Author(s): Joshua Key as told to Lawrence Hill

Biography & Memoir

I asked Sergeant Jones about the point of the war. 'There is no point, it's just your job,' he said. 'But what's the justification for this war?' 'The justification is that you signed a contract and you're told to be here.' 'But when do I get to go home?' I said. 'Private,' he said, 'we can keep you here just as long as we want, and we ain't never got to send you home.' In 2002, a young man from Oklahoma signed up with the US Army to provide a better life for his family. A year later Private First Class Joshua Key was sent to Iraq. He quickly discovered the war did not mean fighting terrorists and evildoers as he had expected. Instead he saw American soldiers beat, maim and shoot Iraqi civilians, with little or no provocation. He witnessed the killing of a seven-year-old girl who was scrounging for leftover army rations; he watched while dead bodies provided sport for US soldiers. After months of active duty, Key returned home for a holiday and made the decision to desert. The Deserter's Tale is an unflinchingly honest and devastating account of the Iraq war witnessed by a soldier who was in the front line. It is not an expos