Black Knights, Dark Days - by J Matthew Fisk (Paperback)

About the Book

Black Sunday was the day in April 2004 when a routine deployment turned into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged insurgents crammed Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet.

Book Synopsis

More than just another ominous catch-phrase from war in the Big Sandbox, Black Sunday was the day in April 2004 when units of America's 1st Cavalry Division saw their routine deployment turn into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged, motivated, and well-armed insurgents crammed the alleys, streets, and buildings of Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet. Cav veteran Matt Fisk--who fought through Black Sunday and survived--gives us a gut-level, over-the-rifle-sights view of a short, violent period when one of the safest places in the war zone suddenly turned into a cauldron of death and destruction.

His rugged deployment with colorful and courageous fellow soldiers resulted in some serious problems when he returned home, testing his coping skills. He turned to the VA for help--and wound up with the same frustration that plagues so many of today's returning combat veterans.

It's all here in Black Knights, Dark Days--and it's all brutally honest.

Review Quotes

"A gripping, astonishing insider's account of the April 4, 2004, ambush of a First Cavalry Platoon in Sadr City that changed the course of the Iraq War. With great candor and skill, Matt Fisk interweaves the chaos and adrenaline of modern combat with the continuing battles with PTSD at home. An intense, vivid, deeply personal portrait of men at war that is up there with the very best books of the genre." -Mikko Alanne, screenwriter and producer, The Long Road Home, The 33 "Matt Fisk's Black Knights, Dark Days hits the reader square in the gut from the first line-"I've just killed a child, and I'm waiting for my conscience to tell me it's a bad thing"-and doesn't let up. It is a rare first-hand look at the 2004 Black Sunday ambush in Sadar City from a grunt with Shakespearian sensibilities. A beautifully told story of sacrifice and loss, devotion and redemption, this book should be required reading for veterans and civilians alike." -Erin Celello, Learning to Stay