Black Knights, Dark Days: The True Story of Sadr City's Black Sunday

They told us that we would be spending a year in the safest part of Iraq. Sadr City at the end of the 2nd Iraq war was full of Shia who hated Saddam Hussein and welcomed the U.S. liberators. Our mission was to restore essential services to the slum which housed nearly 3 million people in conditions of absolute squalor. Unknown to us, Muqtada Al Sadr and his militia, ten thousand strong in that city, had prepared a complex ambush coinciding with the exact moment our unit assumed responsibility for the city. My platoon was on a routine patrol when we became the target of that attack. Insurgents quickly disabled half our vehicles and forced us to take cover.Eighteen American soldiers and an Iraqi translator defended a narrow alley against 500 to one odds. The enemy sent a wave of unarmed women and children in to the alley before them as human shields, forcing us to choose between our humanity and our lives. April 4th, 2004 would become known in the media as Black Sunday. To the Black Knights of 2/5 Cavalry Regiment it would become the single moment which defined us as warriors and left almost everyone scarred for life. We made it out of that alley, but I think most of us are still there. An Iraq War veteran's firsthand account of surviving a deadly insurgent ambush against the 1st Cavalry Division—and battling through the aftermath. It was known as Black Sunday—April 4, 2004, when units of America's 1st Cavalry Division saw their routine deployment turn into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged, motivated, and well-armed insurgents crammed the alleys, streets, and buildings of Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet. Cav veteran Matt Fisk—who fought through Black Sunday and survived—gives a gut-level, over-the-rifle-sights view of a short, violent period when one of the safest places in the war zone suddenly turned into a cauldron of death and destruction, leaving eight US troops dead and dozens wounded—only the beginning of a lengthy siege aimed at defeating the Mahdi Army. Fisk's rugged deployment with colorful and courageous fellow soldiers would result in some serious problems when he returned home, testing his coping skills. He turned to the VA for help—and wound up with the same frustration that plagues so many of today's returning combat veterans. It's all here in Black Knights, Dark Days—and it's all brutally honest. "A gripping, astonishing insider's account of the April 4, 2004, ambush of a First Cavalry Platoon in Sadr City that changed the course of the Iraq War. With great candor and skill, Matt Fisk interweaves the chaos and adrenaline of modern combat with the continuing battles with PTSD at home. An intense, vivid, deeply personal portrait of men at war that is up there with the very best books of the genre." —Mikko Alanne, screenwriter and producer, The Long Road Home, The 33 An Iraq War veteran's firsthand account of surviving a deadly insurgent ambush on America's 1st Cavalry Division—and battling through the aftermath. It was known as Black Sunday—April 4, 2004, the day when units of the United States'1st Cavalry Division saw their routine deployment turn into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged, motivated, and well-armed insurgents crammed the alleys, streets, and buildings of Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet. Now, cavalry veteran Matt Fisk—who fought through Black Sunday and survived—gives a gut-level, over-the-rifle-sights view of a short, violent period when one of the safest places in the war zone suddenly turned into a cauldron of death and destruction, leaving eight US troops dead and dozens more wounded—only the beginning of a lengthy siege aimed at defeating the Mahdi Army. Fisk's brutally honest Black Knights, Dark Days covers it all, from his rough deployment with colorful and courageous fellow soldiers to the serious problems he encountered when he returned home. In the ultimate test of his coping skills, Fisk turned to the VA for help—and wound up facing the same frustrations that plague so many of today's returning combat veterans. An Iraq War veteran's firsthand account of surviving a deadly insurgent ambush on America's 1st Cavalry Division-and battling through the aftermath. It was known as Black Sunday-April 4, 2004, the day when units of the United States' 1st Cavalry Division saw their routine deployment turn into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged, motivated, and well-armed insurgents crammed the alleys, streets, and buildings of Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet. Now, cavalry veteran Matt Fisk-who fought through Black Sunday and survived-gives a gut-level, over-the-rifle-sights view of a short, violent period when one of the safest places in the war zone suddenly turned into a cauldron of death and destruction, leaving eight US troops dead and dozens more wounded-only the beginning of a lengthy siege aimed at defeating the Mahdi Army. Fisk's brutally honest Black Knights, Dark Days covers it all, from his rough deployment with colorful and courageous fellow soldiers to the serious problems he encountered when he returned home. In the ultimate test of his coping skills, Fisk turned to the VA for help-and wound up facing the same frustrations that plague so many of today's returning combat veterans