Inspired by Fallen Son,

Father Completes Book on Iraq

Staff Sgt. Darrell "Skip" Griffin Jr. wanted to give Americans a close-up view of his two tours of duty in Iraq, so they could see the blood and grit in the aftermath of an attack on a convoy, and feel his anxiety in watching the lives of ordinary Iraqis fall part in the crossfire between sectarian killers and the soldiers who hunted them.

His plans to write a book with his father, Darrell Griffin Sr., were cut short by a sniper's bullet in Baghdad on March 21, 2007..............

Their Book: "Last Journey: A Father and Son in Wartime"

Publisher Comments:

The harrowing true story of a father and his son, a staff sergeant killed in Iraq: a tribute to the "great conversation" they shared and the book they had intended to complete together.

Staff Sergeant Darrell "Skip" Griffin, Jr., was killed in action on March 21, 2007, during his second tour of duty in Iraq. He had been awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with Valor for dragging a comrade to safety through enemy gunfire. He was in the middle of collaborating with his father on a book compiled from their correspondence about life and death and the great works of Western civilization. Tentatively titled The Great Conversation, it was an attempt to describe and make sense of the destruction he had seen in Iraq. His father, Darrell Griffin, Sr., was going to help him finish writing it that summer, after his scheduled homecoming.

In the aftermath of Skip's death, Darrell, Sr., took it upon himself to finish the book. He traveled to Iraq, experiencing the war firsthand and meeting his son's comrades. Driven by a conviction that Americans do not know enough about the war they have been fighting for the past six years, The Great Conversation is a telling account of everyday life for soldiers in Iraq. It is a raw glimpse of the conflict, but also an intimate portrait of a lost son, a meditation on the war, and finally a tribute to the lively philosophical debates the Griffins used to share. Included is email correspondence with Skip throughout his time in the military as well as original photographs from the front lines that chronicle the violence of combat and its toll on society. Passionate and inspiring, The Great Conversation serves as a reminder of the human cost of war.