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Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives | 
 enlarge | Author: Jim Sheeler
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.27
You Save: $10.68 (41%)
New (37) Used (7) from $15.27
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 216
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 159420165X
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.704437
EAN: 9781594201653
ASIN: 159420165X
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080708211408T
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Product Description
Based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Jim Sheelers unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead; Final Salute Is a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them
They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know, said Major Steve Beck.
Since the start of the war in Iraq, marines like Major Beck found themselves thrown into a different kind of mission: casualty notification. It is a job Major Beck never asked for and one for which he received no training. They are given no set rules, only impersonal guidelines.
Marines are trained to kill, to break down doors, but casualty notification is a mission without weapons. For Beck, the mission meant learning each dead marines name and nickname, touching the toys they grew up with and reading the letters they wrote home. He held grieving mothers in long embraces, absorbing their muffled cries into the dark blue shoulder of his uniform. He stitched himself into the fabric of their lives, in the simple hope that his compassion might help alleviate at least the smallest piece of their pain. Sometimes he returned home to his own family unable to keep from crying in the dark.
In Final Salute, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Jim Sheeler weaves together the stories of the fallen and of the broken homes they have left behind. It is also the story of Major Steve Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Above all, it is a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Final Salute is the achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war. After the knock on the door, the story has only begun.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Extraordinary & Moving July 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Being the parent of a serviceman serving in Iraq,and quite possibly also going to Afghanistan, I was drawn right into the emotions being written about in this book. The writing was excellent and made the loss of our military heros personal !
get out the tissues July 3, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very dignified and quietly written although a bit repetitive which just makes the point of the book all the more clear. Although the families in the book have different stories to tell, the deaths of their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan bring them all to a common place. This should be required reading for our leaders in Washington, DC.
Well Written and Amazing Book! June 29, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read about this book in a newspaper and immediately ordered it. It is an amazing book that follows the lives of the families who are grieving their loss. As a former Marine myself, the way the Marine CACO performed his duties is how I would expect a Marine to conduct himself. He went ABOVE and BEYOND the call of duty for those families and he deserves a medal for it.
The author did an amazing job of documenting everything. It's as if you are right there with them. His courage to be there and witness these events is commendable.
It's a book that will make you cry. It depicts the thoughts and feelings of all those involved with the arduous and emotional task of notifying family of their deceased. I am a slow reader, yet I finished this book in 2 days but only a total of about 7 hours. It keeps you holding on and you just don't want to put it down. The book also doesn't leave you with that "empty" feeling.
Thank you for writing this book. It is forever etched in my heart.
Compelling and heart wrenching,many thanks to jim sheeler June 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
So many thanks to Major Beck and his fellow Marines and to the family members of the honored dead for helping Jim Sheeler write this compelling and heart wrenching book.
It brought this Navy vet who served during the Vietnma War to tears.
Lasting Impression June 24, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is truly a book that stays with you. Has even prompted me to get the flag from my grandmother's military funeral (World War I Wave)out of the cedar chest and put it on display. Incidentally, the only paper book I have read since getting my Kindle. Additionally, I am totally against the war, but this book gives a clear picture of those who have gone and not returned. Beautifully done!!
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