Rich Walton Featured Book
There have been over a hundred books written about the Afghanistan war. Last Man Standing in Afghanistan provides a refreshing new angle no one else has touched on.
In this book, Rich Walton relates story after story of his daily experiences among the Afghan people. Many of these stories will bring a tear to your eye while others will have you laughing out loud.
Walton was not a U.S. soldier toting an M-16. He was a civilian contractor working on construction jobs in the Afghanistan war zone amidst rocket attacks and sniper fire. Besides working on military bases surrounded by protective walls, he worked outside the bases on schools, clinics and public structures being built in the Afghan villages. Taliban and other terrorists did not want these structures built, so the dangers were very real and a constant threat.
For four plus long years, Walton worked among the local Afghan citizens as part of the U.S. effort to “win the hearts and minds” of the Afghan people. He ate with them, conferred with them and consoled them as they struggled in their daily lives.
The stories in this book are real. You will feel like you were actually there. After reading his experiences, you will see how Rich Walton came to be known as
“The Face of America the Afghans will Remember.”
Roger Staubach
U.S. Naval Academy Graduate
Heisman Trophy Winner
and NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback
More about Rich Walton
I was a deer-in-the-headlights leaving my family and a 25 plus years Architectural Designing business behind heading to war zone Afghanistan to work as a Country Construction Manager, changing my job and life! I traveled to remote areas to help build military bases and schools that made education available to boys and girls working with local Afghan workers to get the jobs done, most of which are uneducated, cannot read or write. Danger was all around as the Taliban did not want what we were building.
I worked in Afghanistan for over 4 years, traveling all over the country as a construction manager and architectural designer, helping build facilities for both the U.S.A. and Afghan armies as a part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) where I designed and helped construct medical facilities, the controversial Herat University women’s dorm and a variety of other projects. I came to firmly believe the only way Afghanistan will survive is through education.
For the military, I have been referred to as a “Force Multiplier” in the development of small remote and austere bases and other projects as I was able to produce construction drawings on the spur of the moment and travel to construction sites in war zones to plan and supervise the building of a diverse variety of structures.
After graduating from the University of Oregon, I catapulted into my own business designing award-winning homes. After many years, I needed a change, was frustrated sitting at a desk re-creating. An opportunity came up, and with my wife’s encouragement, I ran with it. It was a shock change as I had never been in the Military. When I asked exactly what my job was, I was told I would have to figure it out when I got there! I did and I soon gained a passion for “Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Afghan People” through “Teach-Coach-Mentor” principles on humanitarian projects. In the end, they won my heart.
