Book Report On Black Hearts

Black Hearts was about the 2005-2006 deployment of the 101st‘s second brigade‘s 1-502nd (First Strike) to Iraq. The book more specifically honed in on Bravo Company and their first platoon’s decent into complete madness throughout the deployment. The 1-502nd and its commander Lt Col Kunk, was tasked with the mission of getting control of and hold the land in-between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Kunk was a particularly difficult man to get along with. He would explode and go on a tirade over just about anything, big or small. This caused serious problems at meetings when he only wanted things his way and would personally attack his commanders who he thought he could not trust. This area had been recently dubbed as the “Triangle of

His unit was performing well and morale was high, but he realized that he still has a lot to learn about leadership. That summer one of his Lieutenants approached him about a soldier he refers to as Garcia. He tells Captain Franks that Garcia is always late for the morning formation and that the night before he cussed him out. Handing Captain Franks Garcia’s paperwork he said he was recommending Garcia for a Court Marshal. As Captain Franks looked over the personnel folder he realized that there was something wrong; Garcia had recently re-enlisted, earned a GED, and had been nominated for Soldier of the Quarter. He calls Garcia into his office and asks him what was wrong. Garcia’s mannerisms and clear disrespect were readily apparent. Captain Franks gets straight to the point and asks Garcia what his problem is. After hearing a gut wrenching story of Garcia requesting leave through the chain of command to return to the states for his Grandmothers funeral and being denied because he was too important to the team to let go, then a subsequent request for leave, after his younger brother was murdered, again being denied for the same reason, and the emotional anguish that Garcia was going through Captain Franks was deeply moved. This is the point that he begins a change into a transformational leader. At that moment he put his arm around Garcia and states “What happened is my fault. I know

Among these leaders was Bravo Company’s 1st platoon’s SFC Robert Gallagher. The platoon endured terrible living conditions including no running water and filthy living space. These inadequate living conditions must be met with some relaxation on the standards they were expected to follow. Company leadership viewed this as a bribe to keep the soldiers in high spirits. In reality, they set the stage for the erosion of the morals the enlisted soldiers are supposed to possess. While the morals were being chipped away, so was the original plan the battalion had hoped to follow. Fragmentation orders became a pseudo-standard for the boys of Bravo Company. What had originally started as short-term overnight patrol bases turned into fortified traffic control points with the exception of any form of fortification other than in notion only. Despite the fact that platoon-level leadership requested for supplies they were repeatedly turned down. A major breakdown in the communication between the leadership created a loss in faith in the higher leadership for the lower-enlisted soldiers on the ground. Very soon into deployment, Bravo Company began to experience contact with unseen enemy forces. The enemy was able to engage and plant IED’s and cause casualties while remaining elusive. After the first few casualties within the company, the mission to start set up traffic control points was to begin. While conducting patrols down the road time and time

“Colder Than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir” is a memoir written by Joseph R. Owen, a lieutenant of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment. Lt. Owen narrates his experience as an officer in the Korean War, in an attempt to show the public what war is from a soldier's point of view. Readers are shown what sacrifices soldiers have to make during times of war, they are shown the experience of war through a different pair of eyes. The Chosin action is justly called majestic; and in this memoir, Lieutenant Owen tells the tale of the common men who made it so. Joseph informs the public about the experiences of the 7th Marine Regiment and the tragic end of the Chosin Reservoir where many Marines lost their lives. He shows us what sacrifices a soldier must make for his country, and he helps readers understand the impact of war on a man. The memoir was an extraordinarily detailed and realistic account of war, allowing the public to read the tale and enjoy not only a thrilling retelling of Chosin Reservoir, but also a memoir

Black Hearts tells the story of a few bad soldiers from 1st platoon, Bravo company of the 1-502nd Infantry Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division, that was plagued with toxic leadership and lack of control over soldiers. The book documents the events that led to the ultimate demise of the soldiers involved in the horrific incident that occurred on March 12, 2006. Four soldiers were arrested in the brutal murder of an Iraqi family, which was a result of the lack of leadership and structure these soldiers received. Black Hearts takes a deep look into what happened to this troubled platoon and what unfortunate events occurred during their deployment.

Racism is dislike a person, or it is a fast judgment for the way that person 's looks, and without known anything about the person, indeed, the main reason behind racism is the lack of education. Racism is a true problem, existed hundred years ago in America, in fact, Americans showed hatred against other people especially immigrants. Some citizens of the United States of America believe the racism’s issue is resolved and it is over, also they think we all live in an equal rights era, while others believe the opposite, they believe the racism is still exists but in different forms and ways. In the book “The Heart of Whiteness”, published in 2005, by Robert Jensen, who was raised in a privileged community, he expressed himself as a white person, and the feeling of living in white supremacy. In all honesty, Jensen’s book is the most honest book I had ever read, it brought up the race problem genuinely, and the difference in treatment between the white people and the African-American people, also Jensen included some of his personal stories and experience. In the book “ The Heart of Whiteness”, Jensen aimed at white people, also he cited many points on how it is like to live in white supremacy, and the feeling of mixed emotions about the past, then what is the action white people should make. Me personally thinks the main three points that i experienced with my white friends are: White privilege. Second point is the guilt feeling towards the racism, and finally, the feeling of

The story of the Black Hearts Brigade, told by Jim Frederick, starts out with the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the summer of 2005. The author starts with a brief chapter of the events that unfolded when four soldiers of this battalion went to a house, raped a girl and killed her and her family. In the first part of the book Frederick explains the grand strategy the US was taking in Iraq at the time, the history of the area named the triangle of death, and how the 1-502nd did in their pre-deployment training. The main focus in Iraq at the time was getting south Baghdad under control. South Baghdad, otherwise known as the triangle of death, had a very rich history due to its location (right

“S*** rolls downward” an old army phrase is what exactly happened to 1st platoon of the 101st Airborne Division. Black Hearts is a fictional book on soldiers in the 101st Airborne division in the 502 Infantry Regiment during deployment to Iraq in 2005. Black Hearts is a book which gives the reader the point of views the different types of stress a soldier goes through during a deployment both physically and especially mentally. The book goes in depth and paints realistic events throughout the deployment and the impact it had one specific company.

This one has all to do with blacks. Now I’m sure I can reach far down and find a way to lead it back to white people, but I’d rather show that I’m mature and can take ownership of my - I mean our faults. Being black, you’re not supposed to sound as if you paid attention in English class for the 12 years you were taught it. You’re supposed to take words that have meaning already and give it a whole new meaning that only the black community can use. Like the word fire. Fire is a noun, it’s a combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke. (According to Google.) Black people however use it often as an adjective. For example: “Damn! That food was fire!” translation: “Damn! That food was very

When young Smithson had joined the Army reserves at just age 17, he encounters many feelings such as abandonment, the innocence of Iraqi citizens and death. When touring Iraq, Smithson experiences many horrific events including the death of a fellow soldier, which he did not know very well. When hearing

Escaping from Alessandro is almost impossible, though Giovanni, a Jew has to accomplish it in order to save his family. Clarke sixteen and Bella seventeen are everything that he has left. He is not going to lose someone again that he loves. Giovanni’s wife, Ashley had died one month ago. She had caught an infection from the deadly plague that is spreading all across Europe called the “Black Death.” Europeans believe that the Jews are poisoning wells, which is killing thousands of people. Therefore all the Jews are being killed. Giovanni’s family is the second one in line to be

A bitter coldness whips around your face in the harshness of the battered war. A snap of wind turning your already paled and dirt splattered face a frozen, cold red. Battered men bid to live on to the next battle.Vital blood that once was contained in a soldier’s body, now lingers, dryly splattered across your dull green colored uniform. Smiles of your once alive brother drills itself into your head. Their memory hitches onto your brain like a remora catching a ride with a shark.

O’Brien’s “Spin”, O’Brien shows the reader the good times of war. He starts off with “The war wasn’t all terror and violence.” (31) He talks about some funny stories shared within the platoon, how the men acted as a family of sorts, working together to survive. Some stories might also have a darker side or meaning to them, but he shines the light on the brighter moments in this chapter. He talks about the death of Curt Lemon, but makes it sound almost angelic the way he died, putting a spin to the story. He gives us a glimpse of how some of the soldiers acted, such as Ted Lavender being “mellow” while he was on his tranquilizers. O’Brien describes war as a “ping-pong ball. You could put a fancy

Within Black Hawk Down the significance of events can challenge students social views and cause a sense a nationalism in readers. One way that this story can do this is by creating a connection between readers and troops. This book, “brings to life the heroic efforts of American soldiers in Mogadishu’s maze of streets and alleys to survive the attacks of Somalis” (Matray). The audience finds themselves learning of the struggles of soldiers as well as gaining respect for them through this process. In a similar fashion, Bowden writes this book, giving the happenings of a significant militaristic event, indirectly teaching history during the process. One author previously stated that, “[the Battle of Mogadishu] … was the most serious firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War. Eighteen American soldiers were killed, and more than 70

What a man he is. Born December 25, 1962, Lawrence Otis Graham grew up in times of transition, when integration was quickly becoming society’s top priority but everyone’s prejudices were still fresh in their minds. Despite having to deal with societal bigotry, Lawrence Otis Graham rose above what he was, getting accepted into top schools such as Princeton University, Harvard University, and Harvard Law School, and achieving two of the most important aspects of the American Dream, Academic and Career success. He has served on the boards of Red Cross of Westchester, Boy Scouts of America, and the Council of Economic Priorities to name a few. He is an attorney and New York Times bestseller. One of his more famous articles as a writer is written in 1991 The Black Table in which he describes the conflict between integrating as an individual and self-segregating nature of groups in his school which in some way he insinuated continued the cycle of ignorance. It has been twenty six years since this article in the New York Times ran and a lot has changed. People no longer look at other people’s value based on the color of their skin, our children are thoroughly educated on the disgusting bigotry and ignorance that went on in our country not so long ago, and now more than ever, people of lower socio-economic groups are being given bigger and better opportunities to rise up and achieve their true potential. So why does Lawrence Otis