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Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger's Journey Out of the Military and Across America
"Rory Fanning's odyssey is more than a walk across America. It is a gripping story of one young man's intellectual journey from eager soldier to skeptical radical, a look at not only the physical immenseness of the country, its small towns, and highways, but into the enormity of its past, the hidden sins and unredeemed failings of the United States. The reader is there along with Rory, walking every step, as challenging and rewarding experience for us as it was for him."—Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire was covered up just days before his comrade Rory Fanning—who served in the same unit as Tillman—left the Army Rangers as a conscientious objector. Disquieted by his tours in Afghanistan, Fanning sets out to honor Tillman's legacy by crossing the United States on foot.
Told with page-turning style, humor, and warmth, Worth Fighting For explores the emotional and social consequences of rejecting the mission of one of the most elite fighting forces in the world. It is only through the generous, and colorful people Fanning meets and the history he discovers that he learns to live again. Rory Fanning walked across the United States for the Pat Tillman Foundation in 2008–09, following two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion. He is a housing activist living in Chicago, Illinois. Rory works for Haymarket Books and this is his first book.
Told with page-turning style, humor, and warmth, Worth Fighting For explores the emotional and social consequences of rejecting the mission of one of the most elite fighting forces in the world. It is only through the generous, and colorful people Fanning meets and the history he discovers that he learns to live again. Rory Fanning walked across the United States for the Pat Tillman Foundation in 2008–09, following two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion. He is a housing activist living in Chicago, Illinois. Rory works for Haymarket Books and this is his first book.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 29, 2014
I spent the majority of this book in a constant state of near-tears. This wasn't due to the story being a tragedy, actually quite the opposite. Fanning is the quintessential opposite of a military stereotype, questioning authority, deeply introspective and committed to ideals that are not prescribed by the established hierarchy of warfare. As a result he is adored by those who don't see what he stands for, opting to instead impose a caricature upon him, and by those who revere his ability to have stood up to the status quo. That his inspiration was another, Pat Tillman, who embodied these same characteristics, makes for a story that is humbling and simple even as it supports the questioning of a great deal of America's established sacrosanct ideas. The tears throughout are for a man who has every reason to be angry, every reason to wallow in despair and fatalism, but comes out the end of his journey with a deep and abiding hope for humanity. We should work to be worthy of such a vision.
July 30, 2015
Rory Fanning became a conscientious objector while serving as an Army Ranger in the U.S. Military. That makes him a highly unusual person. I was hoping for some insight into his change of heart. Why did he see and do the same things that hundreds of soldiers before him saw and did, yet he left and they stayed? The book touches on the the topic very briefly and superficially. Its focus is on Rory's walk across the country (during which he took great pains not to mention his conscientious objector status) with some flashbacks to what the Army did to him after he decided to leave. At one point in the book Rory says that Rangers are not known for being reflective. They are paid to do, not to ask why they are doing what they do. Though the author may be unusually reflective for a Ranger, he is not very reflective for a memoirist. If all you are looking for is a fun account of the people Rory met during his walk, this is your book. If you wants to know what makes a conscientious objector tick, it isn't.
July 26, 2017
I enjoyed this book a lot; primarily because I applaud Rory Fanning's bravery in speaking out for his own beliefs and against the hypocrisy in our government and the tenets of religion. I appreciated that he didn't come across as self-righteous nor did he condemn those who do follow a religion. Aside from that, however, I liked how he gave a short synopsis of the history of some of the places he visited. These were interesting and short enough not to detract from the rest of the story of his walk. Since he was concerned about what his life would hold going forward, I would love to read an updated afterword from him on how he feels right now about the work he's currently doing.
January 7, 2020
Exceptional book that is increasingly a must read as we continue on our current course in the Middle East (and world affairs at large). I would recommend this for anyone, regardless of their political standing, etc.
On a personal level, I related to some of Rory's experiences. For instance, how he was treated by fellow Rangers, men who were supposed to stand by him. It also felt relatable to memoirs of gay men in the military that I've read. That is, if one doesn't fit a very particularly brand of masculinity in every way, they're in danger of being cast out. This can include everything from sexuality to standing up for your beliefs.
On a personal level, I related to some of Rory's experiences. For instance, how he was treated by fellow Rangers, men who were supposed to stand by him. It also felt relatable to memoirs of gay men in the military that I've read. That is, if one doesn't fit a very particularly brand of masculinity in every way, they're in danger of being cast out. This can include everything from sexuality to standing up for your beliefs.
December 18, 2019
This compelling memoir challenges the roots of the military-industrial complex that has controlled our democracy for decades. We can be free. It's not easy.
December 20, 2014
Barely worth reading, mainly because of the generous and interesting characters that supported him along the way. Early on he tells of how his discovering military and governmental corruption led him from being 'a devout Christian to an atheist and from a conservative Republican to a socialist.' He exposes much of USA's ugly past along the way which is undeniable. Well, news flash: Our government and our military has often been far from perfect but if he thinks atheism and socialism is a preferable option maybe he should try walking across North Korea or China or, if it were possible to go back in time, the old USSR and then write a book about it. Well, if he did it would be only what they allowed to be printed for propaganda purposes. But, in the USA, that he kept on bashing, he could write what he wanted because he was FREE. He is free because he lives in the land of the free because of the brave. May God grant true repentance and faith to Mr. Fanning, may God grant this country repentance where needed and may God continue to bless America.
January 5, 2015
This book flows and is enjoyable to read. Fanning weaves together the stories of his walk across America to raise money in memory of Pat Tillman, his time in the Army and as a Ranger, his past, and America's past.
He starts his walk with the goal of changing the world, in memory of Pat Tillman, NFL player turned Army Ranger, killed by friendly fire with the whole incident covered up by the Army and eventually resulted in scandal. He instead ends up profoundly changed by the experience, by all the people he met, and sites of historical significance.
He starts his walk with the goal of changing the world, in memory of Pat Tillman, NFL player turned Army Ranger, killed by friendly fire with the whole incident covered up by the Army and eventually resulted in scandal. He instead ends up profoundly changed by the experience, by all the people he met, and sites of historical significance.
July 9, 2016
I have been meaning to read this since it came out but what a week to be considering the US's history of violence and its capacity for kindness. Rory Fanning gives us an unflinching look at both, and plenty of surprising moments of beauty told in spare, honest prose.
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January 1, 2022Army Ranger-turned war resister Rory Fanning took a 3,000-mile walk across the southern United States in 2008 to commemorate his friend Pat Tilman. Killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, Tilman was famous for turning down a $3.5 million NFL contract to join the Rangers after the 9/11 tragedy. His story of heroic sacrifice moved untold numbers of people. When Fanning linked his own conscientious objection to the forever wars with Tilman’s courageous example, he reached these people in a very special way.
Rory Fanning’s walk was a kind of odyssey: “over the past decade, since leaving the military and finishing the walk, I have gone from a devout Christian to an atheist and from a conservative Republican to a socialist. My time in the military and the cover-up of Pat’s death led me down a road that challenged the core of who I was. I began to question everything.”
Fanning found a near-miraculous connection with ordinary people along his quest. Instead of the rejection predicted by Army brass – “they said I’d be banished in a country I had once adored” and “shunned by my family and friends” – Fanning found people ready to open their hearts both to honor Pat Tilman and understand Rory Fanning’s special connection to him. People gave him breakfast, a walking staff, places to stay or clean up along the way, and careful listening.
Friendly fire was just one extreme danger to Rangers in Afghanistan. Fanning writes that “most soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan… involved helicopters…” He tells of losing seven guys in a helicopter crash on his first tour. “Most of these missions… were rooted in bad intelligence… We were rarely more than heavily armed, testosterone-filled pawns in village disputes.” Then the mission blurred to include Iraq – “not what I had signed up for.” His big concern was “I now saw myself as an imperialist, a stormtrooper – someone who goes into another country to take other people’s resources… I didn’t want to kill anyone for oil… I didn’t want to be an empire builder, a Roman soldier, like the person who killed Jesus. I couldn’t square it in my mind.”
While chronicling mileposts on his way across this country, Fanning highlights historical markers, like the spot near Virginia Beach where the first Africans landed in 1619; the point a few miles north of Monroe, North Carolina, “where in 1957 Robert Williams, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, dug trenches to fight back against the KKK, which had been terrorizing his neighborhood.” As he crossed the historical eastern boundary line of the Cherokee nation near the South Carolina-Georgia border, he commemorates the Indian Removal Act of 1830, recalling Andrew Jackson’s reverie of replacing forests and “a few thousand savages.”
Descending the Appalachian Trail into Georgia, near Savannah, Fanning recalled Troy Davis’ sister Martina’s battle to save her brother from the death penalty while she also waged a fight against cancer. “Her cancer was most likely a byproduct of her time in the military and of Gulf War syndrome,” he writes. Martina’s fight to save her brother was successful – temporarily – as Troy won a last-minute stay of execution. But both Troy and Martina succumbed three years later.
Walking through Scottsboro, Alabama, Fanning recalls the Scottsboro 9 – young Black men ages 13 to 21 falsely accused or raping two white women. The case became a cause celebre after the all-white jury found the nine men guilty, though they were in fact innocent. “It wasn’t until 1950, nineteen years after they were arrested, that all the defendants were set free.”
As he stopped and spoke to groups along the way, sometimes he delivered his anti-war message, and sometimes not. He didn’t want his views to “alienate me from more than half the country.” But in a few more miles he reconsidered. Ambivalence accompanied Fanning both in uniform and in his walk cross-country. Courage and solidarity gradually won out, as he spoke both with pro footballers and other peace marchers in Texas. He also spoke with a female prisoner in Perryville, Arizona, and Chicano farm workers in El Centro, California.
Walking across the country changed Rory Fanning in subtle ways, making it easier for him to connect his own refusal to fight in an unjust war with Pat Tilman’s heroic sacrifice lost in friendly fire in Afghanistan.
Reviewed by Dee Knight, author of My Whirlwind Lives: Navigating Decades of Storms.
Rory Fanning’s walk was a kind of odyssey: “over the past decade, since leaving the military and finishing the walk, I have gone from a devout Christian to an atheist and from a conservative Republican to a socialist. My time in the military and the cover-up of Pat’s death led me down a road that challenged the core of who I was. I began to question everything.”
Fanning found a near-miraculous connection with ordinary people along his quest. Instead of the rejection predicted by Army brass – “they said I’d be banished in a country I had once adored” and “shunned by my family and friends” – Fanning found people ready to open their hearts both to honor Pat Tilman and understand Rory Fanning’s special connection to him. People gave him breakfast, a walking staff, places to stay or clean up along the way, and careful listening.
Friendly fire was just one extreme danger to Rangers in Afghanistan. Fanning writes that “most soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan… involved helicopters…” He tells of losing seven guys in a helicopter crash on his first tour. “Most of these missions… were rooted in bad intelligence… We were rarely more than heavily armed, testosterone-filled pawns in village disputes.” Then the mission blurred to include Iraq – “not what I had signed up for.” His big concern was “I now saw myself as an imperialist, a stormtrooper – someone who goes into another country to take other people’s resources… I didn’t want to kill anyone for oil… I didn’t want to be an empire builder, a Roman soldier, like the person who killed Jesus. I couldn’t square it in my mind.”
While chronicling mileposts on his way across this country, Fanning highlights historical markers, like the spot near Virginia Beach where the first Africans landed in 1619; the point a few miles north of Monroe, North Carolina, “where in 1957 Robert Williams, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, dug trenches to fight back against the KKK, which had been terrorizing his neighborhood.” As he crossed the historical eastern boundary line of the Cherokee nation near the South Carolina-Georgia border, he commemorates the Indian Removal Act of 1830, recalling Andrew Jackson’s reverie of replacing forests and “a few thousand savages.”
Descending the Appalachian Trail into Georgia, near Savannah, Fanning recalled Troy Davis’ sister Martina’s battle to save her brother from the death penalty while she also waged a fight against cancer. “Her cancer was most likely a byproduct of her time in the military and of Gulf War syndrome,” he writes. Martina’s fight to save her brother was successful – temporarily – as Troy won a last-minute stay of execution. But both Troy and Martina succumbed three years later.
Walking through Scottsboro, Alabama, Fanning recalls the Scottsboro 9 – young Black men ages 13 to 21 falsely accused or raping two white women. The case became a cause celebre after the all-white jury found the nine men guilty, though they were in fact innocent. “It wasn’t until 1950, nineteen years after they were arrested, that all the defendants were set free.”
As he stopped and spoke to groups along the way, sometimes he delivered his anti-war message, and sometimes not. He didn’t want his views to “alienate me from more than half the country.” But in a few more miles he reconsidered. Ambivalence accompanied Fanning both in uniform and in his walk cross-country. Courage and solidarity gradually won out, as he spoke both with pro footballers and other peace marchers in Texas. He also spoke with a female prisoner in Perryville, Arizona, and Chicano farm workers in El Centro, California.
Walking across the country changed Rory Fanning in subtle ways, making it easier for him to connect his own refusal to fight in an unjust war with Pat Tilman’s heroic sacrifice lost in friendly fire in Afghanistan.
Reviewed by Dee Knight, author of My Whirlwind Lives: Navigating Decades of Storms.
September 18, 2019
The book reads more as a travel memoir of a walk across America than as an explicit political critique of the military or the U.S. economic and political system, though those elements are sprinkled in. Mostly, we journey with the author as he shares pieces of his story, meets people along his journey, reflects on the complexity of human nature, and realizes the shortcomings of the nonprofit industry (it's "too vertical" and doesn't change the economic or political system). Fanning is a thoughtful and humble narrator, despite the fact that it's no mean feat to qualify as a Ranger, nor to endure the abuse he did once he refuses to continue fighting in Iraq. The sections about his experiences in Iraq once he refused to view the locals through the lens of combat are some of the most interesting in the book. His excurses reflecting upon social history along his route adds another dimension to his journey, making it a journey through the history of social struggle and not just across America. The ending of the book is poignant and symbolic.
May 22, 2020
I love long walk self-discovery books, and/or American travelogues, but this book was unfortunately plagued by a certain timidity that made it fall short. Rory Fanning starts out talking about how he soured on the War on Terror and the military, but to my surprise that theme faded rapidly, and his hesitation to make any controversial observations or be more pointed/specific in his descriptions of the encounters he had meant the book felt sort of vague and apolitical. Ultimately I don’t come away with much understanding of what this walk meant for him or what he learned about himself, being a veteran, the nation, etc.
November 18, 2022
The dedication it took to follow his path as a conscientious objector in the marines then across the country to raise money for the Pat Tillman foundation is rare!
Setting out to make a difference and realizing the only true difference made was within himself. Quite an experience!
Setting out to make a difference and realizing the only true difference made was within himself. Quite an experience!
February 24, 2019
I felt deeply connected to Fanning's story, despite the amateur writing, because of his honestly, self reflection, consciousness, and sensitivity to the people he met. Fascinating read!
July 28, 2019
A great wake up from someone who was woken up luckily before he was put to sleep like so many other unfortunate military men and women.
March 17, 2015
While the actual quality of the writing is a bit hit or miss and rambles at times and gets a tad confused, it's a terrific book about a journey through America in the aftermath of multiple traumas. In many aspects, reminiscent of Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie, Fanning takes us on a tour of an America that is a little lost. The aftermath of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire in Afghanistan and Fanning's own complicated thoughts on America's role in it's military adventures form a backdrop to the journey just as America faces another crises in the form of the collapse of the economy in 2008.
Fanning meets some undeniably wonderful people and presents them to us with his own reflections on what is worth fighting for and how to fight: with a clear eyed understanding of America the bad AND the good.
Fanning meets some undeniably wonderful people and presents them to us with his own reflections on what is worth fighting for and how to fight: with a clear eyed understanding of America the bad AND the good.
December 30, 2016
Rory Fanning didn't set out to be a hero. He became a Ranger because he wanted to help prevent another 9/11. Along the way he realized that his duty to his country and to humanity was more sacred than his duty to the Army. "Worth Fighting For" is the story of several journeys. It's about the journey Rory took by foot across the United States to raise funds for the Pat Tillman foundation. It's about his journey from warrior to conscientious objector and peace activist. It's about a journey we're all still on, toward a more just and peaceful world. This book gives me hope.
July 5, 2016
Easy and somewhat entertaining read, but not terribly interesting; would have been nice to get more details and insight on all the places the author visited and all the people he talked to. Not sure how this compares with other books in the genre of travel diaries.
January 13, 2015
*I recieved this book through the goodreads giveaway*
I just recieved my copy not that long ago for my dad, he's half way through already! Will post his review when he's done
I just recieved my copy not that long ago for my dad, he's half way through already! Will post his review when he's done
April 27, 2015
Helpful for my own military experience. Dedication til the end
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March 25, 2019This book is like food to soul.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews