Undaunted

March 2003, the First Battalion Fifth Marines rolled into Iraq at the 'point of the spear, ' a unified effort to unseat Saddam Hussein from power. Known as the Fighting Fifth, these Marines stood tall in the fierce fighting in Fallujah and Ramadi. When they came home, many returned to civilian life harboring the memories and trauma of war. Their stories speak of the difficulty in adjusting to civilian life and a new battle on the home front. Some soared into new adventures, many live quietly even as others surrendered their lives to illness, accident and suicide.

April 2023, twenty years after the initial invasion of Iraq, the Battalion gathered for a reunion to re-establish the comradeship they had once known in facing a common enemy. Undaunted is more than a recitation of their stories, the narrative details therapeutic action these men have taken to heal from post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries as well as the stress placed on families. They hope to encourage each other to strive upward and onward.

Ruth Mortenson is a Gold Star mom, her son, Marty, once part of the 1/5. She counts it an honor to have met and listened to the men of the 1/5 as they opened their lives and spoke of their struggles.