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Book Review

McCoy's Marines: Darkside to Baghdad Author:  John Koopman      Publisher:  Zenith Press           The thick of Operation Iraqi Freedom alongside units of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment    They were the soldiers who pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein — the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, led by Lt. Col. Bryan P. McCoy (radio call sign: Darkside). And this is the story of their war, seen from the inside by the reporter they called Paperboy. From the build-up in Kuwait to the first push into Basra, from the briefings to the heat of battles planned or stumbled upon, San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Koopman captures the war in Iraq as it was lived, fought, and felt — the nitty-gritty as well as the guts-and-glory of it — and as he saw it firsthand from Darkside’s humvee or riding with the sergeant major (the Marine infantry battalion’s "most feared, respected, loved, and hated man"). A former service Marine himself, Koopman was seeing combat for the first time, too. His account, part memoir, part biography, part battle history, encompasses all the bravery and fear, camaraderie, excitement, humor, and sorrow experienced on the shifting front line of America’s war in Iraq. In spring of 2004, author Koopman returned to Iraq and reunited with McCoy’s Marines following their return to Iraq and the new insurgent war. This "rest of the story" makes for a fascinating epilogue.   Book Review by Army Times In “McCoy’s Marines — Darkside to Baghdad,” readers are thrust into the thick of Operation Iraqi Freedom alongside units of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division as the battalion fights its way from Kuwait across the Rumaylah oil fields and Basra down Highway 1 through Diwaniyah into Baghdad. The first troops to enter Firdos Square and pull up in front of the towering statue of Saddam Hussein, the Marines hesitate to join thousands of jubilant Iraqis ready to topple the statue. Lt. Col. Bryan McCoy, radio in one ear patiently debating higher-ups on whether his Marines should become involved, and insistent locals screaming in the other, shouts to a captain, “Aw, the hell with it. Just tear the damn thing down.” Such is our introduction to a blue-eyed, 6-foot-2-inch battalion commander from Oklahoma whose call sign is “Darkside.” Forty years old and sporting a Marine Corps high-and-tight haircut, McCoy confides to John Koopman, “Being a Marine is not something I do. It’s who I am. When necessary, I kill and order others to kill. I see it as a necessary evil because in this world there are sheep and wolves. We are the sheepdogs. Someone has to know how to fight. If it weren’t for us sheepdogs, where would the sheep be?” Koopman, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle (and a former Marine) who was embedded with McCoy’s battalion, witnessed plenty of action, including coming under fire with McCoy. And Koopman agrees with McCoy’s analogy. The pair’s odyssey through the hell of combat, replete with personal battle accounts, interviews and anecdotes — as well as a look at McCoy’s philosophy of “hands-on” motivational leadership — are at the core of this gripping 300-page front-line report detailing the vast campaign with the courage of ordinary Marines. Koopman’s assignment started in late 2002 when the Chronicle sent him to cover the impending war in Iraq. Allowed to select a unit with which to embed, Koopman chose 3/4. “I wanted a good, hard-charging infantry battalion, one that would get into a fight and be good enough to get out without getting me killed,” Koopman writes. “Furthermore, I wanted a tough, no-nonsense commander who wasn’t afraid of anything. I lucked out by getting both Bryan McCoy and the Three Fours. They became the hardest charging troops of the war thus far.” “McCoy’s Marines” is a brilliant intersection of journalism and combat. In addition to detailing candid views of the war from the ground up, Koopman vividly portrays the brutal realities of killing without jingoism and cheerleading. When 3/4 completed its tour and returned to Twentynine Palms, Calif., its Mojave Desert home base, Koopman was there to describe the event. A year later, the battalion returned to Iraq to fight the insurgency and pull occupation duty, and Koopman went along. His ringside seats on both deployments resulted in a six-part, syndicated newspaper series, “McCoy’s Marines,” a finalist in the journalism entry for the prestigious 2004 PEN Award. Richly expanded, this series became the basis for the book. This deeply human look into the spirits, hearts and minds of our men and women during life-or-death skirmishes deserves to be read by all Americans. More than 30 color photos, most taken by Koopman, add to the integrity of the text. Book Review from Air Force Times, March 21, 2005 “McCoy’s Marines is a brilliant intersection of journalism and combat. In addition to detailing candid views of the war from the ground up, Koopman vividly portrays the brutal realities of killing without jingoism and cheerleading. This deeply human look into the spirits, hearts and minds of our men and women during life-or-death skirmishes deserves to be read by all Americans. More then 30 color photos, most taken by Koopman, add to the integrity of the text.”   ___________________________