The Strong Gray Line
War-time Reflections from the West Point Class of 2004
Contributions by Jim Wilson, Charles Lewis, B.J. Kraemer, Bret Walker, Nicholas Ziemba, David Strickler, Travis Marks, Jordan Garrett, John Morrow, Seth Chappell, Thomas Nelson, Michael Fish, Jimm Spannagel, Thomas James Root, Joe Myers, Nick Horton, Joseph Nickel, Lay Phonexayphova, Jerry Eidson, Brad Vance, Douglas Livermore, Christian Fierro, Courtney Waid, Jay Ireland, TJ Root, Chris Baldwin, Jonathan M. Elliott, Wes Knight, Jake Pendleton Edited by Cory Wallace
Publication date:
01 December 2017Length of book:
332 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9780810895935
To preserve the memory of their service during the tumultuous decade since their commissioning as Army officers, members of the West Point class of 2004 have written The Strong Gray Line. This class suffered the highest casualty rate since those that graduated during the Vietnam War. In this book, thirteen of their classmates who lost their lives fighting the Global War on Terror are profiled to help the reader gain an understanding of the bond forged between classmates during time at West Point, a bond that transcends the separation of death.
In addition to the stirring profiles, thirteen personal essays detail some of the most brutal fighting of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in addition to the struggles endured by those on the home front. These stories range from visceral observations of combat to a wife’s anxious wait for her husband to return home. Holistically, these stories define an emotional spectrum that enables the reader to connect not only with the experience of the Class of 2004, but with every man and woman who served their country in a time of war.
What separates The Strong Gray Line from other war memoirs is the illustration of the endurance of the bond forged at West Point. It is fitting that these exceptional young service members be remembered and revered, not only as examples of selfless and intrepid officership, but also as monuments to the thousands of fellow Americans who served alongside them.
In addition to the stirring profiles, thirteen personal essays detail some of the most brutal fighting of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in addition to the struggles endured by those on the home front. These stories range from visceral observations of combat to a wife’s anxious wait for her husband to return home. Holistically, these stories define an emotional spectrum that enables the reader to connect not only with the experience of the Class of 2004, but with every man and woman who served their country in a time of war.
What separates The Strong Gray Line from other war memoirs is the illustration of the endurance of the bond forged at West Point. It is fitting that these exceptional young service members be remembered and revered, not only as examples of selfless and intrepid officership, but also as monuments to the thousands of fellow Americans who served alongside them.
An extraordinary set of stories. Graduating from the orderly world of West Point into the violent complexity of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Class of 2004 earned a special place in The Strong Gray Line – and paid dearly for it. Like their predecessors who fought at Shiloh, the Argonne, and the Ia Drang Valley, these cadets-turned-officers tell the story of West Point, warfare, and what living West Point’s motto of Duty-Honor-Country looks like up close.