-picture explanations of who and why.
The focus at the small unit level gives readers a familiarity with Marines with nicknames like “Shady,” “Link” and “Dirty Steve,” and who epitomize the U.S. infantryman in Iraq.
Each Marine is made up of varying degrees of John Wayne and high school goofball prankster, seasoned with a dash of absurdity straight from “Catch 22.”
Danelo skillfully balances the personal and professional lives of these Marines in a way that really hasn’t been done by any other book about the Iraq war.
He delves deeper into the Marines’ personal lives than most post-9/11 war books, which gives the reader a better perspective on the decisions they make and actions they take when they’re in combat.
This book therefore does a good job of showing Marines as “real” people, with real strengths and weaknesses. Cpl. Jarod “Shady” Stevens, for example, is one of the more colorful Marines in the book.
Stevens spent much of his time in Iraq bending — or breaking, if you prefer — the regulation prohibiting possession and consumption of alcohol, and is later demoted for it. But despite this “shady” nature, when he’s lightly wounded in combat, he’s ashamed to accept a Purple Heart.
“The beef stew took more damage than my hand,” he complains to his company commander, Capt. Bill Anderson — a pseudonym Danelo created for himself.
“MREs don’t rate medals,” Danelo, or “Anderson,” replies. He acknowledges that Stevens might be looked upon in an unfavorable manner for accepting the medal for such a minor wound, but says that he still rates the award and will get it.
Danelo’s use of this and similar exchanges show both the humor and (in this case relatively minor) horror of war in an open, easy-to-understand manner.
“Blood Stripes” is written like a work of fiction, where character development is as important as the story line, and therefore is a relatively easy read. But since it is nonfiction, when Danelo writes about the death of Cpl. Daniel Amaya, it is not so easy, because the death of an actual person, no matter how well-written, is never easy to read.
In spite of this, or maybe because of it, “Blood Stripes” is a unique book written from a unique perspective that is well worth reading for those who want to understand what life is like for Marines in Iraq.
Great---thanks for the review..and the recommendation.
As I said I had the whole lump in the throat pages getting hard to see thing going. Not that it got to me or anything, after all I am a cold blooded hard hearted kind of guy.
Hehe...yeah, I know the feeling.
One thing that makes me want to read this..is a discussion I had on a thread yesterday.
The thread was about a decorated Marine planning on taking his Medal that he got for fighing in the War on Terror, to Washington...and giving it back to the POTUS..
I got REALLY UPSET...and felt that it was a slap at all of us that would want to give our troops a medal personally...but can't...and that medal is the country's recognition of fighting this horrible war.
There were a couple of Marines on the thread...that described that Medal as "eye candy" and that they wouldn't wear it either.
Since I have never been a Marine..I don't understand that mindset..which they not only pointed out to me...I fully accepted.
Well...at 52, I don't think the Marines would take me...so, maybe if I read this book..(and others)...I will understand more where they and are coming from..(not the medal thing necessarily, but the whole MARINE THING).
"Blood stripes" was also a term used to describe a promotion that was made when an NCO was KIA and a Marine was promoted to fill his position. The Marine who was promoted was said to have received "Blood stripes".
Bump!
Thanks for the reminder. I'll order it immediately. I've heard the same glowing review from other sources.
Thanks for the suggestion. My copy is on the way.
LCpl Namsman Jr. didn't have a lot to say when he returned from Iraq. Maybe this will help me figure it out.
Namsman sends.
"Blood stripes is the term for the red stripe that runs down each side of the dress blue pants of non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the Marine Corps, and it is a fitting title for this book."
This is truly a wonderful book about Marines, and highly recommended. I never made it to corporal (the books' central characters), but I'd bet my last M-14 magazine that the Marines do not call them 'pants' --- they are trousers.
Semper Fi,
Wow, just like John Kerry.
/sarcasm.
Learn something new every day.
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