Unremitting: The Marine "Bastard" Battalion and the Savage Battle That Marked the True Start of America's War in Iraq

From the former USA Today journalist and author of The Chosen Few, the untold story of The Battle of Ramadi, which led to a war that would last seven years, claim thousands of lives and evolve into a traumatic legacy for the US military and its veterans.

Their nickname was the Magnificent Bastards and they were warriors without a war. Kept stateside after 9/11 and left floating in the Pacific during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the thousand Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment were told they were bench-warmers as America sent troops into combat. But war was waiting. Iraq would explode in violence exactly one year after a U.S. led Coalition swept into Baghdad and the Magnificent Bastards would find themselves at the epicenter. When the battalion first arrived in the provincial capital of Ramadi, Iraq, in February of 2004, they were thrust into a savage battle where hundreds of insurgents organized a three-day offensive aimed at driving the Marines out of their city of 400,000.

In Unremitting, journalist Gregg Zoroya tells the fast-paced, dramatic, and meticulously-researched story of the battle that truly began the Iraq War. Capturing the heroism, courage, and brutality of battle, Zoroya explores this vital part of American military history and beyond, showing how Ramadi was not just a game-changer for the Iraq War, but also for the marines, sailors, and soldiers who fought it, the trauma remaining with survivors more than two decades later.

Author: Gregg Zoroya
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 06/17/2025
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.47lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.40w x 1.19d
ISBN: 9780306833021

About the Author
Gregg Zoroya worked as a journalist with USA Today from 1998-2022, moving from human interest features and general assignment reporting to war coverage and finally to a beat assignment specially created for his talents that focused on the impact of combat on troops and their families. He completed his career with the paper as a member of the editorial board and an editorial writer. Zoroya lives near Washington, DC.