The Shot: The Harrowing Journey of a Marine in the War On Terror

On today’s episode of the RealClearDefense podcast “Hot Wash,” RCD contributor John Waters speaks with Bill Bee and Wills Robinson the authors of “The Shot: The Harrowing Journey of a Marine in the War On Terror.” Sergeant Bill Bee is the Marine infantry rifleman in one of the defining images of the War in Afghanistan. Captured in Helmund Province in 2008 by Reuters Photographer Goran Tomašević in a photo that would be seen around the world, Sgt Bee is seen in a dramatic moment, the spray of dirt around him after being narrowly missed by enemy fire. But in 2010, Bee was not so lucky. During the battle of Marjah, Bee along with half his squad was wounded by an IED. His physical and mental injuries from that moment ultimately forced him to retire from the Corps. As a civilian Bee worked as a Veterans Benefits Advisor counseling Marines and Sailors as they navigated their transition from military to civilian life. Co-author Wills Robinson, a journalist and editor for politics at the DailyMail, helped Bee tell the story behind the moment in that photograph, how he got there, and his struggles with the effects of his time in combat. "The Shot" is a grunt’s eye view of going to war and coming home.