Marines of 3/5 on the advance on Baghdad in 2003, and how the Iraq War changed their lives. The most gratifying, and terrifying, story in Chip Reid's career as a journalist was the six weeks he spent with 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as a correspondent for NBC News. Traveling in one of the unit's Amtracs, he had unparalleled access to the young Marines, witnessing them in combat, and interviewing as many as he could persuade his bosses to put on air, allowing them to tell their war in their own words. It took only 22 days for the Marines of 3/5 to fight their way to Baghdad, but the effects on those who fought have lasted a lifetime. They lost a number of their own in battle, and others suffered life-threatening injuries. Of those who returned - even if they avoided physical scars - many have had to find their own way through survivor's guilt and the nightmare of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with all its attendant miseries. Twenty years on, Chip sat down with the Marines of 3/5 once more. They told Chip inspiring stories of heroism in battle, of camaraderie and comrades lost, of patriotism and belief in mission, of recovery and success in both military and civilian life, and Post-Traumatic Growth. Visceral and searingly honest, this book is a tribute to the Marines for their service, and for the many sacrifices they made then, and that many still make today. AUTHOR: Chip Reid's career in journalism has spanned 33 years. Reid spent 7 weeks with a U.S. Marines lead unit during the initial invasion of U.S. troops from Kuwait to Baghdad. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Reid reported from Ground Zero and from the Pentagon, as well as covering stories on the war on terror from Afghanistan, Israel, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and around the world. 40-50 b/w photographs
Industry Reviews
"Chip Reid's Battle Scars is one Hell'va book! Reid, a CBS News National correspondent and embedded journalist with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, authored a riveting account of the 'March up' to Baghdad, Iraq in 2003. Battle Scars is Reid's compelling personal account that captures the essence of young Marines in combat and the aftermath of their experiences twenty years later. Reid draws upon dozens of veteran interviews to tell their story in a comprehensive and exciting ground-level-in the mud-eye witness account."
-Colonel Richard D. Camp, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
"In Battle Scars, readers are treated to a vivid account of one Marine battalion's experiences during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the style that made him a successful broadcast journalist-and endeared him to hundreds of wives, parents and children watching his daily reports during the early days of the war-Chip Reid artfully narrates the individual stories of several Marines and corpsmen who were then part of the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines. Their accounts are gripping and at times painfully sobering; their stories, like their scars, are real. Ultimately, I hope this book offers other veterans some comfort in the realization of a shared experience, and a renewed desire to live for those who made the ultimate sacrifice."
-Lieutenant General Sam Mundy
