The Literature of 3/4

There are a number of books about 3/4, the Third Battalion Fourth Marines, which toppled the statue at Firdos Square. John Koopman, who was an embedded reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle, wrote “McCoy’s Marines: Darkside to Baghdad.” Jack Coughlin and Casey Kuhlman, a sniper team in the battalion, co-wrote “Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper.” Bing West, a former Marine and Defense Department official, co-wrote with Ray Smith “The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines.” Nick Popaditch, a gunnery sergeant in the battalion, wrote “Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage and Recovery.” And last but not least, Bryan McCoy, the battalion’s commander, wrote “Passion of Command: The Moral Imperative of Leadership.”

Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.