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The Twin Towers are attacked.
September 11, 2001 is the date that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked with planes by the Islamic terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,996 people and the injuries of 6,000+ others. -
Ryan sets up to join the army.
Ryan has just finished high school and decides to join the army. After witnessing the 9/11 attacks about a year ago, he believes that he must do something and change the world hands on. -
Basic Training begins.
Ryan goes to basic training where he is stripped of his privileges and freedom. This is to learn the basics of being in the army and to learn to appreciate the American freedom. -
Ryan and Heather get married.
Ryan knows that he is going to get deployed to Iraq, so he decides to marry Heather. The reason of this is so that if he gets injured in the war, Heather will get a folded American flag, a phone call, and anything in her name of Ryan's. -
Ryan is deployed to Iraq.
After expecting this since he first enlisted, Ryan is sent to Iraq. Iraq is the main source of terror and war in the middle east right now. Ryan knows this and is very nervous about it. -
Relief
Kids from across America send letters and "care packages" to serving men and women in Iraq and other war zones. This is important, because as Ryan mentions this is what calms them down, gives them a time of relief, and makes them want to serve. -
Ryan to Abu Ghraib.
Abu Ghraib is a very dangerous prison. Ryan is there on a mission when a flying bomb flies over his head and explodes. Ryan then realizes why he is there and why the army is so strict on policies. -
Ryan is given a two-week leave.
Ryan is allowed to go home and visit his family for two weeks. He has been in the war for a while now, and will have to say goodbye once again to his family. -
Tears
Ryan has not faced any major death untill now. He cries even though he didn't really know Jim Conklin, and believes he isn't entilted to cry. He has deep regret of not sharing more with Jim. -
Ryan is finally going home.
Ryan is now finally allowed to go home and leave Iraq behind. However, he begins to miss the war and the memories he made with the EQ platoon. -
Consequences
Ryan is now able to come back to where he left off after high school. He gets a job and starts college. However, Ryan is probuably suffering from PTSD as the memories of the war still haunt him. -
Ghosts of War is published.
After Ryan's experiences in the war, he realizes that he needs to let the bad thoughts flow. He does this by writing essays and these essays are published into the book known as "Ghosts of War".
