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The Gift of Valor: A War Story Audible Audiobook – Abridged

Michael M. Phillips (Author), John Bedford Lloyd (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)

4.7 219 ratings

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Every day ordinary young Americans are fighting and dying in Iraq, with the same bravery, honor, and sense of duty that have distinguished American troops throughout history. One of these is Jason Dunham, a 22-year-old Marine corporal from the one-stoplight town of Scio, New York, whose stunning story reporter Michael M. Phillips discovered while he was embedded with a Marine infantry battalion in the Iraqi desert.

Corporal Dunham was on patrol near the Syrian border on April 14, 2004, when a black-clad Iraqi leaped out of a car and grabbed him around his neck. Fighting hand-to-hand in the dirt, Dunham saw his attacker drop a grenade and made the instantaneous decision to place his own helmet over the explosive in the hope of containing the blast and protecting his men. When the smoke cleared, Dunham's helmet was in shreds, and the corporal lay face down in his own blood. The Marines beside him were seriously wounded. Dunham was subsequently nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor.

Phillips's minute-by-minute chronicle of the chaotic fighting that raged throughout the area and culminated in Dunham's injury provides a grunt's-eye view of war as it's being fought today; fear, confusion, bravery, and suffering set against a brotherhood forged in combat. His account of Dunham's eight-day journey home and of his parents' heartrending reunion with their son powerfully illustrates the cold brutality of war and the fragile humanity of those who fight it. Dunham leaves an indelible mark upon all who know his story, from the doctors and nurses who treat him, to the readers of the original Wall Street Journal article that told of his singular act of valor.

Listening Length

4 hours and 1 minute
Author

Michael M. Phillips
Narrator

John Bedford Lloyd
Audible release date

May 27, 2005
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B0009UYP7U
Version

Abridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	4 hours and 1 minute
Author	Michael M. Phillips
Narrator	John Bedford Lloyd
Audible.com Release Date	May 27, 2005
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Abridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0009UYP7U
Best Sellers Rank	#410,460 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #98 in Military Public Policy #189 in Iraq War #796 in Military Policy (Books)

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

219 global ratings

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Rick

I am not a book reader, but could not put this down

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2023

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Truly a heart-wrenching story but one that makes you proud of all who play a role in this story. Many different types of heroics involved. I rarely finish a book, but this one I could not put down.

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Schtinky

Not just another combat story for this Marine Mom

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2005

Verified Purchase

April 14th, 2004, the world changed for many people. Me included. On patrol in Husaybah, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Kilo Company Marines were patrolling, securing the area after an attack on a Marine convoy.

At a vehicle check, an Iraqi insurgent burst from his vehicle with a loaded grenade, attacking Corporal Jason Dunham and his squad. Corporal Dunham was mortally wounded in the attack while saving the lives of the Marines who fought the insurgent with him. One of the Marines he saved is a young man I have known for fifteen years, who I watched grow up.

Everybody should read this book. It brings the daily lives and duties of our brave Marines to blinding light, and will show you from an insider's view how ALL of these husbands, sons, and fathers are heroes, every day there are out there. Jason's heroism and tragedy is real, not just a sound-bite on your evening news.

Michael M. Phillips has meticulously detailed this event, using painstaking second-by-second accounts of the convoy, the attack, and the vehicle check. He diligently follows Jason's route home, from medical corpsmen to medevac, hospital to hospital, until he reaches American soil at last. There are some gruesome accounts of the Marine's injuries and the surgeries that followed, so be prepared.

This book is not for the squeamish, but war isn't pretty. Combat is not our men and women wearing their dress blues; combat is our men and women wounded, bleeding, and dying. Michaels details the military medical community, and the dedication these men and women have to the combat soldiers they care for.

Anyone who follows my reviews will see that I am a horror aficionado. 'The Gift Of Valor' is the most horrifying book I have ever read, because it is real, because it hits straight to the heart. I cried all through the book and I'm crying as I write this review.

I say it again: Everybody should read this book. Everyone should know what its like for the men and women we rely on everyday; everyone should feel the pain of losing Jason.

To all my marines at Twenty-nine Palms, to my 'special son' Lance Corporal William Hampton, to PFC Kelly Miller, to each and every one of you who came to my house for a weekend of relaxation...know this: "Mom" loves you!

41 people found this helpful

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destiny

Knowing All The Details

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2022

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As someone who has heard Corporal Jason Dunham’s name and read his MOH citation countless times, you never REALLY know the story of what he and the other Marines and Sailors went through during those times.

To read about Cpl Dunham’s personal life and what his family went through was a real gut-punch and makes you truly think about the saying, “All gave some, some gave all.”

A truly powerful book.

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Curly Ramirez

Great read about an outstanding Marine

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2014

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Emotionally engaging and heartfelt. That's what I took away from this story. While, unfortunately, not a singular event or occurrence this book reminds everyone of the emotional strain and the physical impact war has on all of us. Jason Dunham's story is great read and reminds us to never take our family members for granted nor forget the sacrifice service members voluntarily make. Highly recommend this book!

3 people found this helpful

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Bill D4

A moving account of heroic sacrifice

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2009

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I read an article on Corporal Jason Dunham's actions in Husaybah in July of 2004. I was a corporal myself, then, and was on my way out of the Marine Corps. I took a long, hard look at where I was in life, and I decided I wasn't done with my service in the Corps. So I signed up for four more years.

This is a gripping, moving story, well-researched and well-told. It's difficult to read with dry eyes. The efforts put forth to save Corporal Dunham after he covered a grenade blast with his helmet and his body ultimately prove unsuccessful, but the path he took from the streets of a city near the Syrian border to a hospital bed back in the US of A display the care and dedication of everyone involved, from the nurse who held his hand as he spasmed just as she asked him to squeeze her hand, to the Marine liaison in the hospital in Germany, to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who visited him and his family in the hospital, are heartening to those of us currently serving.

I can't say enough good things about this book. An unreserved five stars.

6 people found this helpful

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Amanda Jennings

Excellent Book

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2022

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This book really opened my eyes to what our soldiers went/go through in battle. Highly recommend this book.

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Mindy Abraham

Forget the movie heroes-read about a REAL hero

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2006

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While I have not read the whole book, the parts I have read so far are both heartbreaking and inspiring. Heartbreaking,because a vital and brave young man could be gone is truly sad:( and inspiring because you see how hard everyone tries to save his life. His strength can be seen in the expectant ward when it is obvious that he is fighting to survive and you can see the kindness in the medical staff when they talk to him and try to soothe him. Overall a well written book about a REAL hero and why he got his MOH is seen in the book. You get to see why the Marines have a wonderful reputation. Highly recommended overall.

5 people found this helpful

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callie cat

Marines in Iraq

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2007

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This is also a non-fiction book about the trials of becoming a Marine, then a leader of men, and then a victim of the tribulations of that position. I have been reading the Wall Street Journal for over 50 years, and have been ever salutory of the reporters that have produced stories for that instituion----and this is NO exception! This reporter dug up the very varied backgrounds of these Marines, and brought them into focus of a VERY controversial time in the U.S.----and the M.D.'s and nurses that played their roles in the very lives of these fighting men and women----that are on the the frontline--------so that we do not have to be.

One person found this helpful

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The Gift of Valor: A War Story Audible Audiobook – Abridged

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