Black hearts : one platoon's descent into madness in Iraq's triangle of death
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [417]-429) and index.

This is an unflinching account of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment--a unit known as "the Black Heart Brigade." Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq's so-called Triangle of Death, the Black Hearts found themselves in the country's most dangerous location at its most dangerous time. Hit by near-daily attacks, suffering a particularly heavy death toll, and enduring a chronic breakdown in leadership, members of one platoon descended, over their year-long tour of duty, into a tailspin of poor discipline, substance abuse, and brutality. Four 1st Platoon soldiers would perpetrate one of the most heinous war crimes of the Iraq War--the rape of a fourteen-year-old Iraqi girl and the cold-blooded execution of her family. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Black Heart soldiers, this is a timeless story about the fragility of character in the savage crucible of warfare.--From publisher description.

Frederick presents the gripping true story of The Black Hearts platoon and the widespread breakdown of discipline that results in depression, drinking, and horrific brutality that culminates with the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the cold-blooded execution of her family.