Once a Marine

Once a Marine
Author: Nick Popaditch
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1611210372

The Silver Star–awarded marine chronicles his service in Iraq in this “transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences” (Ralph Peters, Lt. Col., ret., author of Looking For Trouble). In April, 2003, an AP photographer captured a striking image seen around the world of Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Though immortalized in that moment as “The Cigar Marine,” Popaditch’s fighting was far from over. The following year, he fought heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffered grievous head wounds that left him legally blind and partially deaf. But he faced the toughest fight of his life when he returned home: the battle to remain the man and Marine he was. At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity and help his brothers in arms. Then, following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way—the Marine way—because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.

Once a Marine

Once a Marine
Author: Alexander Archer Vandegrift
Publisher: Marine Corporation Assn Bookstore
Total Pages: 348
Release: 1982
Genre: Generals
ISBN: 9780940328037

One Bullet Away

One Bullet Away
Author: Nathaniel Fick
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0618773436

An ex-Marine captain shares his story of fighting in a recon battalion in both Afghanistan and Iraq, beginning with his brutal training on Quantico Island and following his progress through various training sessions and, ultimately, conflict in the deadliest conflicts since the Vietnam War.

Once a Legend

Once a Legend
Author: Jon T. Hoffman
Publisher: Presidio Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2001
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780891417323

World War II combat correspondent Richard Tregaskis, author of Guadalcanal Diary, called Maj. Gen. Merritt "Red Mike" Edson "the best soldier I ever knew". Fitting praise for a hardnosed general who earned an unmatched reputation for fearlessness in a Marine Corps career that spanned thirty years. Edson earned the Medal of Honor and lasting fame during a desperate, two-day defense of Guadalcanal's vital airfield. The battle immediately became known as one of the epic struggles in Marine Corps history, the Battle of Edson's Ridge. Edson first gained renown in the Marine Corps for his exploits during the "Banana Wars" in Central America during the 1920s. He became an authority on guerilla warfare and went on to create and command the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. After World War II, Edson demonstrated moral courage that matched his fearlessness under fire as he fought to preserve the Corps's identity during the service unification debates. In the political "jungles" of Washington, D. C., he used his unorthodox tactics to combat Army encroachment on Marine Corps turf, and even took on President Truman, who was intent on disbanding the Corps. Edson was a professional - the ideal fighting man with nerves of steel, devoted to his troops, dedicated to improving the Corps - but there was a dark side to this model military man. Hoffman explores Red Mike's personal life as well - his unhappy marriage; his morose, fatalistic outlook on life and death; his tragic suicide at the age of 58. Based on the general's recently unsealed personal papers, and interviews with family, friends, and fellow Marines, this is the first biography of the man described by former commandant Gen. Wallace Greene as "thepersonification of the great fighting tradition of our Corps".

Once a Warrior

Once a Warrior
Author: Jake Wood
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2020-11-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0593189353

"The book that America needs right now." --Tom Brokaw, journalist and author of The Greatest Generation "Jake Wood offers one of the most soaring definitions of service I've ever seen." --Maria Shriver, award-winning journalist and author of I've Been Thinking From Marine sniper Jake Wood, a riveting memoir of leading over 100,000 veterans to a life of renewed service, volunteering to battle, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, pandemics, and civil wars, and inspiring onlookers as their unique military training saved lives and rebuilt our country. When Jake Wood arrived in the States after two grueling tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he watched his unit lose more men to suicide than to enemy hands overseas. Reeling, Jake looked for a way to direct their restlessness towards a new mission--and put their formidable skills to good use. When an earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, Jake had his answer. He convinced several fellow veterans to join him on a ragtag mission to provide desperately needed aid. Despite the high stakes, they were able to untangle complex problems quickly and keep calm under pressure. In this raw, adrenaline-filled narrative, Jake recounts, how, over the past 10 years, he's built the disaster response organization Team Rubicon, and seen the work provide a lifeline back to purpose for the heroes among us. Not only do these intrepid volunteers race against the clock to aid communities after Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Harvey, COVID-19, and hundreds of other disasters; they also fight for something just as important--each other. Once a Warrior provides a soaring look at what our veterans are capable of--and what might become of America's next greatest generation.

Once a Marine

Once a Marine
Author: Claude DeShazo
Publisher: Author House
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2005-03-23
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1420841335

The former enlisted Marines whose stories you will read in this book have a common thread. The common thread is that they became one of the few, the proud, the Marines. They joined and entered the Vietnam war when their country called. They fought and returned home to adjust to normal lives by themselves. These are the life stories, told in their own words, of how Marine Corps vets came home, built families, businesses and are living the American dream today. Many still live their lives today with the same traditions and values taught to them by the Marine Corps and have adjusted after the traumatic experience of a war. Marine Corps values are easy to state as: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. The Marine Corps defines these values in the following way: Honor as demonstrating integrity in all one does, and accepting responsibility and accountability for ones actions. Courage as doing the right thing, in the right way, and for the right reasons. Commitment as devotion to the Corps and ones fellow Marines. All Marines, former and active duty, live and fight under this same creed. Read about these men who left the Corps and the war behind and used this experience as a stepping stone to success and happiness.

Embedded

Embedded
Author: Wesley R. Gray
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2009-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612514065

In his November 19, 2005 presidential address, President George W. Bush summarized U.S. military policy as, "Our situation can be summed up this way: as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." EMBEDDED offers a firsthand account by a young Marine military advisor serving on the frontlines with the Iraqi Army of the effectiveness of America's efforts to help the Iraqis stand on their own. As a Division I track athlete and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Wes Gray was given a full scholarship to the Ph.D. program in finance at the University of Chicago, the top ranked program in the world. However, after passing his comprehensive exams and while weighing offers from Wall Street, he had an epiphany: the right thing to do before taking on the challenges of the business world was to serve his nation and fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a United States Marine. In 2006, 1st. Lt. Gray was deployed as a Marine Corps military advisor to live and fight with an Iraqi Army battalion for two hundred and ten days in the Haditha Triad, a small population center in the dangerous and austere al-Anbar Province of western Iraq.What he encountered was an insurgent fire pit recently traumatized by the infamous “Haditha Massacre,” in which 24 Iraqi civilians – men, women and children – were shot at close range by U.S. Marines at close range in retaliation for the death of a Marine lance corporal in a roadside bombing. Despite the tensions triggered by the shootings, Gray was able to form a bond with the Iraqi soldiers because he had an edge that very few U.S. service members possess 3⁄4 the ability to communicate because of his proficiency in Iraqi Arabic. His language skills and deep understanding of Iraqi culture were quickly recognized by the Iraqi soldiers who considered him an Arab brother and fondly named him “Jamal.” By the end of his advisor tour, he was a legend within the Iraqi Army. During his time in Iraq, Wes kept a detailed record of his observations, experiences, and interviews with Iraqi citizens and soldiers in vivid and brutally honest detail. Ranging from tension filled skirmishes against the insurgents to insights into the dichotomy between American and Iraqi cultures, he offers a comprehensive portrait of Iraq and the struggles of its people and soldiers to stand up and make their country a nation once again. His book is a Marine intelligence officer’s compelling report about the status and prospects of America's strategy for success in Iraq.

Once a Marine

Once a Marine
Author: Ralph T. Eubanks
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2008-08
Genre:
ISBN: 1434359875

The events of World War II thrust young Marine Corps recruit Ralph T. Eubanks into a world he could not have imagined as a boy growing up on a farm in western Arkansas. This firsthand account of his experiences - based on recollections, research and numerous letters to his family and sweetheart back home - chronicles the tense and uncertain years of his service in the Marines. Eubanks describes his admiration for the traditions and glorious history of the Marine Corps that convinced him to join. We follow the adventures of this young recruit through his weeks of boot camp, intense training as an aviation ordnanceman, service in the Pacific combat zone, marriage to Betty Carty, trials of officer candidate school, preparations and execution of the occupation of Japan, and his eventual return to civilian life. Along the way, the farm boy from Arkansas is transformed into a model soldier who lives the maxim "once a Marine, always a Marine" the rest of his life. This is a rare glimpse into the everyday trials of a World War II Marine during one of our country's most trying periods.

Once a Marine...

Once a Marine...
Author: Jamieson
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2009-02
Genre:
ISBN: 1598588516

"Once a Marine...always a Marine." I heard that expression countless times growing up in reference to my father, Roger Jamieson. He was a World War II era Marine officer. He was one of 17 million Americans who put their lives on hold to defend our great nation. He suffered from fleas and jungle rot, Dengue Fever, dysentery and Hepatitis A. He was wounded twice and suffered the loss of his entire platoon. He also lost his cousin, David, who was killed in action. This is a story about my father's life, his upbringing and subsequent training in the Marines. It is a story about the battles he faced along the way; some internal and some external. It is also a story about a father and son revisiting old battlefields and reliving bad memories in the quest for closure. Roger would say that he didn't do anything special or different from anyone else. In the end, he, his extended family and neighborhood sacrificed and suffered like all Americans did during the war: separation, loneliness, illness, injury and death of loved ones and comrades. But to me, my father was a brave man and my hero. And like millions of his fellow servicemen and women, when the war was over, Roger married, found work and raised a family and tried to put the war behind him. We kids all knew about the Marines. We were indoctrinated and believed they were the top branch in all the U.S. Armed Forces. Most of my early recollections about World War II were based on the Hollywood heroics of John Wayne, the television series, "Combat" and the like. My understanding about what our World War II veterans did was superficial, at best. In 1994, while watching a documentary on the 50th anniversary of D-Day Normandy, I began to think about my dad and what he must have gone through in the Pacific. I knew he had quietly harbored a lot of guilt and pain over the years. It became my goal and passion to help him experience as much healing as possible. Thus, we joined a reunion tour to Okinawa and took side tours to Guam and Saipan. The year of preparation and the trip yielded many unexpected surprises and discoveries. Part One of this book chronicles Roger Jamieson's life growing up in New Jersey and continues through his Marine Corps career. Part Two is a story of rediscovery in which my dad and I retrace his steps as a Marine officer with the hope of coming to term with his past. A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the Injured Marine Semper FiFund. Visit www.onceamarinebook.info

Guadalcanal Marine

Guadalcanal Marine
Author: Kerry L. Lane
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2009-09-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1628468971

In Guadalcanal Marine, Kerry L. Lane recounts the dark reality of combat experienced by the men of the 1st Marine Division fighting on Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester. With eighty gripping photographs and his text, he brings to life the struggles of his companions as they achieve these two astonishing victories. Lane, a sixteen-year-old farm boy from North Carolina, battled the Japanese and rose to heroism powering a bulldozer to bridge "Suicide Creek" in the swamps on Cape Gloucester. There he led his Marine comrades to victory. Lane describes the trials of the common Marine serving in the first grueling island campaign. In vivid prose he tells of joining the service before the war and of training. Soon after the shocking news of Pearl Harbor, he and his trusted comrades fight the Japanese in one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific. In the tropics, Lane and his companions suffer malaria and dysentery, endure jungle rot and oppressive heat, and grapple with an enemy who fights to the death. Throughout the book, Lane bares the experience of the average Marine and his historic World War II journey, revealing how one teenager became a Corps hero and ultimately finished his military career as a lieutenant colonel.