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The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy (Hellgate Memories)

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The Unexpected Storm was not only educational and emotionally provoking but also an eye opener. It was difficult to put down and the pages continued to turn. This book will be appreciated by not only the men and women who have fought for all of us, but the book will also be appreciated by friends and families of those individuals. It opens closed minds to facts that many of us don't want to even consider never mind believe. The author with his admirable courage has given a voice to those soldiers who have been silent for so long. After reading The Unexpected Storm, I have a greater respect to all those who have chosen to fight for our freedoms clearly at their own expense.

It's not often that I pick up a book about something other than the Vietnam War but I'm so glad I did. The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy by Steven Manchester is amazing! It's not that the war was amazing but rather the way the author has depicted it and perhaps amazing is still not the right word to use.

As I opened Chapter One for the first time Steve was talking about being onboard the C-5A Galaxy plane that was taking his National Guard unit off to the Middle East. He wrote candidly of his feelings toward the war and his fellow soldiers. He was open and honest throughout the entire book.

This was the first time the American public watched as members of the National Guard and various Reserve units around the United States were being deployed along with their active duty counterpart troops to serve their country. No it's not the first time units of that nature were deployed but this time was different. Everything was aired on television and the country quickly became aware of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform were making. Many were leaving spouses, children and jobs behind. In some instances both parents of children were being deployed and their children were being left with grandparents or other family members.

Steven's group was no different. Many members of his Military Police (MP) Company from Massachusetts were married and had families. Throughout the chapters he reflected on some of them. He spoke of how he and "his comrades have come to heal their nation from a ghost that has haunted them for two decades: the poltergeist of Vietnam." He wrote of seeing "the after-effects of 41 days of uninterrupted bombing." AND how "The Arabian Desert has been used as a testing ground for every new weapon in the American arsenal." He held nothing back including his feelings and emotions.

The war itself ended on 28 February 1991 but that's when Steve's group was really put to work. However, Steve's war began earlier when he was first injected with the many shots required of the soldiers before they could deploy. They were already getting ill from those shots and the pills they were forced to swallow frequently that were supposed to protect them from various known nerve agents. Now "Steve's body is invaded with its own ghost of torment." He and his fellow soldier's have been "brutally introduced to `The Mystery Illness'" better known to the American public as Persian Gulf Syndrome.

As Steve sat onboard that C-5A he reflected on his life, family, friends, and how he got to that point in his life. He realized he was 23 years old and now responsible for ten other lives in his squad. His wife was being left behind, out of work due to a back injury, to handle everything that he normally did.

He wrote about growing up in a loving household in New England-an area that I'm very familiar with-of his school years, and his best friend. Steve spoke of their very special friendship. His friend wanted to go in the Marine Corps but Steve thought that joining the Army and being trained as an MP would help him in his ultimate goal of working in Law Enforcement. They chose the Army National Guard. He wrote about their Basic Training, the first MP Company they were assigned to, and the company that Steve transferred into that eventually went to Saudi Arabia.

Steve wrote of his parents and siblings. He spoke of his uncle who served in Vietnam and how that war affected him. This author readily shared the love of his life, his girlfriend who became his wife, with his readers. They had a story book romance which went bad in large part due to the after effects of the war.

Steve wrote about finally getting the word that his group was returning home. They attempted to smuggle some souvenirs out. They were on their way to the most glorious homecoming scene in decades in the US. Steve had seen and experienced so much. He wrote "the Army had broken him down....He was affected physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually."

The soldiers were whisked through out-processing-nothing like what they went through when they were in-processed. "The Army wasn't even pretending to care. Like their Vietnam War predecessors, Uncle Sam just wanted them off his menial payroll." They soon learned "It was going to be a long fight." This was going to effect his relationship with his wife too.

His book went onto explain what was done to him, how it effected his relationship with his wife, and what he ultimately did. When his wife became pregnant he worried the whole nine months that he would have passed on his illness to his son. Steve spoke of deciding to change jobs and how he came to realize what would make him feel better.

As I said at the beginning this was an amazing book. This is one book that needs to be read in its entirety by everyone. Go through his life with him, journey to a foreign land, and pray for him as he goes. This is truly an inspirational story even though the author has changed the names of the people and units to protect them and wrote it in third person. I highly recommend it.

The Unexpected Storm was extraordinarily written. Filled with emotion, this book gives an honest perspective of a citizen soldier serving our country with dignity. The author, Steven Manchester showed how courageous he is by sharing his innermost thoughts and feelings. And he did an outstanding job specifically describing the physical environment in the Gulf region. His ability to help the reader visualize and feel what he experienced is remarkable. Veterans, or not - people of all ages should read this book!

I had to wait a few weeks, but I finally got a copy of The Unexpected Storm. It took me two days to read it and the only time I stopped was when I wiped my eyes. I served in the Gulf War back in 91 and since coming home, I've tried everything to forget what I saw. But, I won't ever forget. So thanks Steve! Now I know I'm not alone. I guess I wasn't waiting two weeks for the book. I've been waiting ten years. It was worth the wait! Thanks Again!

This new author's writing style keeps you interested and entertained from the very first page to the last. This book provides an accurate as well as enlightening account of the Gulf experience for those of us safe at home. While reading The Unexpected Storm, I experienced emotions ranging from grief and laughter, to fear and disgust. The story explains the physical and emotional changes these men went through during the war. Most left as boys, and returned as men, with much more respect for those who went before them. This is a book I would recommend everyone to read -- it makes you think about the many things we take for granted.

The Unexpected Storm was extraordinarily written. Filled with emotion, this book gives an honest perspective of a citizen soldier serving our country with dignity. The author, Steven Manchester showed how courageous he is by sharing his innermost thoughts and feelings. And he did an outstanding job specifically describing the physical environment in the Gulf region. His ability to help the reader visualize and feel what he experienced is remarkable. Veterans, or not - people of all ages should read this book!

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them." FDR


"The Unexpected Storm" is the story of one soldier's journey from the moment he and a friend made the decision to join the military to the quiet beach where he found peace at last.

Steven Manchester joined the army while still in high school. Later he transferred to the 661st M.P. Company, a National Guard unit out of Massachusetts. Normally the National Guard isn't sent into battle, but Saddam Hussein made life anything but normal in 1991. Sergeant Manchester found himself destined for Iraq, leaving behind a wife to deal with a work-related injury and financial difficulties alone.

He arrived under the most beautiful sky he had ever seen with a little bit of fear, and a heck of a lot of courage and determination. He wasn't fighting for oil as some would have him believe, he was fighting for all the women, children, and men who had suffered under the cruel hand of a sadistic leader. Sergeant Manchester's heart was in the right place.

The long grueling months in the hot desert took its toll. Hours turned to days, days to weeks, and weeks to months. He witnessed children blown apart by landmines, the twisted metal and burned soldiers in the aftermath of technological warfare, and senseless deaths. He dealt with a platoon sergeant who wobbled on the edge of insanity, and he was constantly sick from the inoculations and "preventative medicines" shoved upon him by the US Government. And, though the war was over, Sergeant Manchester still felt as if he were living on borrowed time and dodging the Grim Reaper.

I felt as if I were a ghost shadowing his every step, seeing what he saw, hearing what he heard, and feeling his emotions. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, but above all else I was touched beyond measure. In the end, Sergeant Manchester sacrificed almost everything for his country and the Iraqi people. He returned home to a hero's welcome, but also to a government that shoved him out the door and left him to fight his physical and mental pain on his own. Finding peace within him proved to be a cruel battle in its own right.

I recommend you read "The Unexpected Storm", and then you'll understand why I continue to thank Sergeant Manchester and soldiers like him with every breath I take.

Truth is often times stranger than fiction, but rarely revealed in a biography.This book is a "MUST READ"for anyone is interested in the Gulf War.The author tells an excellent story about his experiences and those around him.

The Unexpected Storm true life story is a story anyone can relate to. It's content is about "WAR" but it takes the meanning to a greater depth. War is what we face everyday in our own back yard, senseless death and tragedy, failed jobs & marriages but it's in how we handle it and grow and learn about ourselves. Steven has captured this as well as his insight into our "Government's" lack of responsibility towards the people of this free land. Steven is now a hero to me and so is the nurse that took care of my dying mother and the countless other hero's in this world who's name never get mentioned. Thank you for the price you paid for our freedom but remember to "Keep the Faith!"

The Unexpected Storm was a moving account of the effects of the Persian Gulf war on the human psyche. The book is an emotional mind field of expression and I could not put it down. This book promotes introspection,I will no longer take the freedoms that we have as Americans for granted, there is always a price.