The inspiring and thrilling combat memoir of the only Army Ranger serving in direct combat operations with a prosthetic limb.
On October 3, 2005, Kapacziewski and his soldiers were coming to the end of their tour in Northern Iraq when their convoy was attacked by enemy fighters. A grenade fell through the gunner's hatch and exploded, shattering Kapacziewski's right leg below the knee, damaging his right hip, and severing a nerve and artery in his right arm.
He endured more than forty surgeries, but his right leg still wasn't healing as he had hoped, so in March 2007, Kapacziewski chose to have it amputated with one goal in mind: to return to the line and serve alongside his fellow Rangers. One year after his surgery, Kapacziewski accomplished his goal: he was put back on the line, as a squad leader of his Army Ranger Regiment.
On April 19, 2010, during his ninth combat deployment (and fifth after losing his leg), Kapacziewski's patrol ran into an ambush outside a village in eastern Afghanistan. After a fellow Ranger fell to withering enemy fire, shot through the belly, Sergeant Kap and another soldier dragged him seventy-five yards to safety and administered first aid that saved his life while heavy machineguns tried to kill them. His actions earned him an Army Commendation Medal with "V" for Valor. He had previously been awarded a Bronze Star for Valor—and a total of three Purple Hearts for combat wounds.
Back in the Fight is an inspiring and thrilling tale readers will never forget.
Back in the Fight
The Explosive Memoir of a Special Operator Who Never Gave Up
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 15, 2013 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781427235237
- File size: 264439 KB
- Duration: 09:10:54
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Publisher's Weekly
February 11, 2013
Kapacziewski and Sasser (First SEAL) add yet another macho memoir of a special ops warrior, but this one features a unique twist: an amputee Army Ranger determined to put his life and remaining limbs back on the line. During a 2005 attack in Iraq, a grenade exploded inside the armored Stryker vehicle of “Sergeant Kap,” destroying his right leg. After dozens of operations, he gave in to amputation in 2007, but refused retirement. No one took seriously his absolute conviction that he would return to his unit, but he succeeded: training, pestering his superiors, and fast-roping, running, and parachuting till they acquiesced. Since the amputation, Kapacziewski has been deployed five times, completed two New York Marathons, and three triathlons. The persistent soldier checks off the usual boxes of the genre, but military buffs will still relish this fast-paced account of youthful yearnings for military service, brutal Ranger training, and page after page of camaraderie, horseplay, grim humor, and vivid nuts-and-bolts action. Even readers lukewarm to military memoirs will admire the fierce dedication required to be the first Ranger to go to war with a prosthetic limb. 8 pages of b&w photos. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.
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Formats
- OverDrive Listen audiobook
Languages
- English
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