The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq

by John Crawford

Book Overview

In the tradition of Michael Herr's Dispatches , a National Guardsman's account of the war in Iraq. John Crawford joined the Florida National Guard to pay for his college tuition, willingly exchanging one weekend a month and two weeks a year for a free education. But in Autumn 2002, one semester short of graduating and newly married--in fact, on his honeymoon--he was called to active duty and sent to the front lines in Iraq. Crawford and his unit spent...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594482012
• ISBN13: 9781594482014
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Incredible Read

The descriptive on scene passages were so complete it was just like being there. Raw and unfiltered the book portrays the gut-wrenching emotions and mental detachment soldiers experience that often is ignored and passed by with flowery expose trying to glorify the experience. I would recommend this to those who want to get inside a soldier's mind to best understand what they go through. And please, could someone tell me what happened to the Iraqi boy, the one they called, "Come?" 🥺

The war's first true story...

Anthony Swofford's "Jarhead" is a Marine's tale of egotistical bravado in a war fought and won elsewhere. Crawford's "Last True Story..." is more a humble telling of a war between the fighting, where peace is won or lost, and the outcome remains in question. "People pick the Army... the infantry picks the man: men who do poorly in math, excel in athletics, drink a lot, love their mother, fear their father... We are both proud and ashamed of what we are. The stepchildren of the Army, infantrymen are like guard dogs at a rich man's house. When people come to visit... they lock us in the garage and tell us not to bark, but when night falls and there is a noise outside, everyone is glad we're there." From this perspective we see the day-to-day functions and dysfunctions of America's presence in Iraq. Crawford refrains from politicizing our cause or his views. He simply and eloquently tells of the impact of the war on him and his life, his selection of events as telling as his description of them. Crawford's frustration with the necessary nature of war and the military is evident throughout, but he describes it with an honest sense of his own limitations. "I jealously pondered why the army didn't issue me a tent, but then I figured that if they had I would just b*tch about carrying it." This book is a tremendous resource of the thoughts and feelings of the men in our Army who find themselves thousands of miles from where patriotism is a virtue. This is an important book at an important time written humbly and honestly with no greater agenda than the most commendable: a voice for a soldier.

Powerful Reading

I bought this book the day after it hit the shelves, see John is my youngest brother, and having heard stories about his time in Iraq, and knowing some of what he went through, but also knowing he kept morbid stuff out of his stories to me, I knew this would be a powerful story. John's life changed forever when he got deployed, and hopefully over time the anger and frustration he felt will subide, and he will be able to get past the bad times. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, excellent story telling.

Great Story from someone who served

I was attached to the 101st Airborne Division in Baghdad, I remember when Johns unit came to relieve us. I can say, I bought this book today after watching The Daily Show. I have not been able to put the book down the entire day. I just now stopped to go online and see if I could find out more about John. But I am pretty sure I will finish this book this weekend. The storytelling was remarkable, I felt as if I was back along that river watching those drunks yelling and screaming. I would 100% recommend this story to move directly to hollywood. It would translate totally to cinema. Especially being there, I think it truely hit me deep down. Thank you for telling this tale, I can do nothing but recommend it to all readers.

Accidental soldier

John Crawford's story might be something out of Hollywood (indeed, with the new FX series, `Over There', now playing, Crawford's story seems almost as if it had been lifted for that drama). Crawford is like many others - he joined the National Guard for college money, not to go abroad and fight a war (whatever happened to the days when the National Guard stayed at home? but I digress...) He was nearing graduation, newly married, and suddenly thrust into the middle of a war that was controversial at the start, and increasingly unpopular at home as it dragged on. Crawford spent three years in the 101st Airborne division, and then enlisted in the National Guard as he entered college, primarily for the tuition assistance. In Fall 2002, he was activated and had to go. Like many, his expectation of a short tour of duty was frustrated - the promise of `three months, six at most' turned into more than a year abroad. Crawford's tales are riveting and engrossing. Like many men and women abroad in the conflict, he had varying access to email and internet facilities, and was encouraged by an embedded journalist to submit his tales (those of his own experience, and his writing on the experiences of others who were also around him at the time) to places around the country. Some stories are now familiar to people in the States - problems with equipment, problems with personnel, problems with understanding their role vis-à-vis the locals. Crawford says that his unit was so underequipped that they even had to get vehicles from other units; at one point, they had a confiscated SUV from which they'd knocked the doors out, and mounted a machine gun on it. Not military issue at all. Their flak jackets were Vietnam-era technology, and their rifles were decades old. He also talks of the scavenging and improvising that took place, including digging through landfills for spare parts. Crawford even said that the only way to get replacement uniforms and boots was to order them online - soldiers then had to pay for these themselves, unreimbursed. Tough conditions, indeed. Through it all Crawford insists that he and his unit were good soldiers who were going to do their duty no matter what, even if they did feel at times like the poor step-child that nobody cared about. `Imagine a war in which you can call home at the end of the day,' Crawford says - he'd call his wife at home after a hard day; she'd talk about cleaning up dog doo in the house, and he'd talk about cleaning up dismembered people on the street. During the major operation of the war, there was no easy communication, but during the occupation time, it was much more available. Crawford sees this as a mixed blessing - instead of keep concentration focused, often soldiers would be worrying about things at home, and that could present a problem. It would also reinforce just how far away home really was. Crawford also writes about drug use - some were into steroids (he describes a few `roi

An excellent work

I had the privilege of serving with Spc. Crawford in Iraq. His book tells it exactly like it was, with no holds barred. It covers everything from our supply inadequacies, to command mismanagements, to the reality of the war that the media never took the time to cover. Crawford is a natural author, an expert at weaving an engaging story that grips the reader firmly and swiftly. In an age where the news media corporations are the only source most Westerner's have for news of the war, and the corrupt Arab news networks are the propaganda sources for the Middle East, Crawford's account of the Warrior battalion is a cutting, incisive, and TRUE representation of what REALLY went on over there. -