Hell in the Streets of Husaybah

A unique perspective on the intense fighting in Husaybah during the Iraq war, told through a series of interviews with those who were there, from the battalion commander to infantrymen and squad leaders.

During the April 2004 fights throughout Iraq, most media attention was focused in the city of Fallujah. However, at the same time, out on the border with Syria in and around the city of Husaybah, fighting was equally intense.

This book tells the story of that period through many first-person accounts of intense fighting in the town of Husaybah, Iraq, during April 2004. It is based on interviews with Marines at all levels of the fight, from battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Matt Lopez, USMC, to infantrymen and squad leaders. When the Lima Company commander Captain Chris Gannon (Call sign Lima 6) was killed on entry to an enemy-held building, the company's executive officer, Lieutenant Dominique Neal (Lima 5) informed his Marines that he had assumed command with the radio message, "Lima 5 is now Lima 6." It also details other events, including the heroic actions of Corporal Jayson Dunham who saved the Marines around him by covering an enemy grenade with his body.

30 photographs

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel David E. Kelly received his commission in 1971, and served as an infantry officer with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines with an Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) off the coast of Vietnam. Prior to retirement from the Reserves in 1999 he was Operations Officer for the Marine Field History Detachment. He volunteered to return to active duty to deploy to Iraq in 2004 as senior Field Historian to conduct interview with Marines and sailors at all levels in Iraq. He is a retired high school history teacher living in Springfield, Pennsylvania.