Because, the morning of 9/11, when the carnage at the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania wakened our nation to war; I had only one son, only one child, and that one son, was a U. S. Infantryman; since that day, I made it my duty to know the enemy he was sworn to fight and defeat.
Our son, Sgt. Emerson Brand was as are many he serves with: he was a dang good soldier. He loved leading and training young men for battle. He loved that. He loved being charged with the duty of fighting and winning our wars.
The morning of 15 March 2007 our beloved son joined the dead from this war.
This manual here is what I was working on when the explosion that killed he and five others in 2nd Platoon, B-Co, 1/8, 2nd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division, the morning of 15 March 2007. These first three parts of it were complete, the morning of 15 March 2007.
It was my intent to complete the book before releasing any of it.
Nonetheless, a day or so after E joined our dead, given the continual carnage in Iraq, I felt duty bound to him, to myself, and to others to get this out—now; notwithstanding, it is only part of the complete work.
The last three parts I am still fine-tuning and finishing up. I aim to finish them and then release them as soon as time (and heart) allows for that.
Deborah L. Brand
