Final Salute by Jim Sheeler

The book Final Salute by Jim Sheeler is a very intriguing and heart wrenching book that provides dept information about soldiers that fight in war. In particular soldiers that fought and are fighting in the war in Iraq. It has four parts to it. Part one is called the knock which discusses the process and effects of delivering the message to the family that their loved ones have been killed due to some inconvenience during their time serving. It walks the reader through the whole entire process, explaining the typical reactions of the family’s receiving the information and even the reactions of the soldiers chosen for this job. The author explains how this is the hardest job that he had to ever do throughout his military career and by far the one that taught him the most. Part two is called reverberations. This section is where the Soldiers get to know the family and the soldier that passed away more. It walks the reader through three or four personal stories of people and events that took place. Letters, videos, and conversations were shared from before, during, and in one case even after the terrible accident took place. This section was probably one of the most difficult because it walked through how difficult it was and is for the families, especially ones with little kids or mothers who are expecting. Part three is called Bringing Them Home. This part was also very tear jerking as well. Since it was a tragic event for any of the families to go through, it was also hard for the soldiers helping with the process or even complete strangers on the plane witnessing the exchange of the casket from place to place. One wife stayed with her husband the whole night before the funeral to say her final goodbyes. Never was it easy to see the body considering the horrible shape it was most likely in. Many said that it didn’t even look comparable to the actual person laying there. Part four was call After the War, Stories. Again this part was upsetting as well but very happy too. For the families who did not lose a loved one during their time in Iraq this was a very happy and special moment for them. The stories that were shared were terribly upsetting as well though. This book was very moving and evoked much emotion since all of the stories and families were true stories. Every person should have to read this book because it teaches you much about life. There are many themes in this book, but the one that stuck out the most was to always try walking in other people’s shoes before beginning to help them out. I would recommend this book to everyone.