The Girl in Green

This is a story of two men in search of a girl. In 1999, US forces were in the Middle East during Desert Storm and were in the process of pulling out just as a civil war was breaking out. There were many civilian casualties. Arwood, a pee-on in the US military is supposed to be on the look out for Iraqi forces at Checkpoint Zulu, lets a war reporter named Thomas Benton walk go into the nearby city to go reporting. Non-U.S. military forces bomb the city Benton is in and he tries to run back to the demilitarized zone. On his way back, he tries to help this teenage girl in a green hijab come with him as a refugee to the save US compound. Arwood tries to help and on their way back the girl gets shot in the back. This moment changes their lives. Arwood becomes more reckless and "dishonors"  himself in the military, Benton has a hard time getting over how this girl died. They never even knew her name or really heard her speak. Now, 22 years later, they see television footage of the war-torn Middle East and see this same girl who's been imprinted into their minds for over two decades as a bomb goes off right behind her. How is she alive? Is it really her? And how are they going to save this girl? 

When it comes to Desert Storm and many of there African and Middle Eastern wars, I know very little. I know that there are U.S. Troops there, and that "War is Hell" but as for many other parts of it, I know very little. I was hoping for a little view into the Desert Storm world that I was only a kid living through and didn't understand the news. This book gives a great feeling toward what I was looking for. It sets you right there giving fairly fleshed out characters in this real world time and location. It was written well for the most part which I appreciated. 

Arwood is a fascinating character and Benton is alright. The real situations were eye opening as well. 

I was prepared for the war moments, the sad and scary times, but the vulgarity (which I gave a few more passes to because "soldiers be soldiers) got to be more than what I care for as well as the more than prevalent "boinking" going on. The "curtains closed" on many sex scenes, but I stopped when Arwood was discussing things. I hit final straws and there was enough hopping on my drawn line that I just set it down. 

I didn't finish it. Some might want to, but I'm setting it down and will probably have to do my own research into what happened instead of hoping for "entertainment" to do it for me.