The Strong Gray Line

War-time Reflections from the West Point Class of 2004

Cory Wallace

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781442249769
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

To preserve the memory of their service during the tumultuous decade since their commissioning as Army officers, members of the West Point class of 2004 have written The Strong Gray Line. This class suffered the highest casualty rate since those that graduated during the Vietnam War. In this book, thirteen of their classmates who lost their lives fighting the Global War on Terror are profiled to help the reader gain an understanding of the bond forged between classmates during time at West Point, a bond that transcends the separation of death.

In addition to the stirring profiles, thirteen personal essays detail some of the most brutal fighting of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in addition to the struggles endured by those on the home front. These stories range from visceral observations of combat to a wife's anxious wait for her husband to return home. Holistically, these stories define an emotional spectrum that enables the reader to connect not only with the experience of the Class of 2004, but with every man and woman who served their country in a time of war.

What separates The Strong Gray Line from other war memoirs is the illustration of the endurance of the bond forged at West Point. It is fitting that these exceptional young service members be remembered and revered, not only as examples of selfless and intrepid officership, but also as monuments to the thousands of fellow Americans who served alongside them.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I: The Fallen
• Chapter 1: First Lieutenant Dennis W. Zilinski II, KIA in Bayji, Iraq, on November 19, 2005
• Chapter 2: First Lieutenant Benjamin T. Britt, KIA in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 22, 2005
• Chapter 3: First Lieutenant Garrison C. Avery, KIA in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 1, 2006
• Chapter 4: First Lieutenant Robert A. Seidel III, KIA in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, on May 18, 2006
• Chapter 5: First Lieutenant Amos “Camden” Bock, KIA in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 23, 2006
• Chapter 6: Captain Michael A. Cerrone, KIA in Samarra, Iraq, on November 12, 2006
• Chapter 7: Captain John R. Dennison, KIA in Balad, Iraq, on November 15, 2006
• Chapter 8: Captain David M. Fraser, KIA in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 26, 2006
• Chapter 9: First Lieutenant Jacob N. Fritz, KIA in Karbala, Iraq, on January 20, 2007
• Chapter 10: Captain Adam P. Snyder, KIA in Bayji, Iraq, on December 5, 2007
• Chapter 11: Captain Paul W. Peña, KIA in Arghandab, Afghanistan, on January 19, 2010
• Chapter 12: Captain Daniel P. Whitten, KIA in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, on February 2, 2010
• Chapter 13: Captain Jason E. Holbrook, KIA in Tsagay, Afghanistan, on July 29, 2010
• Chapter 14: Captain Dave Hortman, Killed in a Training Accident on August 8, 2011
• Part II: Interlude
• Chapter 15: Classmates
• Chapter 16: “A Place in the Fight”
• Part III: The War
• Chapter 17: Hope
• Chapter 18: Have You Passed through the Night?
• Chapter 19: “Walking the Last Mile Home”
• Chapter 20: In God I Trust
• Chapter 21: Anger
• Chapter 22: Hier kannst du nur Krieg fuhren (Here You Can Only Wage War)1
• Chapter 23: “Economy of Force”
• Chapter 24: Love
• Chapter 25: Clearing Barrels
• Chapter 26: All the Things I Didn’t Know
• Chapter 27: Choosing
• Chapter 28: Dismay
• Chapter 29: All the Pieces Matter
• Chapter 30: The Men I Went to War With
• Chapter 31: It’s a Small World
• Chapter 32: The Day the Elephant Came to Town
• Part IV: The Strong Gray Line Continues
• Chapter 33: The Fire Inside of Us
• Glossary and Terms
• Notes
• Bibliography
• About the Editor