Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI

Ryan Smithson

apr, 2009 · Harper Collins

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This YA military memoir recounts a nineteen-year-old Army engineer’s tour of duty in Iraq: “profoundly moving . . . poignant, and often harrowing” (Kirkus, starred review).

Ryan Smithson was an ordinary teenager until he witnessed the devastation of September 11th, 2001. Watching the Twin Towers fall motivated him to enlist in the Army Reserve at the age of seventeen. In Ghosts of War, Ryan vividly chronicles his experience of basic training and deployment to Iraq as a heavy-equipment operator. From the pain of losing comrades to his inspiring encounters with Iraqi children, Ryan shares how his experience changed him—and what it taught him about the meaning of patriotism and service.

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Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq as an engineer at the age of nineteen. Upon returning, he earned an AAS degree in criminal justice. Specialist Smithson doesn't know if he'll be deployed again. He currently works for the American Red Cross as a mobile unit assistant and lives with his wife in upstate New York.