SENATOR’S SON: An Iraq War Novel

Ramadi: “The Gov Center,” “17th Street,” “RT Michigan,” “OP Hawk” … so many memories, still raw, for those thousands of Marines who deployed there, and had their buddies wounded and killed. Perhaps it is too soon to write their story.

Or perhaps it is not, as first-time author and former Marine officer Luke Larson ably demonstrates in his book “Senator’s Son.” Larson takes an interesting track with his book; instead of writing a recap of either of his two tours in Ramadi, “Senator’s Son” is historical fiction, based on his experiences.

Sept. 21, 2047: There is a crisis in the Pacific Rim; the Chinese Navy is the dominant force in the region, and Malaysia, under Chinese protection, has just invaded Brunei for its petroleum. In Washington, D.C., the Senate is debating a resolution that would either resolve the crisis or bring the world to war—and the undecided vote belongs to a senator who understands better than most the ramifications of a vote that might send the country to war—a senator who gained his combat experience 40 years earlier in the mean streets of Ramadi.

Larson uses a realistic fictional background that gives the reader a peek into the world of the junior Marine officer on his first combat tour—in his early 20s, highly trained and very motivated, and worried spitless that he won’t measure up to “Chesty” Puller, Alexander Vandegrift and all the other heroic and awe-inspiring Marines whom he’d studied earlier.

Larson brings the reader into his world as the young lieutenants plan their missions, interact with the Marines in their commands, try to relate with their families Stateside, and all the while worrying how to win a battle in which they’re not even sure who is the enemy.

It’s the interpersonal relationships at which Larson excels as he describes dealing with the senior enlisted—whom new lieutenants either love or despise, or the gap between civilians back home who have no concept of what Marine wives and families are experiencing. “I’ve never heard of Ramadi [says a waitress]; is it in Iraq or Afghanistan?” So much for shared national sacrifice.

With Ramadi tours in 2005 and 2007, Larson witnessed and was involved in the all-important story of Sheik Sattar and the “Anbar Awakening” from its tentative first steps to the famous 5K race, all of which has been incorporated into his novel. Equally important is how he recalls the evolving Marine-Iraqi relationships, especially the role of those initial few brave Iraqi police whose deaths emboldened their successors.

His writing is crisp, clear, and very honest; these are Marines in combat, and the reader will appreciate the earthy humor and directness of his characters. “Were their deaths meaningless?” the future senator wonders on the flight home. “No,” answers his friend, “they could have been killed in a car wreck or drowned. Then their deaths would have been meaningless.”

And does the senator vote for or against a war resolution? Buy a copy of “Senator’s Son” from the Marine Corps Association and see.

Andrew Lubin

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SENATOR’S SON: An Iraq War Novel.
By Luke S. Larson.
Published by Key Edition Incorporated. 284 pages.
Softcover. Stock #0615353797.
$17.96 MCA Members. $19.95 Regular Price.