JOKER ONE: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood
by Donovan Campbell
List Price: $26.00
Military Ministry Price: $17.16
Hardcover, 313 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6773-2
Release Date: March 2009
Told by the man who led a unit of hard-pressed Marines in Iraq, Joker One is a gripping tale of leadership, loyalty, and faith throughout the best and worst of times.
From the book…
“As the platoon murmured the Twenty-third Psalm before our first mission on that mid-March evening, I believed that those prayers would be enough to keep us safe, to keep Henderson’s heart beating on the patrol, Guzon from shooting Staff Sergeant in the back, and Feldmeir from falling asleep during the middle of our walk. I hoped the prayers would keep me from getting my men lost on our first mission, from losing communication with one of my squads and abandoning my men to the mercies of Ramadi. In short, I hope that prayer would allay my fears and cover for my shortcomings….
“Deep in my heart, I believed that prayer would work without fail, that if together Joker One prayed long and hard enough, God would spare all of us from Mac’s fate. What I know now, and which didn’t occur to me then, was that by praying as I prayed, and hoping what I hoped, and believing what I believed, I was effectively reducing God to a result-dispensing genie who, if just fed the proper incantations, would give the sincere petitioner (me) the exact outcome desired.”
The riveting story of Joker One and Campbell’s own version of “faith in the foxhole” will propel you along through the triumphs and tragedies of life in the Iraq war.
About Donovan Campbell
Donovan Campbell graduated with honors from Princeton University and Harbard Business School, finished first in his class at the Marines’ Basic Officer Course, and served three combat deployments – two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and a Bronze Star with Valor for his time in Iraq. He is now working for PepsiCo and living in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and daughter.
