131 Days

9781592865956

159286595X

Twelve years ago CW2 Tom Haigler was attached to the unit that would spearhead the 7th Corps into Iraq and annihilate the Tawakalna Division of Saddams elite Republican Guard. As a Physician Assistant his mission was to ready not only his medics, but himself, to care for the more than 200 casualties the ground war promised. 131 Days was created from his daily journal and gives a first hand account of what the medics in a frontline aid station face. There were many aspects to the war fought in Iraq. One was witnessed daily on CNN; precision guided missiles, spectacular explosions, the burning skies of Baghdad. Another; the 100 hour ground war, where not only are we impressed with what modern weaponry can inflict on the human body, but how much damage the human body can withstand. The last is the battle of the mind; the emotions, the fear, the anger, relief, the guilt. This is the aspect of the war he describes. 131 Days is an important reminder of what soldiers face on a personal level when combat is inevitable.