Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story [Hardcover]

Thomas Hamill (Author), Paul T. Brown (Author), Jay Langston (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

Escape In Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story chronicles the extraordinary experience of American civilian, Thomas Hamill, a truck convoy commander delivering fuel to the U.S. armed forces in Iraq. On April 9, 2004 his convoy was attacked near the Baghdad International Airport. Five of Hamill's associates were killed and he was wounded and taken prisoner by masked gunmen who held him hostage in Iraq for 24 days before he made a miraculous escape. His inspirational story is one of danger, courage, faith, and family. Escape in Iraq is a must read for everyone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Faced with mounting farm debt at home, Mississippi truck driver Hamill was lured to Iraq by a $75,000 tax-free contract from KBR to run supplies. He was abducted on April 9, 2004, and his escape 24 days later made worldwide news. Hamill's first-person account (written with True Exposures publishing president Brown) shows the attack on his convoy that strands him with a bone-shattering gunshot wound in the arm; the three-plus weeks in which Hamill was shuttled around by various guards (whose attitudes ranged from curious or sympathetic to hardened and hostile); the able care and treatment Hamill received for his serious wound; his captivity within frustrating reach of passing U.S. soldiers. When U.S. troops assigned to guard an oil pipeline came within yards of his position, Hamill dramatically forced his way out of his remote holding cell and made a barefoot dash across a rock-strewn plain to safety. Throughout, Hamill attributes his physical and psychological survival to his faith in God, portraying his captivity as a Jonah-like experience in the belly of the whale. He keeps the narrative's focus on the mechanics of getting through each day (including some fascinating interactions with guards) and waiting for the right moment to make his move. The result is a remarkable story that, regardless of one's opinion of the war, stands as a true profile in courage. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Escape in Iraq is tale of heroism Thomas Hamill is a commercial truck driver and dairy farmer from Macon, Mississippi. In late 2003, he began driving in Iraq for a civilian company delivering military supplies to coalition troops. On April 9, 2004 (ironically, the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad), Tommy's convoy came under fire on its way to the Baghdad International Airport. His truck destroyed and seriously wounded in the arm, Tommy was captured by insurgents who threatened to kill him unless operations against Fallujah ceased. "Escape in Iraq" is the day-by-day account of Hamill's 24 days in captivity and escape. Told in the alternating voices of Tommy and his wife, Kellie, "Escape in Iraq" is about an ordinary guy facing death with extraordinary faith and courage. Meanwhile, Kellie endures a life turned upside down, an uncertain future and the ensuing media frenzy. It is about the miracle of a small town whose residents, regardless of faith or race, rally around the Hamill family to provide physical and spiritual support. Most revealing is Tommy's growing realization that he and his captors are more alike than not and in other circumstances could have been friends. The many illustrations, including family photographs, bring an added dimension to Hamill's account. "Escape in Iraq," is an inspiring account of true heroism that anyone will appreciate. -- Sandy Smith, The Lodi News-Sentinel (Lodi, CA), January 8, 2005

Thomas Hamill's story is much more than a harrowing tale of war, though it is that. Hamill's story is a story of faith. "Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story" is a testimony of his deep, unwavering faith - a faith that not only allowed him to withstand 24 days of grueling captivity amidst the horrors of the Iraq War, but actually gave him the inner peace to deal with his seemingly intolerable situation. -- Danny McKenzie, The NE Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, MS), October 31, 2004

When Mississippi dairy farmer Thomas Hamill suddenly found himself a captive in Iraq on Good Friday, April 9, 2004, he was determined not to plead for his life as others had done. In fact, he would not plead for anything, not even for food or water. When shortly after his capture a menacing Iraqi man repeatedly screamed at him, "I will hang you from the bridge in Fallujah tomorrow," the American civilian contractor simply fixed him with a cold stare until he went away. As it happened, perhaps because he showed no fear and also no pain despite a severe wound to his right arm, Hamill was not asked to plead for his life, only to read a statement before a camera. He agreed to read the statement but added an ending of his own. "God bless," he said, at the conclusion. The ad lib caused considerable anger among the Iraqi insurgents, who spent hours working to delete the religious statement from the tape. Hamill's harrowing Iraq experience is recounted in Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story. The book provides a rare and instructive glimpse inside the Iraqi insurgency. It also shows how a common, but far from ordinary, man was able to harness the power of faith to overcome fear and adversity. Lured by the high wages of a convoy truck driver, Hamill had come to Iraq hoping to save his family farm from bankruptcy. However, a massive attack on his fuel convoy took him out of the frying pan and into the fire. While a captive, Hamill met both humane and murderous Iraqis. He was quick to size up each of his many guards. Some he could converse with openly. Others he found it safer to avoid even looking in their direction. He developed an instinctive captive's etiquette that seemed to work well with the insurgent mentality, showing neither fear nor disrespect for his captors. At one point, when a gun accidentally was left in his cell, Hamill decided not to pick it up and use it. "I went to Iraq to work, to make a better life for my family," he writes, "not to take a life." He would wait for a better escape opportunity. Juxtaposed with Hamill's own situation is the story of his family back home, their difficulties in not knowing whether he was alive or dead, and their problems dealing with the press. They also received unbelievable support from their community and friends, who brought them food, cleaned their house, mowed their lawn, and even power-sprayed and painted their house! Hamill's trials included being locked in an ovenlike prison with little ventilation and 120-degree heat, nights spent painfully shackled (after his captors learned about Abu Ghraib), and having to administer his own antibiotic injections to treat his festering wounded arm. But his also was a learning experience. Eating an Iraqi diet of clabbered milk and stewed tomatoes, dipping out of the same bowls with his captors, sometimes sleeping among them on thin mats on stone floors, he found cultural traits such as tight-knit extended families that he believes America has sadly lost. Hamill's escape after 24 days was a tonic to Americans. His book is a tonic as well. In it we meet a humble man of courage, simple faith, and moral uprightness, a paragon of those qualities we all like to believe are the true hallmark of the American character. -- Saturday Evening Post, November-December 2005

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Stoeger Publishing Company (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088317314X
• ISBN-13: 978-0883173145
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real American Hero, October 16, 2004

By 

O. Jones (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story (Hardcover)

Thomas Hamill was an ordinary farmer who was searching for a way to serve his country and help his family financially. His story of the capture and escape was riveting. His courage and faith is a true inspiration to all. The book was easy to read and very hard to put down. Highly recommended to all- regardless of political persuasion.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Met the man...read his story...want YOU to read it!, March 21, 2005

By 

Freddie Meador "Jan" (Laurel, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story (Hardcover)

(A rewrite of review below due to mistake in stars rating)

I met Tommy & Paul at a book signing in Mississippi. Thomas Hamill is a very humble man. Thanks Paul for writing a book that us "common folk" can enjoy...without having to wade through the "elites" vocabulary overkill. Like almost everyone, I knew the story...even it's ending...yet I didn't want to lay it down. I didn't tire of hearing the detailed accounts of Tommy's day to day (all 24 of them) events while captive because it caused me to feel like I was right there in the rooms and vehicles with him. His almost comical way of naming his captors based on their personalites made each charater involved more vivid. It is an inspiring story of faith in God and how "waiting" on God's "timing" is so vital...something we all need a lesson in. When I've watched other hostages aired on TV, pleading and crying as they begged for someone to rescue them, I felt so sad, because unlike Tommy, they had no peace...only torment and fear. Read how Tommy's faith in God not only carried him from day to day...but from minute to minute through what he referred to as..."the valley of the shadow of death".

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, November 1, 2004

By 

Bob Schill "BobSchill" (Maple Valley WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story (Hardcover)

A well-written story about an ordinary guy caught up in an extraordinary situation.
The book was hard to put down! Recommended reading for everyone! Would make a great movie.