The main characters in “ The ghost of wars” are Ryan Smithson, Heather, his family and team meats. Ryan Smithson was the author of the book who tells us about everything from his high school life to where he is at right now. As a high school student, he didn't know what he was doing with his life. He said, “ For me, the future was a complete paradox.” Ryan Smithson (8) So he was just having fun as a high school student would do. But after the 9/11 accident. His life changed completely. The reason was because he had this mindset of saying, “ If I don’t do something about it then who will ?” Smithson( 9). Heather was his girlfriend when he was high school student and now she is his wife because he proposed to her the day before he got deployed to Iraq. The other people in his life are his family. Who always look out for him and take a good care of him. For example, the day he told them he is joining the military his dad said, “ Do whatever you think is right, Ryan” Ryan Smithson (9 ) The last one was his teammates, Who have helped him out through the hole war and helped him when he needed it. “Watching my teammates from the bench, I thought of 9/11. It had changed my entire worldview. I thought parents and teachers were intimidating when they talked about the real world. But I was in the real world.” Smithson (10) The one thing we can take away from this book is the fact that he said: “ If I don’t do something about it then who will ?” Smithson (9 ). The reason he said that was because after the 9/ 11 accident he felt bad about what was going on in the country, and what was happening to the people of the country. “ The 9/11 accident was an attack by Islamic group known as al-Qaeda. The day 4 plane has crashed, 2 of them was crashed in New York trade center, the third one hit the Pentagon and the fourth one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. More than 3000 people died that day ” ( History.com) He said “ My mind tried to tell me I was watching a movie. We watched in horror as the first tower collapsed into itself like it was being demolished. This was real terrifyingly real.” Ryan Smithson ( pg #6). That was the reason way Ryan Smithson joined the military to fight for his country. Also deployed to Iraq at the age of 19 and faced so many bad things. Like the lieutenants telling them to shoot little kids and a teen getting shot on his rooftop and watching his blood drip all over. He was supposed to be helping out with the equipment but he became a truck driver that carries the M60 machine gun. He said as soon as we were about to enter the city, “ The LT gave us the order to shoot children if they threw rocks. But we got there we saw dozens of children line road. They raise their hands. Their hands are empty. The kids looked at us and put their hands in their mouths over and over again begging for food.” He said at that time, “ Cold lightning drops down my spine. Tears leak into the corners of my eyes.” Smithson (76-77) He also saw a teen getting shot on his head over a rooftop. He said “ I’ve seen the kid standing helpless as he takes a black cloud to the face. Hidden in the black cloud, hot ball bearings that ended his life. I wanted to cry but what does crying do for me? It’s not gonna solve the problem.” Smithson ( 120 )