WAR AND WARRIORS: Volume 1
Three Great War History/Memoir Books
JEFF MORRIS
DON BROWN
CRAIG W. DRUMMOND
WildBluePress.com
War and Warriors: Volume One published by:
WILDBLUE PRESS
P.O. Box 102440
Denver, Colorado 80250
Publisher Disclaimer: Any opinions, statements of fact or fiction, descriptions, dialogue, and citations found in this book were provided by the author, and are solely those of the author. The publisher makes no claim as to their veracity or accuracy, and assumes no liability for the content.
Copyright 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
WILDBLUE PRESS is registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices.
ISBN 978-1-948239-68-4 eBook
Interior Formatting/Cover Design by Elijah Toten
www.totencreative.com
LEGION RISING
SURVIVING COMBAT AND THE SCARS IT LEFT BEHIND
JEFF MORRIS
with L.C. MICKLER
WildBluePress.com
LEGION RISING published by:
WILDBLUE PRESS
P.O. Box 102440
Denver, Colorado 80250
Publisher Disclaimer: Any opinions, statements of fact or fiction, descriptions, dialogue, and citations found in this book were provided by the author, and are solely those of the author. The publisher makes no claim as to their veracity or accuracy, and assumes no liability for the content.
Copyright 2019 by Jeff Morris
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
WILDBLUE PRESS is registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices.
ISBN 978-1-948239-35-6 Trade Paperback
ISBN 978-1-948239-34-9 eBook
Interior Formatting/Book Cover Design by Elijah Toten
www.totencreative.com
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Note From L.C. Mickler/ Letters
For my mom, anything good I have ever done in my life is because of you and the example you set.
Anne, Cole, Will, Jack, and Claire, I love you.
Crissy, thank you.
To the men of 1/A/1-9 CAV and B/1-8 CAV The Legion, the greatest honor and privilege of my life was serving by your side.
Foreword
Young lieutenants have little room for error. Four years of rigorous education at West Point and a full year of intensive infantry training at Fort Benning do nothing to calm the nerves of a new platoon leader about to meet their commander for the first time. You want to do well. Theres a lot of ambiguity and guessing leading up to that first moment. You can guess about the culture but cant know exactly what its like until youre there. You wonder if the unit is going to be like one of those horror stories studied in the textbooks about what not to do, or if its going to be a unit memorialized in history for its performance. You ponder about the potential of the commanders personality and style, whether or not it will fit yours, whether youll be able to adjust.
These were just some of the thoughts racing through my mind in the summer of 2006 as I walked into the Battalion Headquarters of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment to meet my commander for the first time. All that I knew is that Id be taking a platoon to war, and that regardless of the circumstances, I was prepared to sacrifice everything to help the unit succeed. What I didnt know is that I was about to meet a person who knew the meaning of the word sacrifice all too well; a person who would shape, mentor, and guide me not only through one of the most difficult deployments in the history of the Iraq War, but also through the many emotional challenges in life that ensued for nearly a decade afterwards.
Jeff Morris emerged a true leader, but the greatest validation of this assessment cant be found on the streets of Baghdad. Nor can it be found within the countless acts of heroism he displayed, the impenetrable organizational culture that he cultivated, or the myriad of times he sacrificed himself for the benefit of the team. It cant be found in the operational mastery he possessed, his reassuring demeanor and unshakable confidence in the face of chaos, or in the number of times he had our backs behind closed doors. To be sure, the greatest testament of a leaders impact cant be fully experienced in the moment, but years laterdecades laterjudged only by the reputation he still maintains with the soldiers he once led. Jeff knows that leadership doesnt stop on the battlefield, and he makes a conscious choice to lead his tribe every day. He remains a powerful beacon of hope for the soldiers, family members, and community leaders who compose that tribe. Youll see this love transcend throughout the pages of this text, and its perhaps the greatest teaching of war when we lead through love, impossible situations start to become possible.
There are endless stories that I could share about Jeffs battlefield leadership, some of which Ive already captured in The Beauty of a Darker Soul . He embodies the classical traits of the archetypal combat leaders who fill our Hollywood theaters and television screens, inspiring us to retain our belief in the power of the warrior spirit. But the qualities that distinguish the good leaders from the great dont often make it to the movie set. Leadership of this type isnt sexy or flashy. It rests with the ability to maintain composure in the face of irresolvable moral dilemmas, or to hold a room filled with hundreds of teary-eyed Infantrymen after they lost yet another brother in arms. It is not about the ability to inspire a team to strap on their gear and move towards the sound of the guns in battle, but rather how well youre able to help them shed their armor afterwards; to cultivate vulnerability and give permission to process the inescapable emotional wounds left by those times. Its about allowing the souls that once lived to live through you, holding the space that maintains the integrity of the entire family. Jeff leads by example in this regard too. He is more of a leader today than he was even at the height of combat operations, and I consider it one of my deepest honors to be but a small part of his life, both then and now.
The lessons of this book have applicability far beyond the military. Where Jeff was a powerful source of hope for me, Im confident that this work will also serve as a source of hope for you.
Major (Ret.) Josh Mantz
Author, The Beauty of a Darker Soul
Preface
At the risk of sounding overdramatic, the fog of war is a real thing. The events I describe here are my memories and mine alone. Most of these are events I was directly involved in, but several are recollections of me speaking with peers or listening over the radio as they unfolded. I have done my best to tell these stories to the best of my recollection and with the utmost respect to those involved. If there are any mistakes, they are mine and mine alone.
