The Gordy Honors College Forum Series will host Rudy Reyes Thursday at 6 p.m. in Nissan Auditorium in Parkinson Hall on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. Reyes will speak on the topic “Generation Kill.” The presentation is free and open to the public. Doors open at 5.45 p.m.
As a Marine, Reyes saw combat action in three campaigns: Afghanistan (“Enduring Freedom” 2001-2002), and twice in Iraq (“Iraqi Freedom” 2003 and “Iraqi Freedom II” 2004). He has been team leader of more than 50 patrols behind enemy lines in the Persian Gulf as a USMC Recon.
In March 2003, Reyes” special forces unit led the charge toward Baghdad in central Iraq. The mission was to go in ahead of the main Marine invasion force and seek out enemy ambushes — by driving right into them.
Chronicled by embedded reporter Evan Wright, this mission led Reyes and his platoon to become the subject of a three-part series that ran in Rolling Stone magazine (Fall 2003) and became the basis for the best-selling book “Generation Kill,” Wright”s almost photographic account of Reyes” Marine platoon in combat on the front lines of the war in Iraq. Reyes appeared as himself in the seven part, critically acclaimed HBO miniseries adaptation of “Generation Kill,” which was released in July 2008.
Now retired from the Marines, Reyes is a mixed martial arts trainer, military/combat technical consultant, illustrator and speaker. He has appeared with author Evan Wright on “The Dennis Miller Show,” joined Wright and Chalmers Johnson, author of “Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of American Empire & The Sorrows of Empire” on a panel discussion at the Palm Springs Book Festival 2005 in April 2005.
He is author of the book “Hero Living: Seven Strides to Awaken Your Infinite Power,” published by Penguin in 2009.
For more information about Thursday”s speaking engagement, contact Dr. Thomas Velek at [email protected] or 662-241-6850.
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