In the Shadow of Greatness: Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service from America''s Longest War
English
By (author): Joshua Welle The U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2002
They were walking to class on 9/11, wearing Naval Academy summer working blues, when the towers were struck. The campus went to general quarters, battle stations. They would be the first class after this attack to graduate into a nation at war and would be faced, like so many past graduates, of rising to the challenge to keeping America great. President Bush and Vice President Cheney articulated a world at the crossroads, and the U.S. would preemptively in seek enemies who threatened the national interest, America would not again be terrorized.
In the Shadow of Greatness addresses issues that go beyond one USNA class, it explains the trials of most military veterans of this era. Understanding how a young person enlists to serve, deploys to the fight, and returns home is unknown to most Americans. Veterans pack up their uniforms, but never lose the call for service when the return to civilian society.
The profiles in this book represent the Next Great Generation of American leaders. Men and women who lost their innocence in battle and their youths to a decade of deployments, throughout which they never gave up hope. In exchange for down range scars, they gained an unbreakable sense of purpose to Americas idealsfreedom, equality, and democracy.
The compilation is the most authentic and raw narrative to emerge from the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond. The reader enjoys a spectrum of stories, each patriotic and honorable. The narratives are meant to inspire, educate, and reveal a world many dont understand. Its contents are readable and easy to appreciate.
The Class of 2002and more broadly, the one million veterans of the Long Warare Americas leaders of tomorrow. Read this book to learn what they endured and why they are prepared. See more