Unlike all other war memoirs…

In September 2005, soldiers from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in what would be the division’s second deployment to the country since the invasion. Twenty-year-old Specialist Ryan A. Conklin was one of these soldiers who wore the famed Screaming Eagle patch into combat. As an infantryman with the division’s 3rd Brigade, 187th (Rakkasan) Infantry Regiment, this became Conklin’s first deployment and a life-altering experience.

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Within the Rakkasan Regiment, Conklin belonged to Angel Company from the 3rd Battalion (Iron Rakkasans). Nicknamed the “Angels From Hell,” Conklin’s company was built around camaraderie within friendships forged from rigorous and tough training leading up to their deployment. This sense of “fraternity” was the backbone of survival in keeping one’s sanity that the Angels were to experience with a yearlong tour in Iraq.