With her latest book, In Conflict: Iraq Veterans Speak Out About Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive (PoliPointPress, $24), former Philadelphia Daily News reporter Yvonne Latty unravels the stereotypical images of American servicemen and women. As the public debate over the war in Iraq rages furiously by water coolers in every office and the CNN breaking news briefs continue to document the bloody bombings—it's the personal stories of the courageous men and women on the front lines that remain untold. Telling their very real accounts of war and coming home, Latty offers a platform to 25 veterans whose socioeconomic, ethnic, political and religious backgrounds run the gamut. From a high school dropout to a doctor to a laundry worker and an attorney running for Congress—all fought for this country, out of patriotism or necessity. In Conflict skillfully addresses what it's really like to be deep in battle, to kill or nearly be killed, the mental and physical trauma of war and the despicable treatment by our government of veterans upon returning to civilian life.

In a pre-Memorial Day celebration, the National Constitution Center hosts "Voices from Iraq," a candid discussion with the author and Iraq war vets Sgt. Samuel White and Sgt. Jaquaie McAtee. Sgt. White, a Marine, fought against the insurgency in Fallujah and after his second tour, firmly believes there's been progress toward democracy in Iraq. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pittsburgh's Sgt. Jaquaie McAtee has questioned President Bush's motives for the war since returning home. Sgt. McAtee served in Afghanistan after 9/11, and in Iraq twice. He's been a combat engineer, squad leader and a specialist in the detonation of enemy mines. On his first tour, his unit found more than 2,000 land mines. At just 22 years old, he's been to war three times and is safely back home, working a $7-an-hour job at Sunrise senior citizens home. During football season, he works security for the Pittsburgh Steelers. More than a million soldiers have served in Iraq and their stories represent America in all its beautiful and dangerous complexity.