We Were One by Patrick K. O'Donnell

From The Week of January 17, 2010

We know from those who have engaged in man's darkest and most enduring pursuit that war is a hellish thing. It has inspired us to achieve feats of technology and unity undreamed of in times less desperate, all while requiring us to pay a grievous cost, in the form of the stains on our souls and in the form of the innumerable lives that have been snatched away by its brutality. Thanks to a free press and to modern technologies, some of which were inspired by war, the talk of war is now steered by a war's justness, not its glory. Citizens can properly assess the cost of conflict, to grasp whether or not their leaders are lying to them about its righteousness. Which is what makes reflecting upon the 2003 Iraq War so achingly painful. We knew its price. We knew it was launched on shaky intelligence. We knew it was bankrupt. And yet we went on, largely because we had no choice, because a handful of men now decide the fates of millions.

These are points worth making. Perhaps Mr. O'Donnell has even made them in some of his other works. However, We Were One is not a macro view of war and its weight. It's a personal tale of one unit in Iraq, in that ugly war. It is about a unit of men who took a town, Fallujah, invested with insurgents and made it safe. They did not achieve this goal through overwhelming force of numbers, of weapons, or of air support. In fact, they had no technological advantage over the enemy at all. They were hard men who took a hard town because they owed it to their fallen friends.

We Were One is a story about brotherhood and bravery. There are no Rumsfelds here, no Bushes. There is just courage in the face of overwhelming fire. We can debate the virtuousness of war all we like, but when they happen we must not look away from those who fight them. For we will miss something precious indeed, the lengths to which human beings will go to save their friends and comrades when their lives are on the line.

Moving and tragic. I could have wished for a bit more criticism on the war from Mr. O'Donnell, but that wasn't his objective here. We Were One is about soldiers, not wars. And to that end, it is a tale told very well. (4/5 Stars)