EXPERT WITNESS A BLOGGER ON THE FRONTLINES BRINGS REAL STORY OF IRAQ

New York Post ^ | 4/20/08 | J.R. MICHAEL

[Dawnsblood]

You may never have seen either of those pictures before. If so, you are not alone. "American combat soldiers don't want pity." Yon says, "They're ready to fight to the end; they just don't want it to be for naught. They have been fighting for two nations, one of which didn't seem to notice. The Iraqis noticed."

"We can win this war," Yon declares. "And if we do it will be a victory of the same magnitude as the fall of the Soviet Union. It will not be a victory for the Republican Party. It will not be a victory for America and Great Britain and others 'against' Iraq. It will be a victory for freedom and justice. It will be a victory for Iraqis and for the world, and only then will it be a victory for us."

Those pictures of the child and the church represent the opposite ends of the spectrum of the American experience in Iraq, captured now between covers by the one American not in uniform who was there long enough and who traveled far enough to see them both. Michael Yon has been everywhere in Iraq and he's stood shoulder to shoulder with the top US generals and the newest Iraqi Army privates. "Moment of Truth in Iraq" is a milestone in combat reporting.

[MNJohnnie]

God Bless Mike Yon.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Yon always gets it right. Check this out Ern.

[andyandval]

Michael Yon is the most underrated war correspondent in the history of the noble profession.

[M0sby]

Thank you for posting this...
I hadn’t read of Mike Yon before.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks...

[Racehorse]

I hadn’t read of Mike Yon before.

If you haven't already found it, you might enjoy spending time at: http://michaelyon-online.com/

[M0sby]

THank you...
After reading the article I went to his site...it’s very good.
I’m happy to get to see it!
THANK YOU!

[r-q-tek86]

ping

[flowerplough]

Early on you'll find yourself charging down an alley in Mosul on the heels of Lieutenant Colonel Erik Kurilla, a leader in every sense of the word: "LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. He passed by me, and I chased, Kurilla leading the way. There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot. Kurilla was running when he was hit - in three places, including his femur, which was shattered.

"The commander didn't seem to miss a stride. He did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting from a sitting position," Yon reports.

I like to think I'd have tried just as hard to give just as much for my squad in Korea, in the 80s, if the Commies had ever gotten the proverbial "wild hair". We were, far too often, a bunch of drunken, lascivious clowns, but I would have quickly given my life for Gig, Tex, Rock, Locke, Buck and Chuk, and I sure did believe they woulda done the same for me.