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They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars: The Untold Story Paperback – January 9, 2014

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Ann Jones (Author)
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4.4 out of 5 stars 95 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 191 pages
  • Publisher: Haymarket Books (January 9, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1608463710
  • ISBN-13: 978-1608463718
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsTime for all of us to redefine the phrase "Support Our Troops"
By D. Carothers on November 19, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I have never felt compelled to write a book review before reading "They Were Soldiers". If you consider yourself to be someone who "supports our troops", please buy and read this book in order to realize that those of us who have never been to war, or had a loved one return from war, don't understand war's devastating effects on our young men and women who have served our country. Although I have a cousin who came back from Vietnam in 1969 and has never said a word about what he went through, this book helped me begin to understand why. Through a friend who worked at Walter Reed / Bethesda, I've visited one of the ICU units where the soldiers who have survived land mines or IEDs arrive from Germany. That humbling and moving experience gave me only a hint of what these soldiers have gone through, "They Were Soldiers" provides a more informative and emotional connection to how they arrive there and the long journey that lies ahead for them. Another friend who counsels veterans in a VA hospital had told me of the extent of psychological trauma that our returning veterans have to deal with, but again, my understanding of the seriousness and extent of their trauma was minimal before reading this book. If you believe that our military has done everything possible to keep our troops from needless suffering or death, or to provide the utmost care in returning our service men and women to civilian life, your opinion on this may be changed. This powerful book provides many reasons for all of us to redefine the phrase "support our troops". Clearly we have underestimated what they have gone through, and how much we owe them as a nation to help them recover.

Thanks to Ann Jones for her excellent work, and to Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com for publishing and making me aware of the book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsHarrowing, but you just must read it.
By Walter E. Kurtz on November 30, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
They Were Soldiers is a book about the casualties of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was written by a journalist who had covered both wars. The book starts with the account of dead American soldiers and how they are collected (“collected” is the right term, because quite often they are literally in pieces) and sent home. Here we get a glimpse of the men and women who work in the mortuary platoon, which is the army’s unit responsible for handling the bodies of dead Americans. (So who takes care of dead Iraqis and Afghans?) As you can imagine, their job is so disturbing that many end up with mental problems and become psychiatric casualties.

Although the author does not come out and say so openly, the dead soldiers are the lucky ones. I think it was Thucydides who had said that only the dead have seen the end of war. At least those dead soldiers don’t suffer anymore. Their loved one will mourn them and grieve, and then they will move on with their lives. Comparing to what follows in the next chapters, the dead and their relatives are indeed fortunate.

And what follows in the next chapters is the account of the wounded. First the process of treatment of wounded soldiers is discussed in detail. Then we get a lengthy discussion on psychologically wounded. The stories are heartbreaking. We get to read about soldier who have suffered disabling, permanent wounds such as lost limbs and/or castration. You also read about veterans who become psychiatric cases. When they return, they appear fine at first, but within months, or even just weeks, their sanity unravels and they disintegrate. Many commit suicide, engage in behavior that is dangerous to them and others, sink into severe depression, or become criminal.

These “damaged” veterans are by no means rare.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsSad but true
By Jim Willoughby on November 19, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I was once a soldier. Everything in this book rings true. War memories never go away. Thoughts of conflict in far away places haunt all who fought, especially when one realizes it was unnecessary.
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5.0 out of 5 starsRiveting, graphic accounts of the horrific costs soldiers and civilians pay for war.
By S. Wilde on November 27, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Ann Jones reminds the reader in stark detail what "war" is really about - the suffering of all parties involved; boy and girl soldiers, their families, the people on whose soil war occurs, and the financial and ethical tolls our society bears for engaging in war.

Ms. Jones is an independent journalist who manages to tell a story as seen through the eyes of many different participants. Her descriptions of the smell and aura of war zones is very compelling, but her graphic descriptions of the horrors of battlefield (and accidental) injuries is riveting. Some content will be hard to stomach for new readers of this genre, but the detail is necessary to get the point across.

Battlefield reporting is just part of this engaging book. The writer follows soldiers from the battlefield, through "recuperation" and transport from hospital to hospital, eventually to their homes. She covers PTSD, the military's lack of acknowledgement of the psychological wounds of warfare, and the injuries and psychological trauma women in the military experience.

One need not go "off to war" or send their children "off to war" to appreciate how horrific and unnecessary our wars of choice are.

Kudos to Tomdispatch.com, Tom Englehardt and Nick Turse for keeping Americans in the loop with information the mainstream media will never report on.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starslike us. We

I am old. I could see what the second world war did to ordinary civil population, like us. We, myself, my parents and five brothers, sisters survived by 20 meters the... Read more

Published 5 days ago by Antal Halmos
1.0 out of 5 starsTaking advantage of a widow!!!!

Did you get permission from Mrs. Smith? She's the one who exposed stories. That was her late husband and her story to write. You thanked your cats but did you cite her work? Read more

Published 21 days ago by Whitney P.
5.0 out of 5 starsWorth reading. For all of us.

This was painful reading. Well worth it, though. My admiration for Ann Jones grew...courageous woman. Neither sentimentalized nor sensationalized. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Bibliophila
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a wonderful book. I cannot recommend it highly enough

This is a wonderful book. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The author does a wonderful job relating the experiences of soldiers and their families - the experiences they... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Bruce Boertje
1.0 out of 5 starsA political opinion book rather than a work of journalism

I got They Were Soldiers based on an Amazon.com recommendation from The Good Soldiers and Thank You For Your Service, both by David Finkle. Read more

Published 6 months ago by K
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A very good read to begin to comprehend the journey.

Published 6 months ago by Bernie Grant
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Essential reading for anyone attempting to deal with wounded veterans.

Published 7 months ago by Charles Corry
1.0 out of 5 starsTerrible, Horrible, Written by someone who has a personal attitude...

I wish there was a negative star rating because this is what this book would have rated. I bought this based on the recommendations on Amazon saying that others who bought Thank... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Michelle Walker
2.0 out of 5 starsRead the intro first before you buy the book. And look at the back...

I should have stopped reading after i read the Introduction. The intro tells you all you need to know. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Pusherman
5.0 out of 5 starsA book every American should read... sad but sorely needed

A book every American should read... sad but sorely needed to wake them up to the pointlessness of US wars... Read more

Published 9 months ago by LouellaB

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