MWSA Review

Warfighter: The Story of an American Fighting Man by Colonel Jesse L Johnson and Alex Holstein is almost unbelievable. Johnson’s service awards include a Distinguished Service Cross, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, three Silver Stars, at least two Bronze Stars (he didn’t keep count in the book), and three Purple Hearts. He completed two combat tours in Vietnam, joined Delta Force at its inception, was on the ground during Operation Eagle Claw (1980 Iranian hostage rescue mission), and served as special forces commander during Desert Storm (SOCCENT).

Johnson had participated in so many battles, won so many awards, and rubbed elbows with so many famous military leaders that he often seemed to be a character in a work of fiction. But Warfighter is decidedly not fictional.

After racing through the book’s 264 action-packed pages, the reader will get to know an extraordinary American warfighter. Johnson’s memoir covers his four-decade-long service to his country and makes for a compelling and well-told story. I highly recommend this book written by the ultimate combat insider–one of the most-decorated US soldiers of all time.

Review by John Cathcart (June 2022)

Author's Synopsis

In WARFIGHTER, Colonel Jesse L. Johnson, one of the most decorated living American veterans, recounts the action-packed true-life tale of a man who stood and fought at the crossroads of history. Spanning forty years of conflict, from the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iran and Iraq, never has a modern military memoir covered such a vast landscape of all-out warfare. Never has one man fought on the frontlines of so many of America’s most heroic battles. Johnson led the most elite forces on operations that defined eras past and present, mentoring young soldiers who would rise to become some of America’s greatest generals. He held the ear of princes, kings, presidents, and even Hollywood movie stars. With an all-star cast worthy of an epic war film, this extraordinary hero’s journey sheds new light on some of the most transformative events of our time—crises, conflicts and covert operations that have shaped the world as we know it today. More important, WARFIGHTER offers us a deeper understanding of the personal sacrifice and human toll of a lifetime at war, and the honor-bound code of a man whose instinct in battle was to always charge ahead of those under his command—into the fight.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 264