About the Author
Colonel Christopher Roosa, USMCR (ret)
Christopher A. Roosa is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and is a combat veteran. He served in various positions in Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. He has worked as a senior congressional staffer on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, as a Special Assistant on the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s first Base Realignment and Closure Commission, as a political advance person for the U.S. Office of the Vice President, and as director of policy for a NASDAQ-100 corporation. For the last fifteen years he has also worked as an independent contractor for the U.S. government.
Son of Apollo: PREFACE
While on deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan, this book started as a conversation at our compound bar, “The Talibar.” There conversations can be pretty brutal. We were living in a war zone. We knew people were out to kill us. We lived through rocket, mortar, and vehicle borne improvised explosive dives (VBIED) threats every day. Some explosions would rock the building. We routinely had attacks against us on our compound. We lost friends; we honored their sacrifice; we moved forward. This was a war.
I would wake up each morning and while brushing my teeth, look into the mirror, knowing that someone had been up all night trying to figure out how to kill me. Of course, it was not necessarily the same person each day, but we had lots of enemies who wanted to figure out a way to find our demise. They just had to get lucky once; you had to get lucky 100% of the time. This was just another day in the war zone. It was the way we lived.
At the end of one long day, I found myself sitting next to a fellow Marine, call sign, “Skyline,” sharing a few stories and drinks at the Talibar. Someone had asked a story about the Apollo space program, and I had answered it. Skyline looked at me and said, “I need to tell you something. My kids are grown, and we are about to be empty nesters. Your kids are so young that if you get killed over here, they will not EVEN know who you were. They will have no memories of you. Just some pictures of you. Much less, will they know these stories of your experiences growing up. You need to write them down for posterity.” It was harsh, but it was true. At that time, my oldest twins were 6, the middle child 2 and the youngest twins 8 months old. They were all too young to remember any interaction with me. I took his words to heart.
A fellow colleague, call sign “Bit”, also implored me to write down the stories and offered to help edit the first rough drafts. She was great and offered many useful suggestions. Also, “Moonstruck” for all her support.
I also wish to thank my wonderful wife, Danielle, who through her love, efforts, time, and support made this book possible.
So, this book is dedicated to my 5 wonderful children, Barrett, Reese, Flynn, Isabella and Ryan, so they may know their Daddy. At least now my kids will know the stories.
To all I give my love, Colonel Christopher Roosa, USMCR (ret)
