In The Man with the Burning Head, Matthew Barnett’s father, Ben, was inspired by the stories of ex-special forces Sgt. Major John McPhee

In The Man with the Burning Head, Matthew Barnett’s father, Ben Barnett, flies his helicopter to aid Barnett and Penny in their ongoing murder investigation on Isle Royale. In the story, Ben joined the Army in the 80s, having seen combat in several theatres, but primarily the middle east. Much of the inspiration for Ben’s character came from stories told by Sgt. Major John McPhee in various interviews. Sgt. Major McPhee famously became known as ‘The Sheriff of Baghdad’, or SHREK, for his exploits in finding and eliminating key actors within Saddam’s regime.

While Ben’s backstory derives inspiration from several other sources (which will be featured in future segments of History Bytes), his confrontation at the police station in Helmand Province was inspired directly from one of Sgt. Major McPhee’s more harrowing stories. Sgt. Major McPhee recalled his internal moral struggle between completing his assigned mission, and some of the more haunting evils he witnessed along the way.

Watch a clip of his story here.

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