Final SaluteA Story of Unfinished Lives

In FINAL SALUTE journalist Jim Sheeler follows Major Steve Beck on one of the most heart-rending jobs imaginable: notifying family members of the death of a loved one while serving the United States in the Iraq War. Born out of Sheeler's Pulitzer Prize-winning feature article for the Rocky Mountain News, the book describes with empathy and insight the emotional aftereffects caused by the death of five American soldiers: the denial, the anguish, the frequent hostility towards the bearers of the news. The stories blend a sense of universal humanity with the specific details that mark Sheeler's subjects as true individuals, and prove Sheeler's journalistic prowess. Major Beck becomes the soul of the book, a tireless man who strives to provide as much solace and aid as possible to the inconsolable. Like Beck, Sheeler stays resolutely apolitical throughout his accounts, capturing the nature of the devastation without placing blame--though one bereaved mother curses the president for her loss, and there is dark irony in the death of Jesse Givens, who died the same day George Bush gave his "mission accomplished!" speech. The book also includes brilliant and unforgettable photographs of the families, the funerals, and the entire process of dead soldiers coming home. FINAL SALUTE was nominated for a National Book Award in 2008.