In this Memorial Day essay for The New Republic, Elliot Ackerman reflects on courage, sacrifice, and loss during the Second Battle of Fallujah.
Centered on Gunnery Sergeant Ryan Shane’s attempt to rescue Sergeant Lonny Wells under machine-gun fire on Highway Ten, the piece examines the inseparable relationship between bravery and failure in war.
Fallujah, Courage, and Sacrifice
Ackerman recalls one of the Iraq War’s fiercest battles and the Marines who crossed Fallujah’s rain-soaked streets under fire.
Ryan Shane and Uncommon Valor
The essay honors Ryan Shane’s actions, his Bronze Star, and the lasting burden of surviving a moment defined by both heroism and loss.
Memory and the Moral Cost of War
At its center, the piece asks how veterans measure sacrifice when achievement and failure remain bound together long after the battle ends.