Summary
The novel by Walter Dean Myers, titled Sunrise over Fallujah, explains the experiences of Birdy and his Civil Affairs unit during the Iraq War. His unit first arrives in Kuwait, but they are moved into Iraq soon after. Their job in Civil Affairs is to go into Iraqi cities and win the hearts and minds of their people. After the U.S. has taken over Iraq their unit goes from city to city helping any Iraqi people that are in need. They do their job so well that they are assigned to do a very important mission near the Iran border, a very dangerous area. Their mission is to find where the detonators are coming into Iraq from. The mission was a success, but Birdy's best friend, Jonesy, is shot during the mission. "They broke against the walls in a thousand tortured shells that said that Jonesy was dead." (274) Captain Miller does every thing she can to save Jonesy, but to no avvail. Birdy recieves a Purple Heart for getting wounded during the mission. For completing the mission Birdy's entire unit is reassigned out of Iraq.