Generation Kill

Generation Kill

By Evan Wright

A
People
magazine Top 10 Book of the Year

"Harrowing ... important."
—
The Sunday Oregonian

"Sidesteps Greatest Generation cliches to find the unexpecte
d
—
a
self-described
'
Marine Corps killer' who listens to Barry Manilow, a corporal who compares a gunfight to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City."
—
The Washington Post

"Wright wrote about [his] experience in a three-part series in
Rolling Stone
that was hailed for its evocative, accurate war reporting. This book, a greatly expanded version of that series, matches its accomplishment. Wright is a perceptive reporter ... a personality-driven, readable and insightful look at the Iraq war's first month from the Marine grunt's point of view . . . compelling portraits ... a vivid, well-drawn picture."
—
P
ublishers Weekly

"
A
stellar reporting achievement that describes exactly what it means when Bush, Rumsfeld, et a
l
., talk about putting boots on the ground in a war zone. Wright, who won a U.S. National Magazine Award for the original magazine version in
Rolling Stone,
has lengthened the story and lost nothing of its power and immediacy. Embedded with an elite Marine platoon, Wright saw more than his share of death and destruction, and gives us a raw picture of soldiers dealing with the pressures of battle, incompetent officers, and the shooting of civilians."
—
O
ttawa Citizen
(One of the Top 10 Must-Reads of Summer)

"Wright's account of the 2003 Iraq invasion is often more thrilling than a Jerry Bruckheimer pictur
e
—
a
nd not just because the bullets are real."
—
U
P
I

"Visceral, sometimes shocking
...
a brutally honest account of America's latest generation to experience the stark, horrifying realities of warfare."

—
B
oston Herald

"Its timeliness notwithstanding, this chronicle of an American reconnaissance platoon's mission to spearhead the invasion of Iraq is not one of those hastily thrown together 'instant books' ... perceptive, often troubling." —
B
ooklist

"The language is blue, the blood red, and the action explosive. This may be
the
book of the Iraqi engagement."
—
R
ichmond Times-Dispatch

Berkley Caliber, New York

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d

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibilty for author or third-party websites or their content.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to
Rolling Stone,
where portions of this book first appeared in different form.

The second line of the dedication is from Rudyard Kipling's
Second Jungle Book
(1899). Copyright © 2004, 2008 by Evan Wright Book design by Amanda Dewey

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in
violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY CALIBER and its logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTING HISTORY

G. P. Putnam's Sons hardcover edition / June 2004 Berkley Caliber trade paperback edition / February 2005 Berkley Caliber trade new afterword edition / July 2008

Berkley Caliber trade paperback ISBN: 978-0-425-22474-8

The Library of Congress has catalogued the G. P. Putnam's Sons hardcover edition as follows:

Wright, Evan.

Generation kil
l
: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and

the new face of American war / Evan Wright
,
p. cm.

ISBN 0-399-15193-1

1. Iraq War, 200
3
—
P
ersonal narratives, American. I. Title.
DS79.76W75 2004
956.7044
'
3—
d
c22
2004044682

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES O
f
AMERICA

10
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

T
O
THE WARRIORS OF HlTMAN-2 AND HlTMAN-3:

The strength of the Pack is the Wolf.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Because the U.S. Military has partially embraced a conversion to the metric system, Marines measure distances in meters and kilometers, but still use inches and feet and speak of driving in "miles per hour." My account of the invasion retains these inconsistencies, switching between the metric and English systems as the troops did. Keeping track of this is simple: A meter (which equals 39.3 inches) is roughly 10 percent longer than a yard, and a kilometer (which equals 0.6 mile) is just over half a mile.

Some men are identified in this book solely by the nicknames awarded to them by fellow Marines.

Aubin, Navy Lieutenant Commander Alex,
pp. 172-173

Bodley, Navy Lieutenant Commander Christopher,
pp. 46-182

Bryan, Doc,
see Bryan, Hospital Man Second Class Robert Timothy

Bryan, Hospitalman, Second Class Robert Timothy,
p. 20

Bu
rr
is, Corporal John,
p. 129

Captain America,
p. 68

Carazales, Lance Corporal Jeffrey,
pp. 119-196

Casey Kase
m
,
p. 73

Chaffin, Corporal James,
p. 346

Christeson, Private, First Class John,
p. 153

Christopher, Corporal Nathan,
p. 274

Colbert, Sergeant Brad,
pp. 2-22

Cottle, First Sergeant Robert,
p. 306

Coward Of Khafi, The,
p. 95

Crosby, Lance Corporal Andy,
p. 168

Darnold, Corporal Trevor,
p. 135

Dil
l
, Gunnery Sergeant David,
p. 339

Dowdy, Colonel Joe,
p. 86

Eckloff, Major Todd,
p. 116

Encino Man,
p. 56

Espera, Sergeant Antonio,
pp. 82-184

Fawcett, Sergeant Damon Russell,
p. 221

Ferrando, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen,
p. 45

Fick, Lieutenant Nathaniel,
p. 17

Garza, Corporal Gabriel,
p. 22

Graham, Navy Hospitalman First Class George,
p. 340

Graves, Sergeant Charles,
p. 212

Gunny Wynn,
see Wynn, Gunnery Sergeant Mike

Hasser, Corporal Walter,
p. 263

Hol
m
an, Corporal Caleb,
p. 213

Holsey, Corporal Teren,
p. 243

Hossein, Sa
d
i A
l
i,
p. 328

Jacks, Corporal Anthony,
p. 7

Jeschke, Corporal Ryan,
p. 218

Kocher, Sergeant Eric M.,
p. 22

Lilley, Corporal Jason, p. 222

Lovell, Sergeant Steven,
p. 65

M
ana
l,
p. 273

Manimal,
see jacks, Corporal Anthony

Mattis, Major General James,
pp. 9-10

Meesh,
p. 160

O'Connor, Captain Daniel,
p. 208

Pappy,
see Patrick, Sergeant Larry Shawn

Patrick, Sergeant Larry Shawn,
p. 22

Patterson, Captain Bryan,
p. 93

Person, Corporal Josh Ray,
pp. 3 and 25

Raby, Corporal David,
p. 104

Redman, Corporal Daniel, p. 269

Reyes, Sergeant Rudy,
pp. 26-42

Saucier, Corporal Michael, p. 222

Shoup, Major Michael, p. 235

Stafford, Corporal Evan, p. 245

Stinetorf, Corporal Michael, p. 232

Sutherby, Sergeant Ken, p. 203

Swarr, Gunnery Sergeant Jason, p.
280

Trombley, Lance Corporal Harold,
pp. 4—
5
4

Valdez, Staff Sergeant Ray, p.
339

Weiss, Sergeant Randy, p.
390

Wynn, Gunnery Sergeant Mike, p.
33