This collection of profiles highlights the sailors and marines awarded the US Navy's highest honour for valour, the Navy Cross. It is the first book to focus on the stories of those recognized for their heroic actions while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan - twenty-one in all. The book also includes selected profiles of Navy Cross recipients from previous wars whose stories stand out as the best among an elite group. Wise and Baron, whose previous collaboration cited exceptional women at war, wrote this book to call attention to those who have done extraordinary things to ensure the freedom of future generations of Americans.

James E. Wise Jr., a former naval aviator, intelligence officer, and Vietnam veteran, retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain. His books include Stars in Blue and U-505: The Final Journey.Scott Baron, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and former law enforcement officer in California, is the author of They Also Served: Military Biographies of Uncommon Americans.