July 2015

Nonfiction

Ace: The Story of Lt. Col. Ace Cozzalio. By 1st Lt. Rex Gooch, USAR (Ret), Life Member. Lighthorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1508642466. 

Ace is the story of Ace Cozzalio, a bold and courageous U.S. Army helicopter pilot flying with Lighthorse Air Cavalry during the Vietnam War. In his eighteen-month tour of duty, Ace is shot down by enemy gunfire six times and is awarded every medal of valor with the exception of the Medal of Honor, some multiple times. The stories presented in this book tell of Ace's heroic exploits while fighting the enemy in the Mekong Delta-emphasizing the extraordinary character of this dedicated soldier hero. In reading these incredible, never-before-told stories, the reader gets a glimpse into who Ace Cozzalio is and why his dynamic presence is oftentimes the pivotal element that turns the tide against the enemy. A relentless warrior and a natural-born leader, Ace is always leading the charge, winning the battle, and bringing the troops home safely. Confident and charismatic, he endears himself to his fellow cavalry troopers and the tales of his courageous deeds soon become legendary. And, Ace is a maverick-never satisfied to follow the status quo. Uniquely attired in his signature military uniform with white Cavalry hat, saber, and yellow scarf, reminiscent of the U.S. Cavalry of the 1860s, Ace is singularly recognized as the classic image of the cavalry. Ace is a high-speed, low-level flight through the fascinating life of Ace Cozzalio, focusing on his escapades, adventures, and mishaps in the Vietnam War.  

African American Warrant Officers ... In Service to Our Country: Their History, Achievements and Contributions to the Military and to the United States. By CW4 Farrell J. Chiles, USA (Ret), Life Member, Mount Baldy (Calif.) Chapter. BookLocker.com. ISBN 978-1-63490-111-6.  

African American Warrant Officers...In Service to Our Country tells the stories of unsung African American warrant officers who have served our country in and out of the military. This collection of historical articles, inspiring biographies, and profiles highlights the significant contributions of individual African American warrant officers from World War II to the present, with remarkable detail and language befitting their valor.  

For Brotherhood and Duty: The Civil War History of the West Point Class of 1862. By Lt. Col. Brian R. McEnany, USA (Ret). University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-6062-7.  

During the tense months leading up to the American Civil War, the cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point continued their education even as the nation threatened to dissolve around them. Students from both the North and South struggled to understand events such as John Brown's Raid, the secession of eleven states from the Union, and the attack on Fort Sumter. By graduation day, half the class of 1862 had resigned; only twenty-eight remained, and their class motto―"Joined in common cause"―had been severely tested.

In For Brotherhood and Duty: The Civil War History of the West Point Class of 1862, Brian R. McEnany follows the cadets from their initiation, through coursework, and on to the battlefield, focusing on twelve Union and four Confederate soldiers. Drawing heavily on primary sources, McEnany presents a fascinating chronicle of the young classmates, who became allies and enemies during the largest conflict ever undertaken on American soil. Their vivid accounts provide new perspectives not only on legendary battles such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, and the Overland and Atlanta campaigns, but also on lesser-known battles such as Port Hudson, Olustee, High Bridge, and Pleasant Hills.

There are countless studies of West Point and its more famous graduates, but McEnany's groundbreaking book brings to life the struggles and contributions of its graduates as junior officers and in small units. Generously illustrated with more than one hundred photographs and maps, this enthralling collective biography illuminates the war's impact on a unique group of soldiers and the institution that shaped them.  

Stronger: Develop the Resilience You Need to Succeed. By George Everly Jr., Douglas A. Strouse, and Dennis K. McCormack, with foreword by Rear Adm. George R. Worthington, USN (Ret), Life Member. American Management Association. ISBN 978-0814436042.  

First responders, emergency medical personnel, star athletes-all perform remarkable feats in the face of intense stress. But how often have you heard of athletes, businesspeople, students, or performing artists who had remarkable talent and enormous potential, but never achieved the success for which they seemed destined?   

Why do some people rise above adversity and excel under pressure, and others doubt themselves and panic-or choke? What separates them is attitude. Resilient people meet adversity head-on and bounce back from setbacks. They seem to exude a natural inner strength. But studies show that they're rarely born with this outlook; rather, it develops over time. In fact, as this book will show, you can develop the attitudes that shield you from stress and help you overcome obstacles.   

Drawing on decades of research, scientific analysis, interviews with nearly 1,000 highly resilient people working in unusually stressful professions, and the unique perspectives of a standout team of authors-a stress-management expert, a skilled entrepreneur, and a Navy SEAL-Stronger analyzes the heroic exploits of the Navy SEALs and others who succeed against all odds, pinpoints the traits that define the most resilient people on earth, and reveals how you can develop this vital competitive advantage at any age.  

The U.S. Naval Institute on Naval Command. Edited by Lt. Cmdr. Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-800-8.  

Command is the pinnacle of leadership in a military organization. Navy regulations define both the authority and the responsibility of command as "absolute." This Naval Institute Wheel Book provides practical guidance and advice that actual and would-be commanders can use to carry out that absolute authority. Included in this carefully selected collection is the experience of those who have commanded as well as the expectations of those who are commanded. Aspirants as well as practitioners will do well to exploit this selected survey of what Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz described as the "one purpose" for entering the Navy.  

Your Drugs & Sex: How Prescription and Non-Prescription Drugs Can Affect Your Sex Life. By P.J. Bush, Ph.D., Auxiliary Life Member. Outskirts Press. ISBN 978-1-4787-3840-4.  

More than 400 drugs are in this book, are yours? Maybe your sex life isn't what it used to be. Maybe it isn't even what you hoped it would be at your age. Or perhaps you have disappointed your partner on more than one occasion by not being able to perform sexually as hoped or expected. "What's wrong?" you-or your partner-might ask. Good question. There is a possibility that you might not be aware of. The cause could be a medicine you are taking ... and that is the subject of this book. It's estimated that one third of adult males have a health problem affecting their sex performance, sometimes as an adverse effect of the medicine they are taking to treat their health problem. Lack of desire is believed to be the most common form of female sex dysfunction - affecting up to 10% of women. It may be caused by drugs they take. There are drugs to treat male and female sex performance problems. Read about them in this book. All drugs have some side effects. Side effects that can be caused by a drug include erectile dysfunction, difficulty achieving orgasm, ejaculation failure, impotence, decreased desire, pain during intercourse, and lower testosterone. Some commonly used drugs with known sexual performance side effects include cholesterol lowering drugs, blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs, anti-fungals, anti-ulcer and anti-epileptic drugs, oral contraceptives, and cancer drugs.  

Fiction  

Beyond El Camino Del Diablo: Beyond the Devil's Highway. By Cmdr. Eugene L. Sierras Jr., USN (Ret). Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4907-5603-5.  

El Camino Del Diablo (the Devil's Highway) today is an unpaved 130 mile route along the border between Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The current route begins at Lukeville, Arizona 21 miles southwest of Ajo at the boundary between Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. From there it continues through barren and isolated Sonoran Desert to Yuma. Some of the features along the way are: San Cristobal Wash, the Agua Dulce Mountains, Papago Well; Camp Grip, the Pinta Sand Dunes and the Pinacate Volcanic Field. The road passes through the Tule Desert and Mountains and into Tule Tank Canyon to reach Tule Well where the road intersects with Christmas Pass Road. The road continues through the Lechuguilla Desert, Tordillo Mountain, and the Tinajas Altas Mountains. The route passes west of Raven Butte and Cipriano Pass. It then follows the western border of the Gila Mountains, passing by the abandoned Fortuna Mine before finally reaching the small community of Fortune Hills on the outskirts of Yuma.  

Cold Frame: A Novel. By Capt. P.T. Deutermann, USN (Ret), Life Member, Capitol Area (Mich.) Chapter. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-250-05933-8.  

The downtown area of today's Washington, D.C., has become an armed camp. Men with assault rifles crouch on top of monuments and buildings. Anti-missile sites bristle on the White House roof. Meter maids carry Glocks and tactical radios, all in the name of federal CT: counterterrorism.

In Cold Frame, the dramatic new thriller by P. T. Deutermann, a secret committee of government and civilian officials puts names on the Kill List, which targets overseas threats to America for termination. When a senior bureaucrat who is part of the Kill List process dies in Washington under mysterious circumstances that include a beautiful woman, a glass of wine, and a bouquet of flowers, Metro detective Av Smith is tasked to investigate. Smith and his fellow detectives soon find themselves besieged by a hornet's nest of intrigue and deception. With the aid of an FBI agent and a reclusive scientist who nurtures unusual interests, Av digs deeper into the mystery---only to become the target of a plan that reaches into the highest levels of the federal government, and far exceeds the mission of the Kill List itself.

Set in contemporary Washington, D.C., amidst the Byzantine counterterrorism bureaucracy, Cold Frame is a compelling thriller by masterful novelist P. T. Deutermann, whose insider knowledge of how the military, federal, and local intelligence agencies work---or don't---illuminates the dark world of Washington's War on Terror.  

Raven One. By Capt. Kevin P. Miller, USN (Ret). Stealth Books. ISBN 978-1-939398-22-2.  

UNARMED OVER HOSTILE TERRITORY... For a moment Wilson froze and looked at the white-helmeted pilot who sat high on the nose of the colossal fighter. Across the small void, he saw the pilot's eyes peer over his mask. Dark, chilling eyes… Wilson kicked right rudder to slide closer and jam any chance for a bandit gunshot. When the bandit pulled all the way over, almost on its back but in control, he cursed in frustration at what he knew was coming next. The hostile fighter reversed over the top in a negative-g maneuver, his nose tracking down on Wilson like a falling sledgehammer in slow motion. Horrified, Wilson realized he faced an imminent snapshot. With the little air speed he had, his inverted his Hornet to avoid the attack. His aircraft still rolling, Wilson saw that the monster had another weapon at its disposal…  

Memoir  

Changed By War. By Maj. Den Slattery, USAR (Ret). ISBN 978-1-61539-333-6.  

War has a very negative effect on people. Den's life was changed by the war in Vietnam. "Changed By War" is his personal story of the battles in combat and back at home. If you have aloved one who has been exposed to war, this might be a good book to help you understand them.  

Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier's Memoir. By Gen. John R. Galvin, USA (Ret), Life Member. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-6101-3.  

When four-star general John Rogers Galvin retired from the US Army after forty-four years of distinguished service in 1992, the Washington Post hailed him as a man "without peer among living generals." In Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier's Memoir, the celebrated soldier, scholar, and statesman recounts his active participation in more than sixty years of international history―from the onset of World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the post-Cold War era.

Galvin's illustrious tenure included the rare opportunity to lead two different Department of Defense unified commands: United States Southern Command in Panama from 1985 to 1987 and United States European Command from 1987 to 1992. In his memoir, he recounts fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes about his interactions with world leaders, describing encounters such as his experience of watching President José Napoleón Duarte argue eloquently against US intervention in El Salvador; a private conversation with Pope John Paul II in which the pontiff spoke to him about what it means to be a man of peace; and his discussion with General William Westmoreland about soldiers' conduct in the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia. In addition, Galvin recalls his complex negotiations with a number of often difficult foreign heads of state, including Manuel Noriega, Augusto Pinochet, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ratko Mladić.

As NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the tumultuous five years that ended the Cold War, Galvin played a key role in shaping a new era. Fighting the Cold War illuminates his leadership and service as one of America's premier soldier-statesmen, revealing him to be not only a brilliant strategist and consummate diplomat but also a gifted historian and writer who taught and mentored generations of students.

August 2015

Nonfiction 

The Afghan Paradox. By Lt. Gennaro Buonocore, USN, Life Member. Jackson Hill Press. ISBN 978-0-9855762-2-6.

One of the most revealing and penetrating insights into Afghanistan and it's people since the beginning of the US involvement there following 9/11. Author, Gennaro Buonocore's (is Failure of European Multiculturalism, The Islamist Crusade) intellect is matched only by his intuitive grasp of the observations he makes as he explores the colorful culture of Afghanistan and the history of one of the most tumultuous countries in the world today. Readers will find this account of Afghan culture both entertaining and enlightening.

Failure of European Multiculturalism: The Islamist Crusade. By Lt. Gennaro Buonocore, USN, Life Member, and Christian Von Rosen-Kreutz. Jackson Hill Press. ISBN 978-0-9855762-0-2.

Failure of European Multiculturalism: The Islamist Crusade is an up to date look, from two insiders, at the clear failure of European member nations' policies with regards to the integration of the last wave of immigrants. Supported by an impressive load of facts and data, the book sounds the alarm to a continent that is headed to financial meltdown and an unprecedented economic crisis. At a time when Europe desperately needs to pull together, there is little room for self-serving groups with divisive goals. The authors point out, in no uncertain terms, that this proven reality, coupled with the threat of radicalization of the poorer disenfranchised immigrant classes, could very well lead to an imminent "European Spring" of Islamist matrix or, at the very least, to massive security threats and social strife. Not a call to arms, but a call to action, this book is an honest look at what European member nations must see in the mirror before it is too late.

Fire in My Bones: Memoir and Journals of Brother Joseph Hewitt 1811-1878. By Cmdr. Donald A. Weir, USN (Ret). WestBow Press. ISBN 978-1-4908-6035-0.

This book is the personal journal of Joseph Hewitt, a profligate and degenerate young Englishman, who was powerfully converted by the power of the Holy Spirit, an experience he describes as "a fire in my bones." He joined the Primitive Methodist Church, where he was commissioned a lay preacher and sent to America to preach the gospel to the Cornish miners on the American frontier. Brother Hewitt's journal is a day-by-day record of a circuit-riding preacher in the nineteenth century, the era of slavery, the Civil War, and Lincoln. He traveled on foot, on horseback, and by buggy through Wisconsin blizzards and floods, often preaching several times a week. Read his journal; it may kindle a fire in your bones.

Gray Horse Troop: Forever Soldiers. By Col. Charles R. Baker, USA (Ret). Powder River Publications. ISBN 978-0-9888111-0-2. Signed copy: $18. Write to the author at PO Box 330978, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233.

This searing memoir of the war in Vietnam, and again in Iraq, captures the emotions, fears, and concerns of young men facing life or death in far away lands. Gray Horse Troop is a testament to the gallantry of the men of the 5th Battalion 7th U.S. Cavalry - from Montana in the 1870s to the Middle East in 2005. The author narrates the story about the soldiers, honoring the men who served in this storied unit. From his perspective as the Battalion Operations Officer, he gives a first hand account of combat as part of the legendary 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam in the first half of 1968. 5/7th Cav fights its way into Hue during Tet of 1968, clears the NVA away from the perimeter at Khe Sahn, and pursues the enemy into the infamous A Shau Valley. He provides the big picture that surviving veterans did not get while fighting for survival down at squad level. Gray Horse Troop is a personal account of what the author saw, remembered, and further researched; which he writes about with traces of wit, political incorrectness, and cynicism. Being embedded with 5/7th Cav in Iraq in 2005 provides the framework for recalling the various Vietnam battles. He is blunt about the human costs of war. He writes in simple language, directed beyond the military reader to all who are interested in the Cold War Era.

Great Plains Warriors of World War II: Air Bases and Plants Built for War. By Lt. Col. George A. Larson, USAF (Ret), Black Hills (S.D.) Chapter. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-4379-7.

Until now, Army Air Force Bases in Nebraska during World War II had never before been presented in a single book (most of the photographed structures are no longer visible). These stories and photographs mostly focus on America s Greatest Generation, which fought and won World War II. Also included are information on and images of the Martin B-26/Martin-Boeing B-29 Superfortress production plant at Fort Crook. One section deals with the building of modified B-29s for the 509th Composite Group, referred to after the war as the Atomic Bomb Group, which dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan, ending World War II. Also learn about German and Italian Prisoner of War camps, where POWs contributed to agricultural production in Nebraska, helping feed American troops, Allied troops, and civilian populations around the world. Most Americans are not aware of the huge numbers of Axis POWs held in America during the war.

Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions Inside the White House From Truman to Obama. By Cmdr. Michael K. Bohn, USN (Ret). Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62872-431-8.

Every American president, when faced with a crisis, longs to take bold and decisive action. When American lives or vital interests are at stake, the public—and especially the news media and political opponents—expect aggressive leadership. But, contrary to the dramatizations of Hollywood, rarely does a president have that option.

In Presidents in Crisis, a former director of the Situation Room takes the reader inside the White House during seventeen grave international emergencies handled by the presidents from Truman to Obama: from North Korea’s invasion of South Korea to the revolutions of the Arab Spring, and from the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis to the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran and George W. Bush’s response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. In narratives that convey the drama of unfolding events and the stakes of confrontation when a misstep can mean catastrophe, he walks us step by step through each crisis. Laying out the key players and personalities and the moral and political calculations that the leaders have had to make, he provides a fascinating insider’s look at modern presidential decision making and the fundamental role in it of human frailty.

Ready Then, Ready Now, Ready Always: More than a Century of Service by Citizen-Sailors. By Cmdr. David F. Winkler, USNR (Ret). Navy Reserve Centennial Book Committee. ISBN 978-0-692-32765-4.

Ready Then, Ready Now, Ready Always: More than a Century of Service by Citizen Sailors coincides with the centennial anniversary of the U.S. Navy Reserve on March 3, 2015. However, as the title indicates, Americans have been leaving their civilian occupations since the birth of the Navy in 1775 to serve the nation at sea during times of crises. This heavily illustrated narrative aims to tell about the contributions of those civilians to the nation’s defense and security. Besides providing a broad chronology covering how citizen sailors served as privateers, naval militiamen, National Naval Volunteers, Naval Reservists, and finally simply as Sailors as part of a one Navy concept, the author elected to follow numerous individuals on their journeys in the Navy Reserve as representative stories of the millions of Americans who once wore Navy blue part-time. By highlighting the contributions of these individuals, the intent is to honor all who served in the USNR as well as salute their families for their service to country.

The U.S. Naval Institute on Naval Leadership. Edited by Lt. Cmdr. Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-801-5.

In the U.S. Navy, "Wheel Books" were once found in the uniform pockets of every junior and many senior petty officers. Each small notebook was unique to the Sailor carrying it, but all had in common a collection of data and wisdom that the individual deemed useful in the effective execution of his or her duties. Often used as a substitute for experience among neophytes and as a portable library of reference information for more experienced personnel, those weathered pages contained everything from the time of the next tide, to leadership hints from a respected chief petty officer, to the color coding of the phone-and-distance line used in underway replenishments.

In that same tradition, the new Naval Institute Wheel Books will provide supplemental information, pragmatic advice, and cogent analysis on topics important to all naval professionals. Drawn from the U.S. Naval Institute's vast archives, the series will combine articles from the Institute's flagship publication Proceedings, selections from the oral history collection and from Naval Institute Press books to create unique guides on a wide array of fundamental professional subjects.

Leadership is vital to any highly functioning organization. The Naval Institute has devoted countless pages of its publications to the subject of naval leadership, providing start-up guidance to neophytes, giving voice to the accumulated wisdom and experience of those who have led, and serving as a forum in search of answers to the many questions that have always been a part of this vital but sometimes elusive practice. In the pages of this book are some of the most outstanding examples of this wealth of knowledge, gathered for use by both would-be and seasoned leaders in the never-ending quest for strong and effective leadership.

Fiction 

The Hittite Warrior. By Capt. Delbert Teachout, USAF (Ret). Tate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63122-314-3.

When Uriahs hometown was attacked by enemy soldiers Uriah rallied his friends and encouraged them to fight. His plan worked and they saved the town. The story of his victory spread throughout the land from Anatolia to Egypt. He became the legendary Uriah the Hittite Warrior.

Memoir 

Giving the Infantry a Green Glow. By Lt. Col. Robert Quinn, USA (Ret), Southeastern (N.C.) Chapter. New Hanover. ISBN 978-1-939132-09-3.

In early 1961 the Cold War became colder and the activity in the 2d Armored Division became more intense. President Eisenhower was leaving office and his replacement was the much younger John F. Kennedy. President Eisenhower was the man that won the war in Europe and was considered a master at dealing with the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. The Warsaw Pact was a euphemism for the East European countries that the Soviet Union occupied and controlled when World War II ended and the Cold War began. The Cold War was a stand-off between NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the Western Powers led by the United States and the Warsaw Pact led by the Communist Soviet Union. President Kennedy was tested very early in his presidency by the older more experienced Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev. The provocations were serious ranging from missiles in Cuba, closing the border between Eastern and Western Europe and building a wall around West Berlin. To make matters worse, the Warsaw Pact outnumbered the NATO Forces in soldiers and most significantly in armored vehicles. To deal with this numerical disadvantage, President Eisenhower initiated the development of a special weapon that would give the NATO Forces time to respond to an attack. This special weapon and its effective tactical employment were to fall on the shoulders of young officers in the infantry. The challenge, the weapon, the tactics and the officers were all new. Could the challenge be met? The army leadership at the highest levels wanted to know.

When the Eagle Soared. By Brig. Gen. Donald R. Delauter, USAF (Ret), Life Member, Sandhills (N.C.) Chapter. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1503179776.

This is a chronological account in memoir form of a USAF officer/fighter pilot's career. It covers the military side (training, aircraft flown, operational and staff assignment, base locations and positions held, career path and promotions, etc.) and the family side (family separations, frequent uprooting of children to new schools and communities, wife's worry about the dangers of flying jet fighters, and more) of an Air Force career during the Cold War and the Vietnam War. The book does not address policy, strategy, doctrine and political considerations (except briefly regarding the Vietnam War). It is instead a lighter read about how one man answered his Country's call to duty and enjoyed flying high performance fighter aircraft and the opportunity to serve in various countries and from many different bases. It is a look back at a time in the Air Force when the mission was clear, and the enemy and his capabilities were well known. It was a time when morale always seemed to be high. Considering the situation then, one can almost be nostalgic for the Cold War as compared for example with the war on terrorism. It was a time when military life was at times hard on families, but no where near as tough as currently (2014). All told this is a story about a successful Air Force career that was most enjoyable and personally rewarding.

September 2015

Nonfiction

The Longest Rescue: The Life and Legacy of Vietnam POW William A. Robinson. By Glenn Robbins. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-4323-1.

While serving as a crew chief aboard a U.S. Air Force Rescue helicopter, Airman First Class William A. Robinson was shot down and captured in Ha Tinh Province, North Vietnam, on September 20, 1965. After a brief stint at the "Hanoi Hilton," Robinson endured 2,703 days in multiple North Vietnamese prison camps, including the notorious Briarpatch and various compounds at Cu Loc, known by the inmates as the Zoo. No enlisted man in American military history has been held as a prisoner of war longer than Robinson. For seven and a half years, he faced daily privations and endured the full range of North Vietnam's torture program. 

In The Longest Rescue: The Life and Legacy of Vietnam POW William A. Robinson, Glenn Robins tells Robinson's story using an array of sources, including declassified U.S. military documents, translated Vietnamese documents, and interviews from the National Prisoner of War Museum. Unlike many other POW accounts, this comprehensive biography explores Robinson's life before and after his capture, particularly his estranged relationship with his father, enabling a better understanding of the difficult transition POWs face upon returning home and the toll exacted on their families. Robins's powerful narrative not only demonstrates how Robinson and his fellow prisoners embodied the dedication and sacrifice of America's enlisted men but also explores their place in history and memory.

Military Beginnings: Early Development of American and Maryland Forces. By Maj. Richard J. Martiny, USA (Ret), Star Spangled Banner (Md.) Chapter. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-48264-949-9.

Military Beginnings opens with an examination of the development of militia and regular military forces in the Near East, the Mediterranean rim and Europe, from their ancient beginnings to the early 17th century, when the American colonization was in its infancy. The focus then shifts from the Old World to the New, primarily Maryland, where its early development of militia military units and their utilization in the Province’s defense against internal and external threats is dealt with in detail through the Seven Years/French and Indian War. As the Revolution approached, Maryland and the other colonies stepped up their efforts to develop independent military forces, initially to defend themselves, and then to aggressively engage the British. Smallwood’s Maryland Regiment was the first regular military unit created by the Marylanders in early 1776. It became the state’s first regiment incorporated into the growing Continental Army commanded by George Washington. After he had successfully forced William Howe to leave Boston for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Washington moved his army to New York. He thought, correctly, that it would be Howe’s next objective. Howe departed from Halifax and in the summer of 1776 met the British and Hessian troops that his brother Lord Richard’s fleet had brought from Europe on Staten Island. Washington positioned the majority his troops on Long Island in the mistaken belief that they would be able to adequately cope with and contain the British professionals. Howe also transferred his units to Long Island. On August 27, 1776 he attacked, maneuvered around the Americans’ left flank and proceeded to route them. Washington’s army was disintegrating before his eyes. Smallwood’s Maryland Regiment, with fewer than 400 men, attacked thousands of enemy soldiers multiple times, delaying their advance and allowing many of the fleeing Americans to reach the safety of Brooklyn Heights. Military Beginnings explores Smallwood’s Regiment in detail, its origins, organization, and training in an attempt to determine what military traditions, if any, what expertise, if any, what experience, if any, existed which the Marylanders could build on when creating their Revolutionary War military units, especially this one. Washington’s army was able to withdraw from Long Island and survived five years until it forced Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in October 1781. Smallwood’s Regiment became the core of what evolved into two Maryland Brigades, which fought successfully throughout the rest of the war. They weren't at Yorktown, but their actions and bravery on Long Island were instrumental in allowing the Continental Army to survive long enough to get there. Military Beginnings answers the question of how they did it

The Road to Modern Rocketry. By Cmdr. Doug Gangler, USN (Ret), Life Member. Champion Books. ISBN 978-0-9915177-0-1.

In this riveting book, Doug Gangler brings alive the fast-moving yet intensive history of the modern rocket. Featured are forty-one rocket and space "attractions" spread over the five countries - Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States - in which the story of the modern rocket occurred. Discussed are:

--Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, American Robert Goddard, Austro-Hungarian-German Hermann Oberth, France's Robert Esnault-Pelterie, German-American Wernher von Braun, the Soviet Union's Sergei Korolev, and other great rocketeers.

--The German A-4/V-2 which was the critical link to modern rocketry. This wartime rocket was controversial, yet marked amazing technological progress for its era.

--The latter 1940s/1950s which saw rocket efforts first aimed at ballistic missiles; major resources and technologies were soon also directed toward developing the great launch vehicles - to this day taking magnificent payloads to space.

Pure, fascinating history with a good dose of rocket technology, "The Road to Modern Rocketry" relies on Doug's seamless blending of sources including great publications, archival work, and a superb collection of images, to bring a fresh perspective to rocketry. The present-day launch bases, test/engineering centers, museums, old WW II planned launch bunkers, memorials, rocket/space theme parks, and monuments are an almost unique set of sites telling the incredible, inspirational story of the modern rocket. Let the journey begin!

Fiction

Article 93: Cruelty and Maltreatment. By Lt. Col. William C. Westgard, USA (Ret), Life Member. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1500885977.

Article 93: Cruelty and Maltreatment is a military justice procedural novel. It is set in West Germany in 1964 and recounts the death of an insubordinate trouble maker soldier who has been physically beaten by his superior. It also involves the attempted manipulation of the justice system by a senior commander to his own benefit. It is the fourth in a series on the military-legal career of Charles Kimbrough and his romance with Mathilde von Beningsen.

Article 99: Misbehavior Before the Enemy. By Lt. Col. William C. Westgard, USA (Ret), Life Member. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1503316348.

Article 99: Misbehavior Before the Enemy is the fifth in the series recounting the military legal career of Charles Kimbrough and his romance with Matti von Beneingsen. In this story, Kimbrough is assigned to defend an American officer who is falsely accused, based on racist bias, of cowardice in combat by his military superior. The case is set in the [former] Republic of Vietnam. While it is not based on a real incident, the events and environments described, especially the combat operations of the Republic of Vietnam Army, reflect the author's personal experience.

Article 104: Aiding the Enemy. By Lt. Col. William C. Westgard, USA (Ret), Life Member. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1507766668.

Article 104: Aiding the Enemy is the sixth novel in the series of military-legal mysteries recording the career of Charles Kimbrough in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and his romance with Matti von Beningsen. It is set in the [former] Republic of Vietnam (RVN) and describes the clandestine espionage activities of a young American soldier, the counterintelligence operations of both US and RVN Army agents, the soldier's apprehension and his court-martial. Although not based on real circumstances, the plot reflects the author's experiences, especially the combat actions, during his service in Vietnam. The American soldier, Mark Salzman, is the product of a family in which his parents are both active, covert Communists under the control of the Soviet KGB. He is led to enlist in the Army specifically to act as a penetration agent, and, as the book opens, he has completed two years in France in that capacity and is now working in a US Army detachment advising the armor center of the RVN Army. His work has resulted in Viet Cong successes until the counterintelligence agents discover him, provide him with false information, and offer him redemption to become a double agent. Salzman renegs on the agreement, is apprehended and is tried by general court-martial.

Darker Than Dark: A Story of Courage and Compassion as Four Young Marines Fight to Survive the Vietnam War. By Maj. Gen. John Admire, USMC (Ret), Life Member. Yorkshire Publishing. ISBN 978-1-942451-04-4.

This is a story of the Vietnam War and four young Marines. It's about fighting and killing. Compassion and love, however, are defining parts of the story. The story personalizes what war does to those who fight it and what they do to survive it. Enduring and caring relationships forged in combat are as much a part of their survival, maybe more, as their combat skills. While the book is fiction, the majority is based on actual battles and personal experiences. Vietnam was a challenging war for those on the battlefield to fight as well as those on the home front to support. The conflict was a limited war and the complex nature of such war was confusing and contentious to many. The combatants' frustrations with the war's limitations and the miseries they endured are captured in the actions and thoughts of the Marines. Their story is about living and dying in combat. But it's also about the love and loyalty they share in a truly unique relationship. It's a story that testifies to the human spirit and will as well as the belief that love and friendship conquer all...even the hatreds and animosities of war. The Marines share with you their hopes and dreams as they struggle with the despairs and nightmares of Vietnam. They take you into their battles and bunkers. They acquaint you with combat's horror and humor. The story is the universal infantryman's story for most all who have fought in war-the challenge of defying death daily while fighting to survive till tomorrow. This is also, however, America's story. In the aftermath of Vietnam the consensus was that the war's true legacy would be the lessons learned from it. Vietnam was insidious as well as instructive. Today, the war on terror and the dysfunction of various states and the ideological rivalries in the international community pose serious threats to the stability and security of our world. Then, as well as now, the conflicts of our time and the future present us with challenges similar to Vietnam. We must understand them to protect our freedoms and nation and peace. John Admire is a Vietnam and Gulf War Marine. His 43-year United States Marine Corps career includes 33 years of active duty and 5 combat tours as an Infantry Marine, plus 10 years as a consultant and advisor with the US Joint Forces Command and Military Academy Headmaster. He commanded units world-wide at every level from an Infantry Platoon Leader in Vietnam to the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division in California. He served as the Senior Military Social Aide to the President of the United States at the White House, as the Marine Corps' Legislative Liaison to the United States Congress on Capitol Hill, and as a member of General Colin Powell's Joint Staff in the Pentagon. John is an Oklahoman, born and reared in Tulsa. He is a Phi Beta Kappa and Honors graduate of the University of Oklahoma with one Bachelor's and four Master's degrees.

Saigon Gold. By Lt. Col. Hugh J. Scott, USA (Ret), Grand Canyon (Ariz.) Chapter. Presage Press. ISBN 978-0979953484.

Saigon Gold won the 2010 Gold Medal award for fiction from the Military Writers Society of America.

Veterans and tourists will be entranced by this fast-paced thriller in which a decorated American officer returns to Vietnam and must face the harsh truths of his military exploits. The daring plot includes China's expansionist navy attempting to seize a key base, thus upsetting the balance of military power in the Western Pacific.

Robert Anderson is lured into a scheme to help a wartime friend recover a gold fortune. But a vengeful North Vietnamese official is watching. Discovery of cryptic documents about an ambush that only Anderson and a Vietnamese officer survived launches Anderson and companion Jenny Ngo on a wild chase around scenic Vietnam to unravel their secret before every witness is silenced by a mysterious killer.

This Nation Under Attack. By Lt. Col. Alex Salaiz, USAR (Ret), Life Member. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-4602-4553-8.

The extreme right wing (Tea Party) votes not to approve both the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling increase eventually causing the federal government to shutdown. This gives a wealthy expatriated American the idea that this is the process to use to bring the US government down. Failure to approve the debt ceiling increase would cause a catastrophic effect not only in the United States but throughout the free world because the United States would default on its debt. This would definitely bring the US economy down and destroy the country. A corrupt Congressman is bribed with a few thousand dollars by the wealthy expatriated American to keep the US Congress from approving a continuing resolution (CR) and the debt ceiling increase. But the Congressman was talking too much and the expatriated American sends a terrorist to shut him up by assassinating him. He does not need the Congressman; other members of Congress are doing what he wants done. Rookie FBI agent Chad Winters recognizes the assassin as a former Guantanamo detainee he had interviewed while he was in the Army and finds out the shooter is the link to the expatriated American. The goal of the expatriated American in conjunction with the al-Qaida leadership was to bring the United States down based on their Muslim propaganda beliefs that the United States is to blame for all of their nations’ problems. No more flying planes into buildings. They will instead use the US Congress to do their job. Will they succeed? The events become extremely challenging for the retired Army Colonel Winters more than the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq or the clandestine operation into Pakistan in solving the crime and bringing the expatriated American financier hiding in Yemen to face justice in the United States.

Totem. By Capt. James A.B. Hadman, USN (Ret), Life Member. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4917-6106-9.

When Abraham Petrovich leaves his native Russia to join the 1741 Bering Expedition of Discovery to explore what is now Alaska, he can only think of finding his fortune in a strange new land.

That vision comes to an abrupt halt, however, when he and a shipmate are captured by Tlingit natives near present-day Sitka after a horrifying bear attack.

Abraham's ability to adapt to an alien culture is tested, and with the help of the village chief and guidance from his wife, he fits into what he discovers is a complicated society.

The shaman wants to kill the whitefaces, but the chief wants to learn from the strangers. When the shaman conspires to get his way, Abraham and his surviving family flee Sitka fearing for their lives.

Finding refuge in Klawak, Abraham immerses himself in Tlingit life-not knowing that he'll soon make an eerie discovery on a deserted beach that will solidify his place among the Tlingits.

Abraham continues his incredible journey, seeking whitefaces like himself, but he ultimately finds something much more valuable as he explores the land and meets new people in Totem.

Memoir

A Different Face of War: Memories of a Medical Service Corps Officer in Vietnam. By Col. James G. Van Straten, USA (Ret), Life Member, MOAA Alamo (Texas) Chapter. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 978-1574416176.

A Different Face of War is a riveting account of one American officer in the Medical Service Corps during the early years of the Vietnam War. 

Assigned as the senior medical advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in I Corps, an area close to the DMZ, James G. Van Straten traveled extensively and interacted with military officers and non-commissioned officers, peasant-class farmers, Buddhist bonzes, shopkeepers, scribes, physicians, nurses, the mentally ill, and even political operatives. He sent his wife daily letters from July 1966 through June 1967, describing in impressive detail his experiences, and those letters became the primary source for his memoir. 

The author describes with great clarity and poignancy the anguish among the survivors when an American cargo plane in bad weather lands short of the Da Nang Air Base runway on Christmas Eve and crashes into a Vietnamese coastal village, killing more than 100 people and destroying their village; the heart-wrenching pleadings of a teenage girl that her shrapnel-ravaged leg not be amputated; and the anger of an American helicopter pilot who made repeated trips into a hot landing zone to evacuate the wounded, only to have the Vietnamese insist that the dead be given a higher priority.

An Airman’s Journey: From 1947 Enlistment Through 1972 — Always a New Adventure. By Maj. Robert M. Fletcher, USAF (Ret). Strategic Book Group. ISBN 978-1-63135-400-7.

From enlistment at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1947 to Las Vegas, Warner Robins, post-war Japan, to Korea, Germany, and Okinawa, Robert Fletcher rose through the ranks of the US Air Force and proudly retired as a Major with full honors. His chosen field was meteorology and he later became a high school physics teacher. Truly "a life well lived". Fort Benning, Georgia • Lackland, San Antonio, Texas • Randolph, San Antonio, Texas • Goodfellow, San Angelo, Texas • Las Vegas, Nevada • Robins, Warner Robins, Georgia • Camp Stoneman, California • Johnson, Japan • Korea • Germany • University of Georgia, (AFROTC) • Tyndall, Panama City, Florida • Tinker, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • Oklahoma A&M, Stillwater, Oklahoma • Pinecastle, Orlando, Florida • McCoy, Orlando, Florida • Naha, Okinawa, Japan • Grand Forks, North Dakota • Shemya, Alaska • Ramstein, Germany • Simmons, Fort Bragg, North Carolina • Pope, Fayetteville, North Carolina • Tanson Knut-Vietnam • Eglin, Florid

October 2015

Nonfiction

Boots and Saddles: Military Leaders of the American West. By Col. Thomas Phillips, USAF (Ret). Caxton Press. ISBN 978-087004-591-2.

The Indian Wars of the American West were fought over a period of more than three decades across a landscape that spanned more than half of the land mass of the lower continental United States. The leaders of the small army that was sent to carry out the government's policies faced formidable adversaries. Tenacious and aggressive, native warriors formed what some have called "the best light cavalry in the World". The officers that confronted them faced a daunting tasks. Some succeeded brilliantly; others failed utterly. 

Boots and Saddles: Military Leaders of the American West provides an encompassing look at the leaders and the battles they fought, often in conditions notable for difficult terrain and inhospitable climate. This comprehensive work captures the personalities, abilities, triumphs, failures, and lasting legacies of the leaders who waged the campaigns of the American West. 

Business Espionage: Risks, Threats, and Countermeasures. By Lt. Col. Bruce Wimmer, USAF (Ret), Life Member. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-12-420054-8.

Business Espionage: Risk, Threats, and Countermeasures provides the best practices needed to protect a company's most sensitive information. It takes a proactive approach, explaining the measures and countermeasures that can be enacted to identify both threats and weaknesses. The text fully explains the threat landscape, showing not only how spies operate, but how they can be detected.

Drawn from the author’s 40 years of experience, this vital resource will give readers a true understanding of the threat of business spying and what businesses can do to protect themselves. It is ideal for use as a tool to educate staff on the seriousness of the threat of business espionage.

Courage, Compassion, Marine: The Unique Story of Jimmie Dyess. By Maj. Gen. Perry Smith, USAF (Ret), Life Member. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4917-6691-0.

For his extraordinary bravery in the rescue of a drowning woman, Clemson undergraduate Jimmie Dyess received America's top civilian award for heroism, the Carnegie Medal. Sixteen years later, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Dyess led his battalion into combat. He went behind enemy lines to save four wounded Marines. The next day, Dyess was shot and killed. For his exemplary valor and leadership in combat, he received the Medal of Honor. May Jimmie Dyess's life of service and selfsacrifice be an inspiration to all.

A Hero’s Walk: The World War II Journey of Lt. B.B. Darnell. By Mike Darnell. CreateSpace. ISBN 9781511521598.

Growing up on a small farm in rural Alabama, B.B. Darnell had never traveled far from home. Entering the Army in 1942, World War II changed everything for the soft-spoken, humble young man. By the time World War II was over, he had journeyed thousands of miles and had become a decorated combat veteran with the singular purpose of making it home to marry the woman he loved. “A Hero’s Walk” is the story of his journey. 

Proceeds from this book will be used to benefit veterans through USA Cares, a non-profit organization that assists military families. 

Lt. Darnell served in the 328^th Field Artillery Battalion, 85^th Infantry Division. In the fall of 1944, he was an artillery forward observer moving with the infantry in the Apennine Mountains of northern Italy during the bloody battle to break the Nazi’s Gothic Line. After a brutal series of assaults and counter-attacks, his commanding officer wrote the following: 

“When Lt. Darnell was relieved and returned to the battery he was staggering from sheer fatigue and illness. He had been in the assault with the infantry for twenty-one days. Two different forward observer parties had been with him and were completely exhausted. He had always been with the spearhead of the attack, never faltering, never asking for relief and even refusing it when he was told to take it. Upon return to his organization he was placed under immediate medical care, but refused evacuation to a hospital, remaining with his battery which was moving in the attack in support of the infantry. Lt. Darnell’s devotion to duty, his extreme courage in the face of withering enemy fire, severe illness and extreme fatigue as well as his superior leadership at the most critical moments were an inspiration to his men and are in the finest tradition of the service.”

Two years earlier, B.B. Darnell had just turned 21 years old and graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). Along with his degree in Agriculture, he received his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

His overseas journey began on Christmas Eve, 1943, as the 328^th loaded onto a ship in Hampton Roads, VA, bound for North Africa. They joined the war in Italy in March of 1944. From Naples to Trieste, Lt. Darnell slogged northward in that bloody conflict, enduring physical, emotional, and mental ordeals he never could have imagined. 

The crucible of battle exposed the young man’s fear as well as his courage. It also strengthened his faith in God and galvanized his desire to marry the woman he loved. He finally returned home to Alabama in November, 1945, determined to build a life with his beloved Mildred. 

B.B. Darnell’s story is similar to thousands of other young men in an era of heroes who came from the farms, small towns, and cities in the United States to confront evil in another part of the world. And when the enemy was defeated, the survivors returned home, forever changed. 

Follow this young soldier’s journey through war overseas as author Mike Darnell tells his father’s remarkable story. 

A portion of the proceeds from “A Hero’s Walk” will be donated to USA Cares. USA Cares is a nonprofit organization that supports military families by providing emergency financial assistance in the forms of grants not loans. Preventing evictions, foreclosures, auto repossessions, keeping the electricity turned on and food on the table. For additional information about USA Cares, go to http://www.usacares.org

War in the Chesapeake: The British Campaigns to Control the Bay, 1813-14. By Lt. Col. Charles Neimeyer, USMC (Ret), Life Member. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-865-7.

In the early nineteenth century, the United States of America was far from united. The United States faced internal strife over the extent of governance and the rights of individual states. The United States' relationship with their former colonial power was also uncertain. Britain impressed American sailors and supported Native Americans' actions in the northwest and on the Canadian border. In the summer of 1812, President James Madison chose to go to war against Britain. War in the Chesapeake illustrates the causes for the War of 1812, the political impacts of the war on America, and the war effort in the Chesapeake Bay. 

The book examines the early war efforts, when both countries focused efforts on Canada and the Northwest front. Some historians claim Madison chose to go to war in an attempt to annex the neighboring British territories. The book goes on to discuss the war in the Chesapeake Bay. The British began their Chesapeake campaign in an effort to relieve pressure on their defenses in Canada. Rear Admiral George Cockburn led the resulting efforts, and began to terrorize the towns of the Chesapeake. From Norfolk to Annapolis, the British forces raided coastal towns, plundering villages for supplies and encouraging slaves to join the British forces. The British also actively campaigned against the large American frigates- seeing them as the only threat to their own naval superiority. 

War in the Chesapeake traces these British efforts on land and sea. It also traces the Americans' attempts to arm and protect the region while the majority of the American regular forces fought on the Northwest front. In the summer campaign of 1814, the British trounced the Americans at Bladensburg, and burned Washington, D.C. Afterwards, the Baltimoreans shocked the British with a stalwart defense at Fort McHenry. The British leaders, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Major General Robert Ross, did not expect strong resistance after their quick victories at Bladensburg. 

War in the Chesapeake tells the story of some of the earliest national heroes, including the defenders of Baltimore and naval leaders like John Rodgers and Stephen Decatur. The following December 1814, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending hostilities and returning North America to a peaceful status quo. The United States and neighboring Canada would not go to war on opposing sides again. The United States left the war slightly more unified and independent of the British.

Fiction

Balance of Night: A Military Procedural. By Maj. Allan P. Avery, USMC (Ret), Life Member. Amazon Digital Services. ASIN B00PYN61VK.

Sometimes the reward is getting out alive. A Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules aerial tanker aircraft carrying 36 marines has plenty of fuel on a dark night over the storm tossed South Pacific until a desperately low fuel Navy Hornet fighter arrives. Risk everyone so no one is left behind? The requirements for success are perfection in calculations, airmanship, nerve, and luck. 

Christmas and marines are on liberty in Brisbane, Australia and the Gold Coast. If only half the truth is told of how good it was the marines will still be called liars when they return to Okinawa. 

There can be great risk in defending the right of free passage in international waters, particularly if those waters are claimed by North Korea. The United States Navy deliberately sails into harm's way to assert the right of free passage, on the high seas, for every nation. Sailors and marines man the ships and aircraft necessary to protect the fleet as it asserts the right in dangerous waters. 

Peacetime is not war, except for the casualties. A benign environment in a non-combatant evacuation south east of the Strait of Malacca turns to war for the handful of marines involved. 

Flavius Josephus stated the philosophy of the Roman legions of antiquity: "The drills are bloodless battles and the battles are bloody drills." The succinct and echoing words of the Marine D.I. are: "the more you sweat in peace the less you bleed in war." Every marine knows this to be true. 

Some marines can justify leaving another marine to the mercy of wrongful court martial but cannot leave a marine to die on the battlefield. A marine lacking moral courage is not necessarily a marine lacking physical courage. Only one attribute may be needed for promotion. 

This novel is a modern military procedural. The duties, demands, and procedures described in this novel are factual within the realm of literary license. The novel revolves around the routine yet demanding service in a Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules aircraft squadron in what is considered peacetime. The story is the result of the author's sense of the flavor of the times, experiences and situations that could have evolved as told here.

Lightning Strikes Twice. By Lt. Cmdr. William H. LaBarge, USN (Ret). Gordian Knot Books. ISBN 978-1-937530-66-2.

From William H. LaBarge, Author of Four National Bestselling Books and Co-Author of Aviation Book of The Year SWEETWATER GUNSLINGER 201: The news is grim. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has threatened to attack Iran if they don't stop enriching uranium. United States interests back the threat. In LaBarge's latest novel, Lightning Strikes Twice, U.S. Navy pilots Captain "Sweetwater" Sullivan and Lieutenant "BigHands" Johnson, aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), are called upon to carry out the impossible mission of deterring the Iranian threat under daunting circumstances. Lightning Strikes Twice is an action-packed story dealing with today's current events. The covert operation during the story is called "Rolling Thunder." The story deals with the Bushehr Nuclear Plant in Iran, the Newest Stealth Fighter F-35C, the CIA, Navy SEALs, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, the world's longest sniper kill shot, and an SSGN Nuclear Submarine with the SHED. This electrifying story is bigger than today's political winds on Capitol Hill. The F-35C has the most advanced Integrated Senor Fusing Technology and Multispectral Electro-Optical Targeting capability in the world, and this jaw-dropping story is a fast-paced political thriller.

The Prayer Rug. By Cmdr. H.M. Hymas, USN, Life Member. Black Rose Writing. ISBN 978-1-61296-538-3.

Powerfully emotional, The Prayer Rug is a story of strength, faith and resilience. Reem, a wife and mother of two, is caught in Iraq after the invasion of US Forces. What began as a future full of hope slowly begins to unravel before her eyes. As the original effort to remove a tyrannical dictator degrades into civil war, it engulfs everyone and everything around her. Everything she loves is slowly taken from her as she watches forces beyond her control destroy her family. Helpless, she clings to her prayer rug in an effort to find strength and peace.

The Second Advocate. By 1st Lt. Harry H. Seipel, USMC (Ret). Xlibris. ASIN B00Q7UDVTO. 

Memoir

From Watermelon Inspector to the White House. By Lt. Col. Henry Spencer Faircloth, USAF (Ret), Life Member, Sun City Center (Fla.) Chapter. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1503555310.

For an old country boy from South Georgia, I never dreamed of all the adventures my journey through life would produce during my eighty-plus years on this earth. I began life with two loving Christian parents who taught me I could achieve any goal if I worked hard and followed my Christian upbringing. I graduated from Leesburg High School in 1947, one of ten in my class, and set out to put those lessons into practice. After my first year at Emory at Oxford College, it was clear I had not been exposed to as comprehensive an education as many of my fellow students. I was a young man from a small Southern town, and I still had a lot more to learn. But I was also the son of parents who taught me the value of working and learning and challenging myself, so I never shied away from hard or demanding work. Decades of service in the United States Air Force, including two tours in Cold War Europe and leading a committee for the President of the United States, would continue my education. I approached each new challenge with the same understanding and determination as that first semester of college. Maybe I was not as equipped as I could have been, but I could learn and I would not quit. With each success, my bosses continued to recommend me for more important and more challenging work, and each recommendation gave me the confidence I needed to rise to the next challenge. Over the years I have laughed with famous actors and fighter aces, dined with mob bosses, and partied with presidents. I have worked to dig civilization out from the ruins of war, helped feed a continent, flown around the world in service to my country and her veterans, and built a life with the most amazing woman I have ever known. This incredible journey has taught me many important lessons and left me with countless stories of historic events and incomparable people. I feel blessed to have lived this life, and I hope my stories are an equal blessing to you.

Grandfather’s Journal: A Grandson’s Journey into His Grandfather’s Life. By Capt. Tom Maxwell, USN (Ret), Life Member. WestBow Press. ISBN 978-1490850863. 

In 2012, after sharing a number of sea stories with my only grandson, I was told I needed to write a life journal to include my years as a child in the Philippine Islands just following World War II. The journal, which addressed a time from June 7, 1935 to December 28, 2013, includes the important events of my life, including my twenty-seven years in the US Navy. As could be expected, there are more reflections from my years as a naval aviator, flying combat missions in Vietnam and numerous secret missions against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. 

Not as exciting, but just as important, was my journal following my naval service after my retirement in December 1982. Most importantly, I have shared what took place in my life on June 9, 1977, two days after my 42nd birthday and two days before my oldest son graduated from high school, when I accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life. This event radically changed my life and immediately healed a broken family. It also addressed the thirty-plus years in which I was called as a volunteer to serve the least of these in our prison systems. If I have a desire for the journal, it would be that it encourage others to address the importance of their spiritual needs before age forty-two and that it would challenge my grandchildren in their walk with Christ.

Silver Taps. By Lt. Col. Max L. Knight, USA (Ret). Outskirts Press Inc. ISBN 978-1-4787-5175-5.

"Silver Taps" is the author's personal journey coming to grips with the loss of his father. It illuminates their relationship and describes what it is to be a hero in the context of love, friendship, and respect. It contains the memories, anecdotes, and musings of a son written down for his children and grandchildren, but will resonate with anyone who fondly remembers a parent whom they loved and who loved them in return. The book also explores the terrible effects of dementia and the dynamics of a family trying to understand and cope with Alzheimer's disease, their reaction and interaction following the death of a family member, and how faith gives hope to some and raises questions in others. The book's title pays homage to the traditions at Texas A&M University, the author's alma mater. The institution, the Corps of Cadets, and its time honored customs serve as the backdrop for the inspirational tribute to a man who served his country in three wars; World War II, Korea, and Vietnam while also caring for family. Whether the reader is looking for inspiration or entertainment, "Silver Taps" delivers.

December 2015

Nonfiction  

Afrique: A Warning for America. By Lt. Col. Henry John Poole, USMC (Ret). ISBN: 978-0-98186-590-4.  

Through intelligence-gathering methods routinely used by U.S. law enforcement agencies for crime solving, Afrique reveals for the first time just how completely Africa has now been subverted by America’s long-time foes. Not only have Muslim expansionists been making great inroads there, but also those from the People’s Republic of China. Afrique then briefly discusses how the U.S. military might more effectively block this takeover.  

Blades of Thunder Book One. By Lt. Col. W. Larry Dandridge, USA (Ret), Charleston (S.C.) Chapter. Tigers, Vikings, and Vipers Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-0-578-15637-8.  

Six young Army pilots and green officers, all between 20 and 21 years old, arrive in Vietnam where they each become men, highly skilled pilots, and proficient officers within a few months. None of them will be the same after their first combat tour in Vietnam. All of them will bear the scars of war for life, either physically, mentally, or both. All will be spiritually strengthened, and none will ever be the same. Some soon will be dead, and most will be injured or wounded within the next 12 months. One will become an amputee, and all will suffer from varying degrees of post-traumatic stress for the rest of their lives. All will become beloved brothers, and all will honor their families, friends, and this great nation with their dedication, sacrifice, courage, and love of family, country, and God!