Book excerpt: Marines look back on the Iraq War 20 years later in “Battle Scars”

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Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, former CBS and NBC journalist Chip Reid, who was stationed with the U.S. military when the Iraq War began, speaks to veterans of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and their families about how the war changed their lives in his new book, Battle Scars (Casemate).

Read an excerpt below and Don’t miss Chip Reid’s discussion of veterans’ post-war experiences on June 30 on “CBS Sunday Morning”!

“Battle Scars” by Chip Reid

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On Thanksgiving Day 2021, as I was driving from my home in Washington, DC, to a family dinner in the suburbs of Philadelphia, a souped-up pickup truck roared past me on I-95. It had temporary license plates and two Marine Corps stickers, one on the rear window and one on the bumper. I thought, “Isn’t that typical Marine? He just bought the damn thing and already it’s covered in Marine Corps stickers.”

This got me thinking about the most challenging, satisfying, breathtaking and terrifying story I’ve covered in my 33 years as a journalist – the nearly six weeks I spent with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (3/5 for short) during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

For years I had believed that one day I would escape the rat race of journalism and write a book, but I hadn’t settled on a subject yet. “This is it!” I thought as the pickup truck disappeared from sight. For the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2023, I would write a book about the Marines of 3/5.

As I drove, I thought of questions I wanted to ask them. Where are they now and what are they doing? Do they have families? How did their lives change because of their first combat experience? (For almost all of them, it was their first combat deployment.) What did they learn as Marines that helped them succeed in civilian life? Did they struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? What do they think about the war now?

When I returned home, I contacted some Marines I had kept in touch with occasionally and began asking them questions. I found their stories fascinating and powerful – and they were happy to tell them. They obviously did not want their service and sacrifice to be forgotten.

At first I thought I could get a good cross-section of interviews with about a dozen Marines, but word got out about my project and requests came in asking if I wanted to participate. I ended up interviewing over forty Marines, as well as several wives and adult children, whose experiences and insights were often as compelling as those of the Marines. …

I was often surprised, sometimes stunned, by how honest they were and how deep they dug to tell me their stories. Several times I heard the words, “I’ve never told this to anyone who isn’t a Marine, but…” I was deeply pleased that they still trusted me after all these years. …

As I write a tribute to the Marines of 5/3, I feel it is important to recognize not only their service but also their sacrifices – in combat and in the two decades since. Indeed, the sacrifices described in the pages that follow are many, including death in combat, death from tragic accidents, life-altering injuries, and the full range of nightmarish symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. And of course, addiction, divorce, and suicide, which tend to plague the military more than the non-military population.

But there is also much that is positive and life-affirming in this book: heroism in combat, the intense, lifelong camaraderie among Marines, patriotism and belief in one’s mission, life-changing character traits learned as a Marine, and the post-traumatic development that often follows PTSD.

Excerpted from “Battle Scars,” Copyright © 2023 Chip Reid. Reprinted with permission.

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“Battle Scars” by Chip Reid

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