My Country To Defend Book Cover

My Country To Defend

A.E. Dimond
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook all available
Paperback Price: $21.95
Published: iUniverse, 2004
All formats include a 19-page photo gallery
ISBN: 0-595-33484-9

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PRAISE FOR MY COUNTRY TO DEFEND


Tommy Franks, retired four-star general and former Commander In Chief, U.S. Central Command
"Whatever your opinion on the war, PFC Diego Rincon became a soldier from the heart. He fought to give the Iraqi people the same blessing he was so privileged to know. An honest and gut-wrenching portrayal of a patriot and the forces that preserve our way of life - I'm honored to be counted with these men."

Zell Miller, United States Senator
"The story of the life and death of Private First Class Diego Rincon will forever inspire everyone who reads it. I am grateful to Amy Dimond for putting into beautiful words one of the country's most moving tales of patriotism."

Gerald Molen, Oscar winning producer, Schindler's List, extended review

"Once in a while a book comes along that captures the heart of history. World War I has its Guns of August and World War II has its Band of Brothers; in more contemporary times, the Gulf War has its Black Hawk Down. For this generation of warriors, there will be that snapshot of a book: My Country to Defend is simply timeless in its tribute to veterans of the War on Terror."


Emilio Estefan, director and producer
"In search of the American dream, the Rincon Family gave us one of their own to protect and maintain our freedom. Diego's legacy will carry on, and his sacrifice will set an example for new generations of immigrants that are willing to do anything for their love of this country."

Jim Roope, CNN Radio, Los Angeles correspondent
"A. E. Dimond tells an amazing story, allowing you to feel an immigrant's love of country. It's not just that Iraq was suffering from the hand of tyranny - it's that the whole world is a better place because Diego Rincon was in it. Dimond delivers that understanding of the responsibility that accompanies the freedom."

Richmond Flowers, Jr., attorney and former player in the National Football League
"Throughout my professional playing career, I heard people compare football to war. Football is not war. This book shows war and all of the courage, the nobility, and the honor of young men in the very real thing...When all eyes were on the battle field, Diego Rincon and his fellow soldiers rose to something beyond the mortal contests. Diego relinquished his final breath at Al-Najaf. It seems to me that our own air is borrowed now - that we owe it to soldiers like him to live to be worthy of that sacrifice."

T. Jeff Williams, co-author of A Cambodian Odyssey and the Deaths of 25 Journalists, former foreign correspondent for the Associated Press and CBS News
"What moves a person to enlist in the armed services, to stand in harm's way, knowing he or she may be swept away in the tide of battle? A.E. Dimond provides a timely and often poignant look at the life and death of a young Colombian immigrant who put his life on the line in Iraq for his adopted country. My Country to Defend is more than a war story; it's a penetrating exploration of one family's enduring faith in America and its future - a faith that transcends shattering heartbreak."

FROM THE FAMILIES OF THE FALLEN


Russell Creighton, father of fallen soldier PFC Michael Russell Creighton-Weldon, a main character in My Country to Defend
"I had so many comrades who returned from Vietnam with Purple Hearts in flag-draped coffins. It seemed that when I came home from the war, few people cared that I had served my country, or that others had died doing the same. My son came home with a Purple Heart in a flag-draped coffin and people have cared immensely. One person cared enough to leave everything behind to tell this story. I can't begin to say what it means to me that Amy Dimond made sure Mike's memory would always be alive in the pages of this book."

Joan Curtin, mother of fallen soldier CPL Michael Curtin, a main character in My Country to Defend
"Our son loved his country and he was honored to serve his country. Amy Dimond has gifted our family not only a beautiful tribute to Michael, and to those with whom he served - she's given a voice to all of us who believe that freedom is worth the fight. Patrick Henry said, 'Give me liberty or give me death' and sometimes that may seem like a far-off sentiment. Sometimes that may even seem melodramatic with all of the blessings we enjoy now. It's not some distant patriotism: it was the conviction of our son, laying down his life after the attacks of September 11. It was the conviction of our son, fighting for the Iraqi people so that they could someday be just as blessed."

Brandy Williams, wife of fallen soldier SGT Eugene Williams, a main character in My Country to Defend
"Monica was born three months after Eugene died, and she will never get to meet her daddy. My oldest daughter, Mya, was only three years old when Eugene went to Iraq. She has many memories of the good times, but my worst fear was that she would forget them as she grew older. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this tribute to my husband that will show my daughters what a special man Eugene was. I know now that my husband will not be forgotten and it helps ease the pain in my heart."

 

FROM THE COVER

 

His final letter home to his mother made international news. His death in the line of duty inspired U.S. law. In the passionate defense of his adopted homeland, Private First Class Diego Rincon lost his life to the first-known suicide attack on U.S. soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A.E. Dimond delivers the gripping account of an American hero in a tip of the spear fight to Baghdad with the Outlaw Platoon—a conviction that compels his proud immigrant family to assume not only the blessings but the extreme burdens of freedom. More than a timeless war story, this true account of devotion to the American dream pays tribute to liberty’s brave defenders, and those they leave behind in the continued War on Terror.

"So brilliant and inspiring I was moved to tears...every American should read this book."

—Gerald Molen, Oscar winning Producer, Schindler's List