Retired Marine Lt. Col David E. Kelly from Springfield recently published his second volume of interviews with combat Marines deployed to Iraq, writes Peg DeGrassa for the Daily Times.

He was one of two Marine Corps field historians sent there to conduct the interviews,

“First Fights in Fallujah” includes interviews with infantrymen, tankers, helicopter crews, and tracked vehicle drivers.

The book is a companion to his debut book released in 2022, “Hell in the Streets of Husaybah”.

That book was based on 22 of the 190 field interviews he conducted. This second book incorporates more of the interviews.

“My goal in writing this book is to answer the question often posed to me by the men I met, ‘Sir, what’s going to happen with this interview?’ I am now sharing their stories of heroism,” Kelly said.

In March 2004, the newly arrived Marine Expeditionary Force took action in Falluja, Iraq against insurgents who ambushed, killed and desecrated the bodies of American civilian security contractors there.

In April 2004, Marines began high-intensity battles and firefights with the insurgents.

From infantry squad members up to battalion and squadron commanders, the interviews provide a narrative of that time in the men’s own words.  

Read more about David E. Kelly in the Daily Times.