Johnny's War

“Johnny’s War” tells the story of Johnny Cutter, a 20-year-old Oregon man who joins the military in 2004.  As an Army private, with the amazing salary of $18,000 a year fueling his dreams, Johnny foresees a bright future that includes a new car and marriage to his girlfriend, Halley.


But the Iraq war changes Johnny’s plans.  He survives harrowing missions in Fallujah and Baghdad, then loses his best buddy to an explosion.  Relentlessly, Johnny’s former life recedes amid chaos and death. 


“Johnny’s War” illuminates the darkest operating rooms during battlefield surgery.  What the doctors do to save wounded soldiers is terrifying and admirable.  It’s war noir.  


The battlefield exploits end when Johnny is maimed by a roadside bomb.  As a double amputee in Ward 57 at Walter Reed Hospital, he rolls on a new mission to answer the question: Is it better to live or die?


In rehab, Johnny builds a tender bond with a lesbian nurse, Rochelle Rochambeau.  She doesn’t ask and doesn’t tell, and allows him to go AWOL from Ward 57.  Johnny embarks on a road trip, heading home, finding solace in the Northwest’s natural grandeur.  Ultimately, the trip sets him free.   


Journalism failed to uncover the full story of the Iraq war because the hearts and minds of American politicians were never on the record, because the lives of the military men and women who were injured or killed were overlooked. Now it is left to the novelist to pursue those stories.