Based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Jim Sheelers unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead; Final Salute Is a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them
They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know, said Major Steve Beck.
Since the start of the war in Iraq, marines like Major Beck found themselves thrown into a different kind of mission: casualty notification. It is a job Major Beck never asked for and one for which he received no training. They are given no set rules, only impersonal guidelines.
Marines are trained to kill, to break down doors, but casualty notification is a mission without weapons. For Beck, the mission meant learning each dead marines name and nickname, touching the toys they grew up with and reading the letters they wrote home. He held grieving mothers in long embraces, absorbing their muffled cries into the dark blue shoulder of his uniform. He stitched himself into the fabric of their lives, in the simple hope that his compassion might help alleviate at least the smallest piece of their pain. Sometimes he returned home to his own family unable to keep from crying in the dark.
In Final Salute, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Jim Sheeler weaves together the stories of the fallen and of the broken homes they have left behind. It is also the story of Major Steve Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Above all, it is a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Final Salute is the achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war. After the knock on the door, the story has only begun.
When I was in the military I was sent on a classified mission when I was nineteen years old. No one in the entire world that knew me, cared about me, or loved me, knew where I was going or what I was doing. I carried two fears within me during this time. The first fear was obviously of being killed. The second fear was of "THE-VISIT" that my poor, wonderful, loving, unknowing, Parents would get if I was killed. The horrendous, horrifying, ghastly, human reaction by a next of kin that has no reason to worry about a knock on the door by "CASUALTY NOTIFICATION", is too gruesome to imagine let alone put in words.
****************** "THE KNOCK" *********************
"YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THE BLOOD RUN OUT OF THEIR BODY AND THEIR HEART HIT THE FLOOR. IT'S NOT THE BLOOD AS MUCH AS THEIR SOUL. SOMETHING SINKS. I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT EXCEPT WHEN SOMEONE DIES. AND I'VE SEEN A LOT OF DEATH."
****************** MAJOR STEVE BECK *******************
This book should be read by every single American citizen. But, be warned; it is extremely emotional and you will shed tears. I am an honorably discharged Viet Nam era veteran and I consider myself to be a pretty tough guy. I have faced death and came out on the other side. When I got this book, before I actually started reading it, I went to the center portion which has twenty-four pages of color pictures that range from pictures of our fallen hero's that are depicted in this book, to their mourning families before and after "notification", to a pregnant crying wife, draping herself over the American Flag, that is draped over the coffin containing her husband, to cemeteries, to a ripped apart "last letter" home from a fallen American Hero. As if the pictures weren't powerful enough the captions carry additional emotional power of their own. I could not make it through the pictures without tears coming to my eyes!
************************** REVERBERATIONS *******************
"YOU ALWAYS HEAR ALL THESE STATEMENTS LIKE "FREEDOM ISN'T FREE." YOU HEAR THE PRESIDENT TALKING ABOUT ALL THESE PEOPLE MAKING SACRIFICES. BUT YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW UNTIL YOU CARRY ONE OF THEM IN THE CASKET. WHEN YOU FEEL THEIR BODY WEIGHT. WHEN YOU FEEL THEM, THAT'S WHEN YOU KNOW. THAT'S WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND."
************** MARINE STAFF SERGEANT KEVIN THOMAS *********
People watch the news and they read papers and magazines about the cost and damage of war, but this book to me is the echo of the story that isn't heard when you turn off your TV or throw the papers and magazines away. Reading this book makes me prouder than ever that I served my country honorably... and it reinforces within my very soul, what I've never taken for granted... and that's the blessing that I came home alive. I could not go more than five or ten pages at a time without my eyes losing its battle to fight back tears. I have my Honorable Discharge displayed between my family room and my kitchen, and under it I've always had the following quote displayed:
**** "THOSE WHO HAVE LONG ENJOYED SUCH PRIVILEGES ***
**** AS WE ENJOY... FORGET IN TIME... THAT MEN HAVE ***
**** DIED TO WIN THEM." Franklin D. Roosevelt ************
I promise you that anyone who reads this book will never forget not only the Americans who have died for their country, but also the Americans that served and were lucky enough to come home alive. G-d Bless America and my prayers go out to all the hero's and their enduring families that will forever share tears of pride.
This is a fine work of quiet journalism. Mr. Sheeler has written vignettes from his personal observations of our current military burial practices and rituals, from family notification to points yet undefined, if only because some of these counselors remain in contact with some of the families. These are matters of depth and duration.
These are his accounts of the daunting job of those who bring terrible news to the "Next of Kin", and of the next of kin themselves. Such journalism is difficult to do cleanly and honestly. He does a remarkable job of not inserting himself into the chapters. He was, by the testimony of United States Marine Colonel Beck, most respectful of the fallen and of their families. Bias may be inevitable, but I find none here to cloud or distract or distort these sad events.
Each story is only as long as necessary. No editorializing. No purple embellishment. With such clarity he lays before us so that each touches us. First each alone, and then in a gradual appreciation of the both range and the commonality of them all. They are moving and enlightening.
The only time you get a sense of this author is when he bares the events where he is himself involved. After all, he really was there and in contact with the families and others. He cannot deny it by omission. But as he works through the difficulties of not being that in-your-face newsman we usually read or see, he actually further illuminates the courage of these families.
I started off by mentioning burial rituals and practices. Mr. Sheeler has a keen eye and ear. He does much to record the ceremonial side as well as the personal side. Indeed they touch profoundly in his renditions. Things sometimes vary by service. He points them out to us. He supplies quite a lot of information in a subtle way as the book unfolds. Such careful presentation is artful without artifice. Here is beauty and pain, ache and remembrance, truth and respect. Please read this book.
This is a truly beautiful and important book. I didn't think I would be able to read about this subject, I thought it would be too depressing or difficult, but I had heard about Sheeler's Pulitzer-winning article on the subject, so I thought I should try. I ended up reading this book almost straight through as soon as I got my copy. Yes, I cried, but I laughed too, and I ended up feeling really good about our country after finishing it. In a strange way, it feels like I'm doing my part, in some small way, saying thank you to our troops and their families for the sacrifices they've made. They go over there and serve their country and face incredible danger, and we continue to live our comfortable lives over here without thinking about what they and their families are giving up. And sometimes the price is really high. Jim Sheeler deserves a lot of credit for telling a very difficult story in an incredibly beautiful and sensitive way. It gives me chills just thinking about some of the wives and their children. I couldn't put it down and will recommend it to all my friends-- we all need to be reminded of what's going on over there and in our own communities here in the US.
