carlie thrasher downey

Don’t Let Me Die Dirty is the inspiring story of Cecil Downey who, after joining the Marines at age seventeen to escape the hardship of growing up as one of twelve children in depression-era poverty, lost both legs, but not his indomitable spirit, in the battle of Iwo Jima. Not expected to live, Cecil was given last rites but refused to give up, asking only “Give me a chance, that’s all I ask—just give me a chance!” Well, Cecil made the most of that chance by recovering against all odds and eventually dedicating his life to God and the ministry, continuing to preach and witness to those in need until his death at age eighty-three. Don’t Let Me Die Dirty is also a love story and proof that we can find our soul mate at any age, just as Cecil did when he married the author, Carlie Thrasher Downey, at eighty years old and, as you will read, lived happily ever after.