A Soldier's Story

Teen boys are interested in the reality of a solder’s experience. Not the stuff of spy novels- but the truth about what training and the chaos of combat really like. Right now there are a few compelling fiction titles.  What I found most interesting are the real life accounts written from the young soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan .Their stories of heroism and selfless sacrifice would appeal to older teens. The memoirs I included are from soldiers in their later teens and twenties.

Conklin, Ryan A. An Angel from Hell: Real Life on the Front Lines. Berkley Caliber, 2011. Grade 10 and up

The famed cast member of MTV’s Real World: Brooklyn had an average American life until he enlisted in the army during his senior year of high school. After basic training Ryan joined the in the Weapons Squad of 187^th Infantry (Rakkasanes), the most decorated regiments in the Army, where he experienced every role in the platoon including rifleman, grenadier, machine gunner and team leader.

Crawford, John. The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: an Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq.  Riverhead Books, 2006.  Grade 10 and up

In 2002 John Crawford signed up for the Florida National Guard to help pay for college, when he was only a few classes away from graduation he was called to active duty in the Army’s Third Infantry Division leading the invasion in Iraq. This is the story of a group of college students whose yearlong tour of duty changed them forever.

DeMallie, Howard R. Behind Enemy Lines: a Young Pilot's Story. Sterling Pub., 2007. Grade 6-9

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor twenty-two-year-old H. R. DeMallie leaves the University of Michigan to train as a pilot for the American Air Force. On a mission bombing Nazi sites his B-17 is shot down in Holland and H. R. is imprisoned in a German POW camp.

Doyle, Bill. Behind Enemy Lines. Scholastic. 2009. Grade7-9

A collection of eight true stories of Americans who went our dangerous missions as spies, including a Green Beret who was awarded the Bronze Star for his bravery against the terrorists in Iraq.    

Hughes, Dean. Search and Destroy. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005.  Grade 7 and up

In 1969 Rick Ward is a recent high school graduate who enlists in the army as a way to escape and find inspiration for his writing.  In Vietnam Rick volunteers for the Charlie Company Rangers, a special combat unit that goes on reconnaissance missions in the jungle and returns home a wounded soldier that suffers from nightmares. 

McCormick, Patricia. Purple Heart. Balzer + Bray, p2009. 978-0-06-173091-7. Grade 9-12

After an attack eighteen-year-old Private Matt Duffy awakes in a Bagdad hospital as he is awarded the Purple Heart for valor. Suffering from traumatic brain injury Matt struggles to piece together the attack that killed two Iraqi civilians including the orphan boy that he befriended.

Myers, Walter Dean. Sunrise Over Fallujah. Scholastic Press, 2008. 978-0-439-91624-0. Grade 8 and up

Despite his father’s opposition after graduating from his Harlem high school Robin Perry enlists in the army because he wanted to do something for his country. In the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom Robin experiences boredom, sorrow and the destructive horrors of war as a member of the civil affairs team whose mission was to win “the hearts and minds” of the Iraqi people. Companion novel to Fallen Angels.

Phillips, Michael M. The Gift of Valor: a War Story. Broadway Books, p2006, c2005. 978-0-7679-2038-4. Grade 10 and up

A reporter for the Wall Street Journal recounts the story of how in 2004, twenty-two-year-old Marine Corporal Jason Dunham sacrifices for his troop earned him the first American Congressional Medal of Honor for the war in Iraq.

Reinhardt, Dana. The Things a Brother Knows. Wendy Lamb Books, p2010. 978-0-375-94455-0. Grade 9-12

Seventeen-year-old Levi Katznelson's brother, Boaz, returns from a three year tour of duty in the Middle East a changed man. Haunted by nightmares and fears Boaz rarely leaves his room until he announces to his family that he plans on hiking the Appalachian Trail from their hometown of Boston to Washington D. C. During the trip Levi and his older brother visit other ex-marines and their families and the brothers reconnect. 

Smithson, Ryan. Ghosts of War: the True Story of a 19-year-old GI. Collins, 2009. 978-0-06-166470-0. Grade 9 and up

A poignant autobiography by a self-described “GI Joe Schmo” who moved by the events of September 11 enlists in the army reserves after graduating from a high school in upstate New York. Leaving behind his young bride Ryan Smithson is deployed to Iraq in the army engineer unit as a heavy equipment operator where he feels the pain of losing comrades and interacts with the Iraqi children. Includes several black and white photos.

Workman, Jeremiah. Shadow of the Sword: a Marine's journey of War, Heroism, and Redemption.  Ballantine Books, p2009. 978-0-345-51212-3. Gr. 10 and up

After Marine Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest medal for heroism in the U.S. military, he was assigned to the Marine base at Parris Island as a drill instructor at the same time as he suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

Zullo, Allan. Battle Heroes: Voices from Afghanistan (Ten True Tales).  Scholastic, 2010. 978-0545206426. Grade 6-9

A collection of ten action packed stories that demonstrate the bravery of our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan including the story of Staff Sergeant Jason Fetty who saved a new hospital from a Taliban suicide bomber. Companion to War Heroes: Voices from Iraq.