Fearless, brilliant, wounded repeatedly, returning to battle again and again like some immortal warrior god Kurilla became the leader of a warrior cult terrifying terrorists and inspiring love, loyalty, and often the ultimate sacrifice from ordinary Iraqis trapped in a sea of violence and despair.
Michael Yon is an independent reporter, columnist, author and blogger. He is a veteran of the United States Army Special Forces, during 1980s. He has been a general freelance writer since the mid-1990s. In 2000, Yon published his first book, Danger Close, an autobiography of his life from youth into adulthood. Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, he focused on military writing. Yon has embedded multiple times with American and British troops in Iraq, most prominently a deployment with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment (Deuce Four) of the 25th Infantry Division in Mosul, Iraq that ended in September 2005. Yon covered his time in Iraq in his second book, Moment of Truth in Iraq, published in April 2008. In 2008, Yon relocated to Afghanistan, citing a belief that it was the more important conflict.
Yon is also a noted photographer. His photograph of a US Army soldier cradling an injured Iraqi girl earned recognition as the "Photo of the Year" from Time magazine in 2005.
Yon continues his independent coverage of the war on terror and related issues through his website and blog.