Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 130

BOOK REVIEWS
THEY WERE HEROES

A Sergeant Major’s Tribute to the Combat
Marines of Iraq and Afghanistan

Sgt. Maj. David K. Devaney, U.S. Marine Corps,
Retired, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland,
2015, 296 pages

D

o we as a nation show our appreciation and
properly recognize the sacrifices our service
members make? In They Were Heroes, Sgt.
Maj. David Devaney does just that by commemorating the heroism and sacrifices marines made
during the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
After Devaney’s visits
with wounded warriors at the Bethesda
National Naval Medical
Center—now merged
with Walter Reed Army
Medical Center—he
wanted to share their
stories with the world.
Devaney was encouraged to tell the stories
of those heroes after
sharing them with the U.S Naval Institute’s editorial
board for Proceedings magazine.
The book has three distinctive sections: anecdotes
from battles in Iraq, from battles in Afghanistan, and
from assistance calls by casualty assistance calls officers (CACOs). Every story is different. However, each
provides a compelling account of marine bravery in the
face of adversity. Devaney helps readers vicariously experience combat by effectively recounting the details of
each battle and event. Each story’s details are collected
from the statements of those who survived the ordeal
and lived to tell the story. Stories of the battles are told
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with enough detail to provide a clear picture of the environment and conditions in which the marines fought.
Also, Devaney minimizes military jargon to facilitate
easy reading for nonmilitary readers.
One unique aspect of the book is the stories of two
CACOs. Those are the stories that are not familiar to
the public. The stories, starting from the CACOs’ initial
notification to the fallen hero’s family, to the completion of the CACOs’ duty, bring closure to the marines.
Devaney also included the correspondence between
himself and the family members of fallen Marine Cpl.
John R. Stalvey to help bring awareness of sacrifice that
families made alongside our fallen heroes.
Additionally, Devaney provides the award citations
for all fifty-two stories to support the stories of heroism
of our marines. These citations capture the essence of
the marines’ heroic acts and provide further details of
the battles—a great way to show the impact of each
marine’s actions and sacrifices on others’ lives.
This book is highly recommended to all. Devaney
delivers a good reminder that we are a nation at war,
and the price is the lives of those answering the Nation’s
call. Additionally, Devaney’s contribution to recognizing and reminding us of our service members’ sacrifices
is a great reason to read