Nonfiction

Aboard the Farragut Class Destroyers in World War II: A History With First-Person Accounts of Enlisted Men. By Capt. Leo Block, USN (Ret), Life Member. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-4222-5. 240 pp. $39.95.

This book describes the life of the enlisted man aboard a Farragut class destroyer during the pre-World War II years; the war preparation period in 1941; and the wartime years. It features first-person narrations collected from interviews and correspondence with the few remaining Farragut class destroyer sailors, and briefly describes the evolution of the destroyer and the Farragut class destroyers, five of which survived the war.

Acres Aweigh! A True Story of the History of Naval Station Mayport. By CWO2 Joe Abb Overby, USN (Ret). Global Authors Publishers. ISBN 978-0982122389. 172 pp. $9.82.

Those who see Naval Station Mayport as it is today may not realize that the property where they now stand once held a thriving resort called Wonderwood By-The-Sea. Acres Aweigh! is the story of that time, and of the woman who developed the resort, Mrs. Elizabeth P. Stark. Get to know and love this fascinating, courageous and groundbreaking woman as young tug master Overby himself knew her. But Acres Aweigh! is more than Mrs Stark's story. It is also the story of a growing Navy base during the author's tour of duty there and his adventures aboard his aging tugboat, jokingly called "June-Moon-Uniform." It will bring a knowing smile to the face of any sailor who's ever served at Mayport or aboard a Navy ship. 

Dartmouth Veterans: Vietnam Perspectives. Edited by Phillip C. Schaefer, with several essays by MOAA members. Dartmouth College Press. ISBN 978-1-61168-549-7. 400 pp. $23.42. 

These are tales of what it was like for young men to go from the bucolic hills of New Hampshire to a land wracked by war and violence. The result is a collection of more than fifty accounts, showing the variety of experiences and reactions to this dramatic period in American history. Some soldiers were drafted, some volunteered; some supported the war, but many turned against it. Common to all the stories is the way in which war changes men, for good and ill, and the way in which the Vietnam experience colored so much of the rest of these writers’ lives. 

For God and Country: Considering the Call to Military Chaplaincy. By Lt. Col. Brian L. Bohlman, ANG, Life Member. So Help Me God Project. E-book ASIN B004P8JSWO. 131 pp. $6.99. 

Considering the call to ministry can be a difficult process. When one senses a call to ministry outside the traditional church setting, such as the military chaplaincy, there can be a greater deal of difficulty in discerning the call. The author writes from a Christian perspective and holds the premise that the vocation of military chaplaincy is a high and honorable calling from God. 

This project examines the call to serve as a military chaplain in the United States Armed Forces among a group of fifteen seminary students. The majority of the participants were students at Columbia International University. Several others attended Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. To assist these students in discerning a call to military chaplaincy, a three-session small group workshop was developed and held during the spring 2008 semester.

The goal of the students was to discern and demonstrate a clear call to military chaplaincy as they participated in the workshop. The goal of the workshop facilitator, who also helps recruit military chaplains, was to list and interpret the common factors and vocational motivations of the seminary students called to serve as military chaplains.

The dissertation explores the call to military chaplaincy as an act of ministry that involves an initial call from God, the confirmation of the Church, and the obedience of the person who says, “Here am I, send me” (Isaiah 6:8b). The author views Christian chaplains in the military as an extension of Christ’s ministry to all people and examines several Biblical texts that relate to the various aspects of the military chaplaincy and provide a Biblical basis for ministry.

The outcomes of this project will benefit military chaplain recruiters, vocational counselors, denominational endorsers of military chaplains, and any person who is considering the military chaplaincy as a vocation.

Post 8195: Black Soldiers Tell Their Vietnam Stories. Edited by former Army Sgt. Bobby White, with a chapter by Maj. Charles James, USA (Ret). Beckham Publications Group. ISBN 978-0-9848243-5-9. 228 pp. $15.53. 

VFW Post 8195 in West Park, Florida, through the Stone of Hope Program, organized services and programs to help Vietnam and other military veterans and their families who had special needs. "The Vietnam War was physically, spiritually and emotionally exhausting for us," says post commander Bobby White. In this unique collection, he has brought together the words of 23 veterans who witnessed the war's cruelty and brutality. Through their testimonies, White reminds us that the war's impact has been long-lasting, with both negative and positive results. Readers will be riveted by their narratives of racism, hostile battlefields, ambush zones, fire fights, land mines, flashbacks, search-and-destroy missions, military police operations, working with K-9s, and finally addressing and putting the PTSD issues at ease. 

Fiction 

Return to Harvest: A Novel of Hope About Recovering From PTSD. By Lt. Col. Banks Hudson, USAR (Ret), Life Member. ISBN 978-0-615-93249-1. 772 pp. $25.95. Available as an e-book. 

This is a gripping story of two soldiers, Jett and Ace, coming home from war who dread facing the new battles of adjustment from the horrors of combat to their old life in the mountains of North Carolina. You follow these two life long friends through the trauma of their last long range patrol and through their struggles to rebuild their lives. Driven by their desperation to numb the darkness of unspeakable memories, they turn to sex and booze which leads to betrayal, hurt, confusion and problems with the law. Intensifying their heart ache and pain, those choices drive them further into despair and isolation from families, friends and the women in their lives. After a life threatening experience, they are forced to face the reality they are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Through the urging of family and an increasing sense of desperation, they reluctantly agree to participate with eight other combat veterans in a PTSD treatment program led by a psychologist they call, “Doc.” They share a sense of urgency to find some relief from suicidal thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks, isolation and depression. Two of the veterans face an additional crisis. A female veteran lost an arm and a male lost vision in one eye. Doc introduces them to a new form of “basic training” which is received with mixed reactions. In and outside the group, you walk with them through their hopelessness, rage, despair, and tears. They experience hope and possibility not only through what Doc teaches, but through the close bond that forms between these soldiers that share the experience of combat. They stand together to cry, laugh and relive their trauma to find hope for recovery from a source they never suspected. 

Memoir

An Aviator’s Journal. By Lt. Col. James D. Fox, USA (Ret). Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4653-4499-1. 434 pp. $31.49. 

The story of a young man's humble beginnings to become a corporate pilot for the worlds largest oil company. With only his experience from a Piper Cub J-3 he competes in the world of experienced military and airline pilots for the top job as one of the frirst generation of business jet pilots.  Lockheed called them Jet Squires. 

His story of personal rejection because of his lack of experience to his rise in the ranks contains elements of adventure with sometimes a humorous tint. 

A study of pilot personalities is part of the story; of pilots that have done nothing in their life but fly airplanes, and they hate it! 

It is a fun read. 

First in Vietnam: An Exercise in Excess of 30 Days. By Col. Emmett F. Knight, USA (Ret), Life Member. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4918-4505-9. 364 pp. $21.56. 

This book is about the continuation of someone else's war and the very early days in the assumption of that war by the United States of America. It is set against the beginning of a major expansion of our advisory effort supporting the South Vietnamese Government which was fighting against an expanding guerrilla war supported by the communist North. North Vietnam was in turn supported by both China and Russia, thus setting the stage for an essentially no win situation. The geopolitical problem was, of course, of limited concern to most of those soldiers who fought there, including the men of the 57th Transportation Helicopter Company. As conditions worsened they just went out and flew the missions including the first heliborne assault of the war and for a year afterward. In words written at the time, this was a period when they were not going by the book, they were writing the book on helicopter combat operations. This is their story as told by the operations officer that led the flying activity in the unit. It is a description of the training, deployment and first missions in Vietnam. It recounts the serious aspects encountered in the early days, but it also tells of the accidents, incidents and the humorous side of things that are often left out of wartime accounts. There are chapters about dealing with the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps as they entered the fray. Not the least of the story has to do with the interaction between the author and some of the more senior officers involved in the war at that time. In those cases, the author often contradicts the official view and draws uncomplimentary conclusions about their conduct and eventual impact on the Vietnam War. 

Flying in the Land of Sand and Sun: The Land of Mystery and Intrigue. By Lt. Col. James D. Fox, USA (Ret). Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4797-8607-0. $34.99. Any book purchased from the author will be personally autographed by the author at no additional charge. Contact: jfox@vvm.com. 

This is the story of a pilot's adventures and education while flying for the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia. A land of mystery and intrigue. There are no tourists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. You must have a government sponsor with an entry visa to go there. An exit visa will be issued after your arrival at the discretion of the government. To go there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to leave. The author was held sixty-days beyond his contract before he was allowed to leave. The mail is censored both coming and going. Mail from the USA is sometimes as late as six months. Photographs are forbidden without express permits from the government. Photos made by the author were made without a permit and were taken from suitcases passing through airport checkpoints. Hotels and fine dining rooms are primarily for men only. Separate and isolated sections are for families (men with their wives). There are no movie theaters or places of entertainment as known in the rest of world. No religion other that Islam is tolerated. The author explains his experience there with some tongue in cheek. To live in a place that has much wealth and is still trying to bring its nomadic people still dedicated to tribalism into the modern world is an education. In the most part the Saudis are a very friendly people, and they love Americans . . . in the most part. If you think that recent coverage of the Middle East on television has given you knowledge of what that part of the world is like, then please read on. 

Just a Dumb Kid From Nowhere. By CWO2 Joe Abb Overby, USN (Ret). iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-36802-6. 182 pp. $16.95. 

Please, Bill, don't shoot! A shotgun blast changes young Joe Overby's life forever. After his father shoots the county sheriff, three-year-old Joe sets out on an unimaginable series of adventures. Just A Dumb Kid From Nowhere takes you back to Depression-era Mississippi. Join Joe as he lives life in an orphanage, in a series of sharecropper's shacks, in a log cabin, and on a farm. Learn what it was like to pick cotton by hand, to harvest sorghum, to make molasses, and to work the wheat harvest during World War II. With Joe, you'll share in the joys, yearnings, and desperations of a growing boy as he discovers the world and his place in it. Through this anything-but-dumb kid, you'll laugh and cry, always rooting for the boy who is determined to make something of himself. If you want to experience life in the rural South during this formative time in America's history-the food, clothing, culture, and customs-Just A Dumb Kid From Nowhere will take you there. 

No Bell for Dak To. By Col. Michael P. Umhofer, USA. Luthers Publishing. ISBN 1-877633-49-6. 322 pp. $25. Purchase from Kate Umhofer, 1531 Rugged Ct., Midlothian, TX 76065, or call Ann Umhofer-Marich at (623) 414-0868. A videocassette is available upon request for $10 (includes postage). 

This book is the daily journal of Col. Michael P. Umhofer, describing events and personal attitudes, as objectively as possible during his assignment as a Civil Affairs Officer within the 1^st Bde. Of the 4^th Infantry Division Army located in the central highlands of Pleiku Province. The journal begins in 9 July 1967 through 30 June 1968. 

Turning Final: A Life Complete. By Lt. Col. Jim Reed, USAF (Ret), Life Member. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4269-6319-3. 228 pp. $14.27. 

Jim Reed has had a life of diverse adventure. From sending U-2's to the North Pole, retrieving missiles in the open ocean, and a flying and boating career that spanned the world, he has done just about everything that you could pack into one lifetime. Turning Finalcaptures those adventures and shares it with all of us who dream of meeting exciting challenges. This story is about a real life pilot/sailor who accomplished things that most people only dream about while at the same time he and his lovely wife raised a family of four boys. His life truly spans the world.

August 2014

Nonfiction

America’s Joint General: Leadership Analysis of Air Force General David C. Jones the Ninth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By Lt. Col. John R. Edwards, USAF, Life Member. BiblioScholar. ISBN 978-1249415510. 118 pp. $49. 

A leadership biography of General (ret) David Jones, 9th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff and Air Force Chief of Staff.  The framework for analysis is US Air Force Doctrine AFDD 1-1 Leadership.  Gen Jones lead the Air Force during the post-Vietnam War era from 1974-1978 where he was instrumental to the creation of Exercise Red Flag; acquisition of the A-10, F-15, F-16 and E-3; development of the F-117 Stealth Fighter; and the challenges of the "Hollow Force."  He later became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Iranian Hostage Crisis and its failed rescue attempt that spurred efforts for reorganization, which was the genesis for the Goldwater-Nichols Act. 

Civil War Soldiers of Kendall County, Texas: A Biographical Dictionary. By Col. Frank W. Kiel, USA (Ret), Life Member, Texas Hill Country Chapter. Skyline Ranch Press, 133 Skyline Dr., Comfort, TX 78013. ISBN 978-0-9834160-1-2. $35 plus $4 shipping and handling. 

The 373 biographies vary in size — some brief, some long. They include men with a short time in Kendall County, or long; some at the time of the Civil War and some afterwards. An essay on the subject precedes the biographies. 

Ten appendices analyze aspects of service, such as unit affiliation, prisoner/wounded/dead, obituaries and cemeteries identified, last living soldiers and last widows, etc. 

Controlling Paris: Armed Forces and Counter-Revolution, 1789-1848. By Col. Jonathan M. House, USA (Ret). New York University Press. ISBN 978-1-4798-8115-4. 324 pp. $55. 

When not at war, armies are often used to control civil disorders, especially in eras of rapid social change and unrest. But in nineteenth century Europe, without the technological advances of modern armies and police forces, an army’s only advantages were discipline and organization—and in the face of popular opposition to the regime in power, both could rapidly deteriorate. Such was the case in France after the Napoleonic Wars, where a cumulative recent history of failure weakened an already fragile army’s ability to keep the peace. 

After the February 1848 overthrow of the last king of France, the new republican government proved remarkably resilient, retaining power while pursuing moderate social policies despite the concerted efforts of a variety of radical and socialist groups. These efforts took numerous forms, ranging from demonstrations to attempted coups to full-scale urban combat, and culminated in the crisis of the June Days. At stake was the future of French government and the social and economic policy of France at large. 

In Controlling Paris, Jonathan M. House offers us a study of revolution from the viewpoint of the government rather than the revolutionary. It is not focused on military tactics so much as on the broader issues involved in controlling civil disorders: relations between the government and its military leaders, causes and social issues of public disorder, political loyalty of troops in crisis, and excessive use of force to control civil disorders. Yet somehow, despite all these disadvantages, the French police and armed forces prevented regime change far more often than they failed to do so. 

Viper-7: Forward Air Controlling in South Vietnam in 1966. By Lt. Col. Charles L. Pocock, USAF (Ret), Life Member. McNaughton & Gunn Inc. ISBN 0-9703068-0-6. 448 pp. $36. 

Charles L. Pocock records what happened during his tour of duty as a FAC pilot. Viper-7 was his call sign. His account is gripping. While in country for 12 months, he flew 628 combat missions; one night he walked out of the jungle when his plane was hit by ground fire; has 12 notches on his M-16; on one intense encounter against insurgents, he directed 24 flights providing 62 sorties; and became a “brother” of one of the indigenous Montagnards tribes during one of their religious ceremonies. 

Whips to Walls: Naval Discipline From Flogging to Progressive Era Reform at Portsmouth Prison. By Capt. Rodney K. Watterson, USN (Ret), Life Member. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-445-1. 272 pp. $59.95. 

The abolishment of flogging in 1850 started the U.S. Navy on a quest for a prison system that culminated with the opening of Portsmouth Naval Prison in 1908. During World War I, that prison became the center of the Navy's attempt to reform what many considered outdated means of punishment. Driven by Progressive Era ideals and led by Thomas Mott Osborne, cell doors remained opened, inmates governed themselves, and thousands of rehabilitated prisoners were returned to the fleet. Championed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt, Osborne's reforms proceeded positively until Vice Adm. William. Sims and others became convinced that too many troublemakers were being returned to the fleet. In response, FDR led an on-site investigation of conditions at Portsmouth prison, which included charges of gross mismanagement and rampant homosexual activity. Although exonerated, Osborne resigned and initiatives were quickly reversed as the Navy returned to a harsher system. 

Fiction

Buckskin Scots: Book I of the Creation of America. By Col. Art Loughry, USMC (Ret), Life Member. Booklocker.com. ISBN 978-1-62646-912-9. 282 pp. $16.95. Available at www.amazon.com and www.bn.com as a book and e-book. 

The Scottish Mackenzies plan an escape from poverty and an oppressive English King. John provides superior leadership with Scottish soldiers and militias to help the English army control Indians. The Crown’s policies reduce the army as soldiers are sent to confront American rebels who want independence. Events separate the family. The oldest son finds his love at sea in the English Navy while the second son follows his father into military service. Their daughter is a talented artist. The Mackenzies adopt a Negro boy, Joseph who is freed during a counter-attack on renegade Indians. 

The Mackenzies go to America and for seven years they join the quest for independence. They are patriots learning the price is high in blood, separation and distrust of friends. John and Tom create a ranger brigade. Bernard remains an English naval officer. Sarah and Joseph find separate paths to independence. 

Victory at Yorktown, like Lexington and Concord are always celebrated. Between victories come numerous defeats, stalemates, doubts with people trying to live every day out of harm’s way. The English army stays two years with every dawn expecting another battle until a patriot offers a solution sending the English army and loyalists from American soil. 

Long Range Patrol: A Novel of Vietnam. By Lt. Col. Dennis Foley, USA (Ret). San Val. ISBN 978-1417714148. $9.99.

In 1965, Lieutenant Jim Hollister become one of the first platoon leaders helping to develop the support skills that would make LRRPs a legend of the war. Hollister quickly became an expert at judging the abilities and weaknesses of his men--men who became closer than brothers, men who fought for one another in a brutal, merciless jungle war where one small mistake could mean sudden death for everyone...

The Other Eisenhower. By Lt. Col. Augustine Campana, USAF (Ret), Life Member, and Marco Di Tillo. Webster House Publishing, www.campana-ditillo.com. ISBN 978-1-932635-35-5. 272 pp. $14.99. 

The Other Eisenhower is woven into a set of actual events that occurred just prior to 6 June 1944. The tale takes the reader on an exciting journey filled with plot twists, suspense, and danger, all experienced by a simple London postman who unwittingly reads secret Operation Overlord plans and becomes the target of both the Allies, who want to keep him from talking, and the Germans, who are desperate to learn what he knows. The adventure begins on a warm May day with a security breach at the British War Office in Whitehall and progresses to an air base in the English countryside. An abduction and escape then takes the reader on a thrilling adventure from Germany, into Holland, and through Belgium. The story's climax begins in German-occupied France where, with the help of the French Underground, the postman deals with the high intrigue and ominous circumstances of the Nazi Gestapo led by one of Hitler's most sinister generals. From the medieval town of Laon, to a luxurious mansion in Paris, followed by captivity at Rommel's headquarters at La Roche-Guyon, the excitement never stops. Nor does the postman's quest to return home and to the woman he loves. Throughout, we look in on General Dwight Eisenhower and his staff as they implement Allied plans to invade Europe and free that continent from the grip of Hitler's despotism. The reader also experiences the plotting and scheming of Nazi leaders to learn those plans and foil what would be the greatest amphibious assault in history--D-Day. 

The Scarlet Shamrock: A Tale of the Troubles and a Path toVietnam. By Col. John Murphy, USMC (Ret), Life Member. CreateSpace. ISBN 9781489598868. 350 pp. $11.31.

In the turmoil of the 1960s, two strikingly different countries, Ireland and Vietnam, each shared a common conviction-the unification of its country and the expulsion of foreign aggressors. One man, Ned O'Shea, lands in the very heart of this darkness. "The Scarlet Shamrock" is the debut military thriller by John Murphy that charts the perilous journey of a partisan caught up in the brutal throes of two wars. Fierce loyalties clash and betrayals abound. Fast-paced and richly evocative of a turbulent time in world history, this absorbing story charts two legendary conflicts through the lens of one relentless warrior. At the height of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, IRA operative Ned O'Shea will stop at nothing to banish the British from his beloved Irish soil. When a traitor reveals Ned's involvement with a plot to assassinate an English official, the Irish patriot is forced to flee his homeland. He slips away aboard a Polish freighter bound for Boston. There, he assumes a false identity and joins the Marine Corps, which leads him to another clash in Vietnam. "The Scarlet Shamrock" offers a vivid and arresting look at a world in chaos, and one man's rigorous resolve to honor both his native land and his newly ingrained Marine commitment. As the United States observes the 50th anniversary of its involvement in Vietnam, this tome, as did the novel "All Quiet on the Western Front," depicts the discord and trauma experienced by those who both lived and served in this period of history.

Memoir

Hangar Flying. By Lt. Col. Alfred J. D’Amario, USAF (Ret). AuthorHouse, www.authorhouse.com. ISBN 978-1-4343-5529-4. 292 pp. $23.55. Order signed copies from the author at www.ajdamario.com or email ajdamario@yahoo.com.

Flying is sometimes defined as "hours and hours of sheer boredom punctuated by moments of stark panic." In HANGER FLYING, Lt/Col Alfred J. D'Amario shares many of those "moments of stark panic" that punctuated the 5,000 or so flying hours he accumulated during his twenty years in the Air Force. The author, who much prefers to be called Joe, takes the reader through Basic and Advanced pilot training, transition to jets, fighter gunnery and fighter bomber training and real combat in Korea. Then there are six years of "peace time" flying in Training Command followed by eleven years of Cold War missions in the six engine B-47 and eight engine B-52. But, Hanger Flying is about in-flight emergencies and hair-raising experiences, not about the hours and hours of just boring holes in the sky. Hanger Flying (the practice, not the book) is what assembled pilots do when they aren't flying. It is a "Can you top this?" exercise in story telling. And that is what the author does in this easy reading, fast paced account of many of the close calls he had both in and out of combat.

A Life of Blood and Danger. By Capt. Daniel J. Hill, USAR (Ret), Life Member, Ancient City (Fla.) Chapter. Dragunkelt Press. ISBN 978-149496576-1. 728 pp. $24.95. Available at www.amazon.com.

From his early childhood, Dan Hill wanted to be a soldier. At the age of 15, he forged his birth certificate and enlisted in the United States Army. By the time he was 22 he had seen action as a covert sniper in the Hungarian Revolution, a paratrooper during the Lebanon invasion, an infiltrator during the Algerian Revolt, a gunrunner to Cuba, an undercover mercenary in the Congo– and he had killed more than 200 men. That's when he stopped counting. That was before two tours in Vietnam, before fighting with the Mujahedin in Afghanistan, before going undercover to spy on Islamic and domestic terrorist groups, before predicting both attacks on the World Trade Center, before doing all those deeds that he officially did not do. Dan Hill has truly lived A Life of Blood and Danger.

September 2014

Nonfiction 

Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes. By Douglas Wellman, with research by Maj. Gen. Mark Musick, ANG (Ret). WriteLife LLC, www.writelife.com. ISBN 978-1-60808-017-5. 192 pp. $13.31. Available at www.amazon.com. 

Eva McLelland was good at keeping secrets, and she had a big one. Sworn to secrecy for thirty-one years until the death of her husband, Eva was at last able to come forward and share a story that turns twentieth century history on its head and fills in puzzling blanks in the mysterious life of the tycoon Howard Hughes. How could Hughes appear to witnesses as an emaciated, long finger-nailed, mental incompetent, yet fly a jet aircraft four months later? How could a doctor describe him as looking like a "prisoner of war," when at the same time investment bankers, politicians, and diplomats who met him said he was articulate and well-groomed? The answer is a perfect example of the brilliance of the elusive billionaire. He simply found a mentally incompetent man to impersonate him, drawing the attention of the Internal Revenue Service and an army of lawyers who pursued him, while he conducted his business in peace from Panama with his new wife, Eva McLelland. Sound fantastic? It is. However, after seven years of research and verification, Eva's story produces the final pieces in the mysterious puzzle that was Howard Hughes. Douglas Wellman has been a television producer and director in Hollywood since 1980. He is currently Assistant Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Deborah. 

The CORE Leadership Development Model. By Col. Mary M. Gillam, USAF (Ret), Ph.D., Life Member. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1495441905. 152 pp. $19.99, plus shipping. Available on www.amazon.com.

How powerful is your leadership brand? Do you have what it takes to lead? Are you ready to take your personal growth and development to the next level? With a little coaching and motivation, you can step up and step out of your comfort zone, and become the leader that God designed and created you to be. In the CORE Leadership Development Model, #1 Amazon bestselling Christian author Dr. Mary M. Gillam, Col (Ret), USAF describes her new step-by-step approach to leadership development. Using her 30+ years of military, government, and industry experience coupled with biblical truths, Dr. Gillam awakens the leadership giant in all of us. Her passion for developing leaders is evident in every page of the book. By reading this dynamic and powerful book, you will learn: 

• A simple, step-by-step approach to unleashing your leadership potential
• How to use your natural gifts and talents to develop a powerful leadership brand
• How to unmask the leadership potential hidden inside of uncommon leaders
• How to execute courage over fear and become the leader that others want to follow If you are ready to LEAD – This book is for YOU!

Golf Wisdom From Under the Hat. By Cmdr. Michael “Reed” Popovich, USN (Ret). Under the Hat LLC, www.underthehat.org. ISBN 978-0-9915553-0-7. 172 pp. $14.99.

Golf Wisdom From Under the Hat is a funny, yet informative look at the great game of golf. Written by first time author Reed Popovich and illustrated by Bill Russell, this book represents 35 years of "in the dirt experience," including anecdotes, funny stories and an assortment of characters and clever illustrations. The book covers philosophy, physics, the full swing, the short game, the mental game and strategy for playing. There is also a special chapter devoted to lady friends, female golfers and golf widows. This book will teach you a lot about golf while making you laugh in the process. 

In Advance of Fate: Portrait of an Abolitionist. By Col. Charles E. Heller, USA (Ret), Life Member, Jayhawk (Kan.) Chapter. StarCloudPress.com. ISBN 978-1-932842-69-2. 276 pp. $19.95. Available at www.amazon.com.

This book is a biography of Major George L. Stearns (1809-1867), a wealthy Boston manufacturer. Stearns, a conservative with ties to the Concord literati vows to stamp out slavery. He heads up Massachusetts Kansas Free state settlers relief to become the Leader of the Boston “Secret Six.” He is the most significant financial backer of John Brown of Harpers Ferry fame. Stearns owns the 200 Sharps Rifles Brown takes to Harpers Ferry and buys other arms for Brown as well as giving him funds for his personal use. Stearns is the recruiter of the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry and the 55^th. One of his agents is noted free Black Frederick Douglass. He finally receives a commission from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton as Assistant Adjutant General for the Recruitment of Colored Troops and raising over 13 regiments of “men of color.” After the Emancipation Proclamation he goes on to advocate for civil rights. In Nashville he not only recruits Black but has them taught to read and write and their wife training for jobs. His last major achievement is a mass circulation of a newspaper throughout the south advocating civil rights and the advantages of free labor over slavery. 

Living a Balanced Life. By Cmdr. Glenn I. Miller, USN (Ret), Life Member, Hilton Head Area (S.C.) Chapter. CrossBooks. ISBN 978-1-4627-3547-1. $30.99. Available from CrossBooks and www.amazon.com as a hardcover, softcover, or e-book.

Why do some people facing difficulties in their lives not only survive but thrive through such experiences, while others facing similar situations fall apart, lose their way, and have little direction or purpose in their lives? Author Glenn I. Miller holds that the difference rests on realities concerning relationships-specifically with ones having to do with living a balanced life. 

In this study, he shows how people who listen to the teachings and follow the leadership of Jesus find ways to discover durable balance despite the adversity they face. By providing a guided exploration of the ministry of Jesus, Miller demonstrates that balance, fullness, and purpose come when you practice the threefold ways of love of God, others, and self. Devoting one section to each of these forms of love, Living a Balanced Life outlines how you can learn to live in balance by avoiding the excesses illustrated in contemporary culture, listening to the teachings of the Lord, and gaining insights from Miller's experiences in military and civilian ministry. The final section draws together the insights from the first three sections and suggests ways to live with balance. 

If you have taken stock of your life and relationships and hope to find a pathway to living with greater balance, Living a Balanced Life can offer you an informative and enjoyable resource filled with biblical wisdom, helpful truths, intriguing illustrations, dashes of humor, and commonsense wisdom. 

Where Is God...? By Col. Tywana F.C. Bowman, USAF (Ret). Professional Educators Ready to Teach. ISBN 978-0-615-58312-9. $10, plus $1.50 postage and handling. Order at www.amazon.com or email pert.iinc@yahoo.com. Order by mail at Professional Educators Ready to Teach (PERT), PO Box 760801, San Antonio, TX 78245.

Colonel Bowman will take you on an unforgettable journey across the sea to Europe, to the jungles of Africa to the shiny shores of America, to the streets of the homeless and behind prison doors. During her 26 years in the military as a Registered Nurse, she encountered amazing individuals around the world with devastating tragedies and losses. These few pages portray awe-inspiring testimonies of how they conquered their life-shaking situations and have continued to sustain on the rough-side of life. Where Is God … ? is about hope and survival for everyone! 

Young Soldiers Amazing Warriors: Inside One of the Most Highly Decorated Battalions of Vietnam. By Col. Robert H. Sholly, USA (Ret). Stonywood Publications, www.stonywood.com. ISBN 978-0-9796652-3-3. 460 pp. $22.95. Available for Kindle.

The book is the story of my men and me, our actions and those of our brothers in a combat rifle battalion during its first year in Vietnam (1966). The 1^st Battalion, 8^th Infantry Regiment, along with other battalions of the 4^th Infantry Division, were thrust into the infamous Ia Drang Valley and involved in similar battles as have been portrayed on the popular screen. The accounts of the early firefights and clashes as the battalion moved from peace to war are compelling and filled with anguish. This powerful war story is taken from my daily journal and other reports. Page after page depicts dramatic eye-witness stories of boys becoming veteran soldiers and amazing warriors, as they recount the riveting events of their war. These battles sustained great loss of life on both sides as America’s young men were tested time and again. There are events many veterans cannot talk about to this day, but they trusted the author to get their story told and it has been done with vision and respect. Many heroic men battled in the raging and horrific fights and four of them were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. This book describes the courage, heroism and valor of the young soldiers the United States sent to war. Tragically, too many did not come back. — author Robert Sholly 

Fiction  

Chita Quest: One Man’s Search for His POW/MIA Father. By Lt. Col. Brinn Colenda, USAF (Ret). Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, www.syppublishing.com. ISBN 978-1-940869-07-0. 288 pp. $14.45. 

Were American POWs left behind at the end of the Vietnam War-either by accident or design? Colonel Tom Callahan is driven to find out-his own father is still listed as Missing In Action. What Callahan doesn't understand is how politically explosive the issue is, domestically and internationally. As he begins his quest, friends and associates meet violent deaths. Aided by his Australian-born wife, Colleen, his journey takes him halfway across the world to Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and ultimately, Siberia. He is helped and hindered by unexpected friends and cunning, deadly enemies. 

Rogue Warrior: Curse of the Infidel. By Cmdr. Richard Marcinko, USN (Ret), and Jim DeFelice. Tor/Forge. ISBN 978-0-7653-3294-3. 368 pp. $26.99.

Hot on the trail of a bank official who is laundering money for an al Qaeda-sponsored terrorist cell, Rogue Warrior Richard Marcinko finds himself in the thick of a covert operation run by the CIA—a.k.a. the Christians in Action. Angry that their operation has been ruined, the CIA demands that Marcinko and his Red Cell International group work for them. He agrees, then gets into a situation so dire only SEAL Team Six can extricate him. 

While grateful for help from the unit he helped establish, Marcinko realizes there’s a lot more going on than the CIA will admit—and when the investigation leads to a luxury liner loaded with explosives and contraband heading toward the United States, he recruits members from the original SEAL Team Six to help. But will the old-timers and young bucks be enough to prevent disaster in a US port?

Memoir  

The Sea Swallows: Campaigning in the South Vietnam Delta With Chinese Catholic Exiles. By Col. Henry F. Dagenais, USAR (Ret), Life Member. ISBN 9780615945415. 448 pp. $13.99, plus $3.59 shipping. Available at www.amazon.com. 

In 1967 a MACV team of five U.S. Army soldiers replace a Special Forces A Team as advisors to a Chinese Catholic enclave deep in the delta of South Vietnam. The Chinese, exiled Nationalists from mainland China and led by their priest, occupy an armed camp called Hai Yen previously established with the aid of the CIA, surrounded by the Viet Cong, and isolated from South Vietnamese government support by fifty kilometers. Father Hoa, the charismatic spiritual and military leader, is replaced by a Vietnamese officer who has doubtful control of the troops. The American team’s mission - to assist in military operations and civil government nation building programs - is hampered by the lack of combat and logistical support, distrust between the Chinese and Vietnamese, and understanding the cultural difference between the East and the West. Overcoming these difficulties and fighting a determined and tenacious enemy on a daily basis bring challenges the Americans could not have anticipated. 

Thank You, America: Autobiography of a Naval Career. By CWO3 Robert R. Rotruck, USN (Ret). Wheatmark Publishing, www.mytya.com, www.thankyouamericabook.com. ISBN 978-1-60494-318-4. 178 pp. $15.95, plus shipping. Available at www.amazon.comas a hard copy and in e-book format.

Author Robert R. Rotruck, Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Navy (Retired) had a wonderful career serving the people of the United States from 1959 to 1979. He feels very blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of a unique community of American citizens that choose to serve their country through the military. This book details each of his duty stations in a short story format, making it an easy and enjoyable read. 

Bob Rotruck shows the indomitable spirit of American service men and women in Thank You, America. He leaves a legacy for his two sons and appeals to the younger generation who may be considering serving their country. "It was a wonderful life," Bob says. "I wouldn't trade it for anything!" Smooth seas and fair winds! 

When Duty Called: Even Grandma Had to Go. By Maj. Dianah Kwiatkowski, USAR (Ret), as told to Sandra Warren. Silk Label Books. ISBN 1-928767-34-6. 168 pp. $6.99. Available at www.amazon.com.

A 47 year-old Catholic nurse, wife, mother and grandmother from Ohio joined the Army Reserves in 1990 to obtain an advanced degree. Only a few months later she and her fellow medics found themselves deployed to Saudia Arabia to serve in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This is her story. It is a story of questions and hardships, of emotional highs and lows and of the stress that war put on her religious faith. 

The medics came from all walks of life and age groups. They were thrown together in the most inhospitable of conditions. They had to learn quickly how to create makeshift tented hospitals in the desert. 

They were under constant threat of attack and had to function whilst wearing heavy, charcoal lined suits, boots, gas-masks and gloves to protect against chemical weapons. Showers were a rare luxury; exhaustion the most common condition. Patients were from both sides of the conflict, and language and cultural differences complicated the treatment of enemy prisoners. 

Coming home and adjusting to life in Middle America again was not easy. This book tells it how it was in the 1990s-an interesting and gripping story that will not be far removed from present day experiences in Iraq.

October 2014

Nonfiction 

Firefly: A Skyraider’s Story About America’s Secret War Over Laos. By Capt. Richard E. Diller, USAF (Ret), Northern Illinois Chapter. Dog Ear Publishing, www.fireflythebook.com. ISBN 978-1-4575-1969-7. 312 pp. $22.50. Available on www.amazon.com. 

Once everything is set up, I roll in. Control stick hard left into a sharp left turn and let the nose drop quickly but smoothly to 40° down. Down. My heart is pumping hard. I'm in a sharp dive. I have to do it right and fast. Line up the target in the sight. It's getting bigger as I get closer to the ground. Airspeed is increasing! Quick! Right there! Pickle at 8,000 feet, only 2,000 feet from roll-in altitude. Not much time. NOW! Pull out! Pull hard, but don't over G! All the remaining ordnance is trying to pull the airplane toward the ground. Smoothly pull to four Gs. Watch the artificial horizon. It's the only visual reference I can count on. Pull! Get the nose up! Don't go below 7,000 feet because rocks can be anywhere below seven. There's level. Bring it on up. Twenty-five degrees nose high. I have plenty of speed, so keep the nose up. Here comes 8,000 feet. Then 9,000. I can let the nose down a little now and look around to see if anyone is shooting.  

It is 1969 and Dick Diller is on his way to flying warplanes in the Vietnam conflict. He is commissioned to fly A-1 Skyraiders in sometimes harrowing nighttime missions over Laos-surviving not only the danger of the missions he flew, but also the bureaucracy of the air force, from fitness testing to additional duties assigned, to attacking impossible-to-find targets in the dead of night-with minimal fuel supplies. 

At once entertaining and riveting, as well as thought-provoking, Firefly is the story of one man's journey in a world at war, and a day-to-day description of the fighting force that was flying A-1 Skyraiders in combat. Firefly contains actual transcriptions of dialogue of pilots locating a target and making a strike in northern Laos. 

Threats and Challenges: Strategies in a New Century. By Lt. Col. Edward Corcoran, USA (Ret). ISBN 978-1-62407-476-9. 144 pp. $9.99. $2.99 (Kindle). 

An overview of the threats and challenges to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The book puts them in perspective with each other, identifying major programs addressing them as well as opportunities they represent. The disappearance of the Soviet Union and the rise of the internet and globalization have dramatically changed the strategic situation facing the nation, intensifying the need to fashion a new system for developing a comprehensive National Strategy. 

Tours of Duty. By Cmdr. Gary K. Cline, USN (Ret), Life Member. ISBN 978-0-578-13922-7. 208 pp. $14. 

I was privileged to have served in all three military services, Army, Navy and Air Force and held 13 ranks. These included: Airman Recruit, Airman, Army Private, Private First Class, Specialist 4, Specialist 5, Warrant Office 1, Chief Warrant Officer 2, Ensign, Lieutenant (Jg), Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and Commander. I completed over 30 years of service and would love to do it all again — with a few changes. 

The Whole Truth: The Tainted Prosecution of an American Fighter Pilot. By Col. Robert Harvey, USAF (Ret), Cape Canaveral (Fla.) Chapter. Viper Pilot Press. ISBN 978-0615933634. 336 pp. $15.95. $5.99 (Kindle version). 

The Whole Truth details the politically motivated, wrongful conviction of USAF Fighter Pilot Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, his subsequent acquittal and the political upheaval in Washington that resulted. Colonel Bob Harvey, (USAF retired) exposes a callous disregard for policy, ethics, and the law by Air Force investigators, prosecutors and commanders in the overzealous prosecution of the high-profile case and reveals how the US military is sending innocent men to prison in the name of political correctness. 

Fiction 

Night Work: A Novel of Vietnam. By Lt. Col. Dennis Foley, USA (Ret). Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0804107242. $.9.99. 

Captain Jim Hollister ended his first tour of duty in Vietnam laid up in a field hospital. His most serious wounds were deep inside. Back home in America, he often woke up in the middle of the night in the grip of terrifying nightmares. But nothing—not even his long-suffering fiancée, Susan—could stop him from going back to serve his country. 

This time around, Jim serves as operations officer for Juliet Company, a Ranger squad with high demands placed on it to find and eliminate Viet Cong forces slipping across the Cambodian border. Fighting the enemy in the rice paddy terrain between Saigon and the border requires even more planning, training, and battlefield guile than do the tropical rain forests of the Central Highlands.

Night Work brings to vivid life the courage and selfless dedication of the Army Rangers in Vietnam—and the profound costs of war.

A Poem From Punk: Selected Poems. By Capt. Alfred “Punk” Fowler, USN (Ret), Life Member. New Hanover. ISBN 978-1-939132-05-5. 

A Poem From Punk is a selection of poems Al wrote to his sweetheart, Katie Shadle, in high school before they graduated together in 1944 and married in 1945. A documentary of the miracle of young love, A Poem From Punk tells the story of a young man’s expression of the love experienced by two young people who grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, fell in love as teenagers and waited for the end of World War II. 

The Saga of the Mackinnon Clan. By Capt. Jerry Love, USN (Ret), Life Member, Central Florida Chapter. Xlibris, www.xlibris.com. ISBN 978-1-4931-7642-7. 268 pp. $16. Available at www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. 

This novel begins in the eighteenth century with the first generation of an imaginary extended family and how well documented historical events prompt the family to seek a better way of life. The family initially resides in the British Isles and with the passage of time migrates to the new world in the United States. 

It continues with the adventures and experiences of two brothers who, after four years of combat in the Civil War, decide to establish a new life in the Wyoming Territory where they meet and marry two beautiful young ladies. The sensual love shared by one of the brothers and his beautiful bride on their wedding night is described in detail, a deep love they experience throughout their adult life. 

After building a successful cattle ranch, they are faced with challenges associated with protecting their property from politically active large ranching interests determined to annihilate them with every means at their disposal, whether inside or outside of the law. The determined intent of the large ranchers to destroy the small ranchers results in an all out war that is eventua1ly won by the small ranchers with the support of the duly elected law enforcement officials, determined to wipe out all illegal activities such as lynching’s and cattle rustling. 

The principal activities of the novel occur in the northeastern frontier area of the Wyoming Territory, where the breathtaking Bighorn Mountains cast a shadow over the Powder River Basin, long recognized as one of the most desirable cattle grazing areas in the country. 

Although life on an isolated frontier ranch is often thought of as being very boring with an aster life style, there are many available amenities that the two brother and their two families thoroughly enjoy as described in the novel. These include country style dancing such as the polka, waltz, and the two step, hunting big game including elk, bighorn sheep, and antelope, horse-back riding, bird hunting, fly fishing for trout, and enjoyable experiences associated with visits to large western cities such as Denver and San Francisco. 

Take Back the Night: A Novel of Vietnam. By Lt. Col. Dennis Foley, USA (Ret). Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0804107259. $9.99. 

In the increasingly divided Juliet Company, racial tensions are running high and morale is at an all-time low. Combat readiness seems tenuous. Captain Jim Hollister’s first order of business is to bring his company back into fighting shape. To survive hot LZs, sleepless nights, and a tireless enemy, the men of Juliet Company have to train hard and then fight harder—and watch out for their brothers in arms. 

New commander Captain Jim Hollister makes extreme demands on his Rangers to enhance their combat expertise and survivability through rigorous training and preparations for each operation. As the US begins its withdrawal of troops, Hollister and his men are entrusted with gathering the critical intelligence needed to save American lives while attempting to eliminate or capture as many enemy soldiers as they can with their small teams of Rangers. 

From infiltration patrols into Viet Cong camps deep in Cambodia to critical oversight by a chain of command without much understanding of ranger patrol techniques, Hollister even has to protect his men from higher headquarters. The operations he oversees reveal the physical and psychological wounds of a war that can never be forgotten. 

Take Back the Night is the searing final chapter in Dennis Foley’s acclaimed Jim Hollister Trilogy. 

Tears for Cambodia. By Lt. Col. Ed Mooney, USA (Ret). Dog Ear Publishing, www.edmooneybooks.com. ISBN 978-1-4575-2400-4. 292 pp. $15.99. 

Lt. Colonel Max Donatello left the military decades ago, but his experiences serving in Cambodia never left him. As the story in this new novel relays, his beloved wife, Emily, left him after years of marriage because he refused to share his pain or get professional help that might allow him to move beyond the trauma of his past.  Now Max and his children, Chris and Melissa, are grieving Emily’s untimely death, and Max finds himself reliving past mistakes and looking for a way to make his future (and his relationships with his children) better.  

For years, Emily had urged Max to go back to Cambodia, to face the nightmares head on and possibly overcome them. Max resisted, but now he feels compelled to revisit the country that was nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge so many years ago. Max’s story is told in flashback, as he relives his former life while visiting the Cambodia of today. Max plans to spend nearly a month in Southeast Asia; will he be able to put the horrors that haunt his dreams to rest, or will they overcome him, destroying his foundering relationship with his family? 

Tears for Cambodia is a sympathetic portrait of an officer helplessly following orders, even though he knows they will result in tragedy. Max’s pain and the courage with which he faces his demons are compelling, and readers will be rooting for Max and his redemption. 

Memoir 

Blue-Eyed Boy: A Memoir. By Capt. Robert Timberg, USMC (Ret), Life Member. The Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-59420-566-8. 384 pp. $17.68. 

Acclaimed journalist Robert Timberg’s extraordinary, long-awaited memoir of his struggle to reclaim his life and find his calling after being severely burned as a young Marine lieutenant in Vietnam. 

In January 1967, Robert Timberg was a short-timer, counting down the days until his combat tour ended. He had thirteen days to go before he got to go back home to his wife in Southern California. That homecoming would eventually happen, but not in thirteen days, and not as the person he once was. The moment his vehicle struck a Vietcong land mine divided his life into before and after. 

He survived, barely, with third-degree burns over his face and much of his body.  It would have been easy to give up.  Instead, Robert Timberg began an arduous and uncertain struggle back—not just to physical recovery, but to a life of meaning.  Remarkable as his return to health was—he endured thirty-five operations, one without anesthesia—just as remarkable was his decision to reinvent himself as a journalist and enter one of the most public of professions. Blue-Eyed Boy is a gripping, occasionally comic account of what it took for an ambitious man, aware of his frightful appearance but hungry for meaning and accomplishment, to master a new craft amid the pitying stares and shocked reactions of many he encountered on a daily basis.

By the 1980s, Timberg had moved into the upper ranks of his profession, having secured a prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard and a job as White House correspondent for The Baltimore Sun. Suddenly his work brought his life full circle: the Iran-Contra scandal broke. At its heart were three fellow Naval Academy graduates and Vietnam-era veterans, Oliver North, Bud McFarlane, and John Poindexter. Timberg’s coverage of that story resulted in his first book, The Nightingale’s Song, a powerful work of narrative nonfiction that follows these three academy graduates and two others—John McCain and Jim Webb—from Annapolis through Vietnam and into the Reagan years. In Blue-Eyed Boy, Timberg relates how he came to know and develop a deep understanding of these five men, and how their stories helped him understand the ways the Vietnam War and the furor that swirled around it continued to haunt him, and the nation as a whole, as they still do even now, nearly four decades after its dismal conclusion.

Like others of his generation, Robert Timberg had to travel an unexpectedly hard and at times bitter road. In facing his own life with the same tools of wisdom, human empathy, and storytelling grit he has always brought to his journalism, he has produced one of the most moving and important memoirs of our time.

Hurricanes to Antarctica: Tales of a Naval Aviator. By Capt. Alfred N. Fowler, USN (Ret) Life Member. New Hanover. ISBN 978-1-939132-06-2. 

In his book Hurricanes to Antarctica, Fowler takes the reader on a ride, flying low, and into the eye. Before satellites were available, low-level aircraft penetration was the procedure used to accurately observe the size and strength of hurricanes, measure the lowest pressure, and locate the center. The author describes his experiences flying in the Navy hurricane hunter squadron during the 1950s and also his experiences in a leadership role in Antarctica — both on and off the ice. 

In addition, Captain Fowler served as executive officer in an aircraft carrier, the USS Kearsarge, during the Vietnam War. He completed his naval career in command of Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. Then his service “down on the ice” continued as the deputy division director of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation where he shared responsibility for the United States Antarctic Program. Following retirement from NSF, he was employed by the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C., where he served as the first executive secretary for the Council of managers of National Antarctic Programs. 

Just an Ordinary American Extraordinarily Blessed. By John T. Reeves. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4771-2165-8. 146 pp. $26.99. 

This book is about the journey of a lifetime of just an ordinary American who was extraordinarily blessed with life altering opportunities to grow and serve in the highest levels of Government, the Church, and elsewhere and lived to share these stories. 

The author is extremely grateful for the successes he has enjoyed in life and for the “doors of opportunity” opened to him. His desire to encourage others by sharing his experiences from a humble beginning in the foothills of North Carolina to the highest levels of Government, the Church, and travels to ancient cities of the world is the reason for this book.

It is a book appropriate for all ages – children and young adults who need inspiration and encouragement; more mature persons who are in their parenting and working years; and senior citizens who will be blessed by a stroll down memory lane as they recall their own life’s journey.

The Lieutenant Don’t Know: One Marine’s Story of Warfare and Combat Logistics in Afghanistan. By Capt. Jeff Clement, USMC. Casemate. ISBN 978-1612002484. 264 pp.$25.96.   

Jeff Clement's first book is an account of his time as a US Marine Corps Logistics Officer and truck platoon commander running convoys in Afghanistan's Helmand Province in 2010.   The book follows his platoon on treacherous patrols across rugged terrain, weathering dozens of enemy attacks. The platoon perseveres to provide vital supplies to friendly units.

This is the first book about the Marines’ combat logisticians in Afghanistan. The Lieutenant Don’t Know provides a refreshing look at the gritty challenges our Marines face in Afghanistan, from the perspective of a young officer who was willing to learn and take responsibility for his unit in a confusing war.

November 2014

Nonfiction 

Arkansas Civil War Heritage: A Legacy of Honor. By Col. W. Stuart Towns, USA (Ret), Ph.D., MOAA Memphis (Tenn.) Chapter. The History Press, www.historypress.net, www.southernoratory.com. ISBN 978-1626191921. 160 pp. $19.99.

The American Civil War shaped the course of the country's history and its national identity. This is no less true for the state of Arkansas. Throughout the Natural State, people have paid homage and remembrance to those who fought and what was fought for in memorial celebrations and rituals. The memory of the war has been kept alive by reunions and preservationists, continuing to shape the way the War Between the States affects Arkansas and its people. Historian W. Stuart Towns expertly tells the story of Arkansas's Civil War heritage through its rituals of memorial, commemoration and celebration that continue today.

A Journey in the Fog of Depression: A Military Officer’s Experience. By Capt. Todd G. Kruder, USN. Seurat Innovations LLC. ISBN 978-1492878117. $16.99. ebook: $2.99.

Through a seemingly series of unrelated events a Navy Captain with over 26 years of Naval Service, a loving wife, and five children realizes that his mental pain and anguish that had brought him so perilously close to self-destruction may very well be deeply rooted in the events of his past. The Captain takes us with him on his personal voyage. A voyage that takes us in the perils of the fog. As his thoughts become more and more obscured by his fog of depression he begins to seek solace in both despair and loneliness.

A Journey in the Fog of Depression: A Military Spouse’s Experience. By Capt. Todd G. Kruder, USN, and Sharon Kruder. Seurat Innovations LLC. ISBN 978-1497436947. $10.99. ebook: $2.99.

The Journey in the Fog of Depression: A Military Spouse’s Experience is a unique view into the life of a Military Spouse and her personal accounting of the events and effects of her husband’s depression. Written in a narrative style, the authors describe in detail, the events, challenges, and experiences of what life is like married to a military officer. We learn how the early challenges of their marriage and the frequent deployments instilled in her, the strength and determination to save the life of her spouse. A compelling description of relentless perseverance and hope.

Live Rich on a Small Income. By former Navy Lt. David Taylor. da house publishing. ISBN 9781484160473. 82 pp. $10. Available at www.amazon.com.

Live Rich on a Small Income is a guide to getting the most out of your wealth and income. It contains suggestions on how to make your income go further, downsizing your home and how to best invest in a smaller more efficient house. Included are 24 house plans of various smaller size homes. Also included is a chapter about living on the road.

MacArthur and Halsey’s “Pacific Island Hoppers”: The Forgotten Fleet of World War II. By Cmdr. David D. Bruhn, USN (Ret), Valley-Ridge (Calif.) Chapter. ISBN 978-0-7884-5541-4. 398 pp. $33.50.

At the commencement of World War II, the Navy and the Army-woefully lacking small ships able to ply shallow, reef-infested South and Southwest Pacific waters, which were necessary to support island ground combat-initially acquired whatever was available in ports, harbors, and backwaters to meet their needs. These vessels included schooners, ancient ferry boats, luggers, fishing trawlers, tuna boats, tugs, launches, lighters, surf boats, ketches, yachts, and yawls. The services took whatever craft they could get-some barely seaworthy-as the urgency of need did not permit discrimination in what was purchased or chartered. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, needing his own Navy to support leapfrog operations up the New Guinea coast, found his vessels in Australia and New Zealand, and the Navy its small ships and craft in America. These "Pacific island hoppers" were later supplemented with other small vessels newly constructed in American boat and shipyards. Among them were sixty Navy wooden-hulled 103-foot small coastal transports, hundreds of Army freight-supply ships and large tugs, and lesser numbers of coastal tankers and harbor tugs. The Army ships-most of steel construction, a few of wood-were manned by Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, or Army crews. The islands hoppers worked mostly with amphibious forces, but also supported PT boat squadrons, and as "maids of all duties" engaged in a variety of operations. Periodic combat with Japanese planes off the New Guinea coast and in the Solomon Islands transitioned to frequent battles with conventional and kamikaze aircraft and suicide Q-boats during the Philippine Islands Campaign. Significant numbers of the island hoppers earned battle stars, and crewmen awards for valor including the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and the Bronze Star medals. Following the war, the Navy acquired some of the Army ships; many served in the Korean War and a few in Vietnam. Three of the former freight-supply ships were employed for intelligence gathering; the most famous, USS Pueblo, was captured by North Korea. Others led interesting careers under civilian ownership; one was run aground while engaged in drug smuggling in the Caribbean, and another served as a "radio pirate" off England, broadcasting BBC-banned rock and roll music over the airwaves in 1966.

Numerous photographs, maps, data-rich appendices, and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.

Marine Corps Deaths, 1917-1921. By Lt. Craig R. Scott, MSC, USN (Ret), Life Member. Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0-7884-5487-5. 438 pp. $35.50.

Information was gleamed from several sources, including Record Group 127, Records of the United States Marine Corps, Entry 107, Register of Deaths of Marine Corps Personnel During World War I, 1918-19 (the Officer List and the Enlisted List), housed at the National Archives in Washington, D. C.; Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Marine Corps (except Overseas Dead) Who Died Between November 12, 1918 and November 17, 1921, Inclusive, along with documents of other deaths not yet sourced properly; the Marine Corps Roll of Honor, Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for 1918; and other privately possessed records. Each entry gives the name of the Marine, rank, company, regiment, cause of death, date and place of death, and name and address of next of kin. Entries are followed by source information; source codes are identified on the Abbreviations page.

It is not unusual for the dates of death to differ between the official report and the date found on the tombstone. This discrepancy is usually a few days; however, in cases where it is longer, the discrepancy is noted. A death entry, even taken from a tombstone, may not indicate the actual burial of an individual; many tombstones are memorial stones and may not be located at the actual burial site. In some cases, there is a memorial in one cemetery and a tombstone in another. The Marines who died on the U.S.S. Cyclops were lost at sea, yet several have tombstones.

Mending the S.E.A.M.: A Process for Enhancing Traditional Depression Therapies. By Capt. Todd G. Kruder, USN. Seurat Innovations LLC. ISBN 978-1492882091. $14.99. ebook: $2.99.

The second book in the series by the author of A Journey in the Fog of Depression: A Military Officer's Experience; Discover how he utilizes his ability to define processes in the development of a game changing, step by step model, that blossoms into a fascinating fresh look deep into our own unique experiences. Through a detailed approach, he takes the intangible form of an experience and transforms it into a 3D object. Using only pencil, graph paper, and coins; he demonstrates each step in detail. Learn how the young boy turned military officer finds himself sitting in his family room, alone, depressed, and contemplating his own suicide muttering the words: "The quickest path to freedom is through any vein in your body." The phrase echoes in his mind, resonating, and haunting him. Carrying him deeper into the fog of his depression. A compelling book developed for the purpose of enhancing existing therapies available to our active duty, veterans, and their families suffering the devastating effects of depression.

The Men of Alpha Company: Combat with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vietnam, 1969-1970. By Army Lt. Col. John D. Chapla. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1105280436. 136 pp. $45.

The Men of Alpha Company details the service, sacrifices and heroism of the paratroopers of the celebrated 173rd Airborne Brigade during a year of combat in South Vietnam, as seen by a man who led them as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer.

Fiction 

A Requiem for Crows: A Novel of Vietnam. By Lt. Col. Dennis Foley, USA (Ret). Open Road Media. ASIN B00ISH77IK. $9.99.

A reluctant young draftee finds himself abandoned in combat during a turbulent period in America’s history.

With “a bit of James Dean in his walk, Elvis in his smile and Jerry Lee Lewis in his attitude,” Scotty Hayes is an unlikely candidate for the army. But the draft board is about to turn his world upside down. Two months after Scotty hitches a ride from Belton, Florida, to Fort Benning in Georgia with exactly thirty-nine dollars in his pocket, the president is assassinated. And Scotty is suddenly facing combat in Vietnam.

Now, Sergeant Hayes, accidental soldier, is at war against a new kind of enemy, fighting deadly AK-47 fire, the jungle, and treachery within his ranks. When a superior’s cowardice plunges Scotty into a hot zone with his comrades’ lives at stake, he must find an answer for the danger that threatens to engulf them all.

Given. By Maj. Paul Fitz-Patrick, USAF (Ret), Life Member, Cumberland Valley (Pa.) Chapter. Wasteland Press. ISBN 978-1-600447-961-8. 404 pp. $18.95.

Given is a story of God’s unconditional love. Like the prodigal son, we can make a mess of our lives. People, especially our mothers, see the self-destruction, and because of their faith in our all-loving God, persevere in praying for us. God waits with open arms for our return and He showers us with graces and awesome love. The journey begins in a small town in southern Pennsylvania, and takes the reader to the University of Notre Dame, Rome, and suburban Philadelphia. As the story unfolds, the lives of a single mother, a middle aged artist, a wealthy recluse, a high school teacher and two mothers are connected in a special plan — God’s perfect plan.

Memoir 

Another Set of Hands: A Collection of Short Diaconal Stories. By Capt. Tom Quinlan, USAF (Ret). Industrial Printers of Colorado, www.lpco.com. ISBN 978-0-9615691-1-5. 64 pp. $14.95. Available at www.amazon.com.

A collection of 36 short stories about being a Roman Catholic permanent deacon for over 20 years.

My War: With True Rescue Stories. By Lt. Col. Gerald C. Haynes, USAF (Ret). PublishAmerica. ISBN 978-1424167845. 77 pp. $18.12.

This book relates several stories of one man’s air rescues while flying the original Jolly Green helicopter, the HH-3E. He tells of his tour of duty in Thailand, flying missions into Laos, and details his life during that period. He tells of his activities in Thailand during the lull in flight operations, a side not normally included in books about rescue missions. Some readers might be surprised at the amount of recreation one could find during a combat tour of duty.

December 2014

Nonfiction

Abandoned in Place: The Men We Left Behind, And... By Lynn M. O’Shea, with forward by Col. Don E. Gordon, USA (Ret). CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1499199260. 608 pp. $19.42. 

Abandoned in Place provides a snapshot of the Vietnam POW/MIA issue. From the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, in January 1973, ending American involvement in the war in Southeast Asia to the "dysfunctional" POW/MIA accounting effort of 2014. With the period 1980 -1981 a clear line in the sand. As the U.S. government refocused its efforts from the rescue of surviving POWs to the recovery of remains. Abandoned in Place painstakingly details the intelligence available in 1980 that led to the conclusion American POWs survived in Laos, six years after the end of the Vietnam War. Using never before seen documents, the author reconstructs events leading up to a CIA reconnaissance mission, doomed from the start, to confirm the presence of POWs held deep in the Laotian jungle. As the CIA team headed toward the camp, members of the Joint Special Operation Command trained for a strike of surgical precision. Its mission rescue the POWs held at the camp known as Nhom Marrott. A lack of political will, bureaucratic failures, and leaks forced a stand-down order, condemning any surviving POWs. The author highlights the post Nhom Marrott government accounting effort, focusing on several specific POW/MIA cases. Crippled by a “mindset to debunk” officials ignored evidence of capture and survival in captivity. They edited witness statements to support pre-conceived conclusion of death and dismissed Vietnamese admissions of capture. This despite overwhelming evidence POWs not only survived but also continued to lay down signals in hopes of eventual rescue. 

After the Parade: Adjustments Confronting Military Personnel and Their Families. By Capt. Lester L. Westling Jr., USN (Ret), Life Member, Shasta Country (Calif.) Chapter. Hillwood Publishing Co., www.hillwoodpublishing.net. ISBN 978-0-615-98507-7. 130 pp. $17.95. 

After the Parade: Adjustments Confronting Military Personnel and their Families is straight talk about the cost of war in the lives of our warriors and their family members, and teaches growth and how to manage hazards. It deals with family separations in the lives of each member, and applies concepts of family therapy. It deals with wounds both visible and invisible, and applies to the seasoned as well as those lacking military experience. 

An Easy and Permanent Weight-Loss Diet: How I Lost 85 Pounds in 36 Months. By Lt. j.g. Joseph Peter Simini, USN (Ret). Amazon Digital Services. ASIN B00H4HWUZ0. 14 pp. $2.99. 

How I Lost 85 Pounds in 36 Months is my account of losing weight but how to keep it off. You must eat to live but you must eat the right foods that let you live, be healthier and lose weight. The book was written when I had lost 85 pounds in 36 months but I went on to lose another 30 pounds. You can lose weight if you want to do so. I discovered the diet when my wife died. She was the cook in our home. When I took over that chore I started by eliminating pies and cakes with ice-cream for dessert. I would shop then stop for coffee – and the ice-cream melted. So I substituted fresh and dried fruit and nuts for dessert. Then I ate more soups and salads. I was eating my deceased mother’s diet. I lost about 40 pounds. My wife Maggy’s diet was similar. 

Enjoy Beginning Bridge: How to Enjoy Learning Beginning Bridge. By Rear Adm. Andrew Giordano, USN (Ret), Life Member. ISBN 978-1-4490-0861-1. 152 pp. $13.46. 

Most beginning bridge books are written by truly gifted experts who have long forgotten what it was like to be a beginner. They have understandably forgotten that learning bridge is akin to learning a second language. As a result, most beginning bridge books are written in "bridge-speak" and the beginner has the same experience as anyone watching a foreign film without sub-titles. This book is unique in that the author was a real recent beginner when writing this book and knew how to convert "bridge-speak" into language a beginner can understand. Because of the need to teach in the same language that the beginner speaks, the author employs an effective technique for introducing bridge terms for the first time. For example, the term VULNERABLE is first introduced capitalized in bold, followed by a clear definition of the term. Also, a robust 8 page Glossary is provided. With this approach, the beginner becomes "fluent" in bridge as he is being introduced required bridge skills. Enjoy Beginning Bridge is also unique in that it recognizes that a bridge player must be prepared to assume four different roles, requiring four different skill sets depending in which of the four seats he is assigned. To prepare the beginner for this challenge, each one of these four roles is assigned a separate chapter. The book's format is specifically designed for a beginner, with three separate sections within each major chapter: a narrative that explains the specific bridge skill that is introduced; a matrix that summarizes the guidelines discussed in the narrative; and, lastly, a series of quizzes which include solutions and a "lessons learned" section that transcends the specific problem. Perhaps the biggest challenge for a beginning bridge book is the narration of all the bridge skills needed to enable the beginner to participate in the END-GAME, the final event in bridge which includes the playing of the tricks. 

General Henry Lockwood of Delaware: Shipmate of Melville, Co-builder of the Naval Academy, Civil War Commander. By Col. Lloyd J. Matthews, USA (Ret), Life Member. University of Delaware. ISBN 978-1-61149-487-7. 568 pp. $106.80. 

General Henry Lockwood of Delaware: Shipmate of Melville, Co-builder of the Naval Academy, Civil War Commander depicts the fascinating and accomplished life of nineteenth-century Delaware son, Brig. Gen. Henry Lockwood. Excerpt for a leave of absence to fight as a Union general during the Civil War, Lockwood was a U.S. Navy professor of mathematics from 1841–1876, serving on the USS United States in the Pacific, at the Asylum Naval School, at the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Naval Observatory.  

Lockwood sailed aboard the U.S. Navy frigate United States, participating in Commodore Thomas Catesby Jones’s seizure of Monterey from Mexico and figuring importantly in shipmate Herman Melville’s novel White-Jacket. Later he was a co-builder of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. During the Civil War Lockwood pacified the slavery-bound Delmarva peninsula, and commanded a brigade at Gettysburg, the Maryland Heights at Harper’s Ferry, the Middle Department/8^th Corps, and a division at Cold Harbor. All these accomplishments occurred in the face of Lockwood’s tendency to stutter which afflicted him throughout his life. This book also takes note of family members such as his son Lieut. James Lockwood, who died of starvation during the Greely polar expedition after having reached the furthest point north of any human; brother Navy Surgeon John Lockwood, whose essays in conjunction with Melville’s White-Jacket were major factors in outlawing punitive flogging in the Navy; and son-in-law Adam Charles Sigsbee, who was in command of the USS Maine when it blew up in Havana Harbor. Several pivotal events in Lockwood’s life have unjustly led to his historical neglect. Here Matthews finally gives Lockwood his due.

Government Abuse: Fraud, Waste, and Incompetence in Awarding Contracts in the United States. By Capt. William Sims Curry, USAF (Ret), Life Member. Transaction Publishers, www.transactionpub.com. ISBN 978-1-4128-5371-2. 249 pp. $54.95. Available from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. 

Government contracting is plagued by nefarious, amateurish, and criminal behavior. By awarding government contracts to corporations as compensation for lavish gifts and personal favors, the United States government fails to serve the public interest effectively and honestly. William Sims Curry identifies and categorizes multiple deficiencies in how government contractors are selected, and proposes how reforms can be instituted. 

This book is based on extensive research. Curry sifted through two years worth of contractor claims maintained by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding improper behavior of federal government agencies during the contract award process. He identified additional government contracting failures through review of media stories, inspector general reports, court cases, and press releases by government investigatory agencies. 

Much of this abuse originates from the mandated but ineffective practice of color coding rating proposals and a subjective ratings system. Curry proposes replacing the current practice with a scoring system that weighs contractor selection criteria according to the government’s needs. This, along with the other procurement reforms Curry recommends, offers promise for an alternative to the fraud, waste, and incompetence currently rampant in government contracting. 

The Greatest Threat: Triumphing Over Terror and Crime. By Col. Luther C. Kissick Jr., USAF (Ret), Life Member. Tate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61346-862-3. 310 pp. $26.98. 

The worldwide spread of terror, insurgency, and corporate crime is expanding at a rapid rate. These insidious activities have impacted at least half of the world’s societies and have created major conflicts with military involvement of more than two dozen nations. However, The Greatest Treat is neither intended to be a history of terror, insurgency, and corporate crime, nor an accounting of author Col. Luther C. Kissick’s military service in the field of intelligence. Rather, this compilation of thoughts and perspectives describes the catastrophic impact of the most urgent twenty-first-century threats in the potential decline of the United States, the most powerful Christian nation of our era. In The Greatest Threat, Col. Kissick combines his experience as a thirty-year US Air Force officer serving in sensitive positions worldwide with the greatest threat that can lead to an eventual doomsday for America. 

Let’s Face It: Memoirs, Speeches and Writings of a Career Marine and Two-Time Prisoner of War. By Marine Corps CWO Felix J. McCool, Aileen Marckmann, and Lt. Col. Scott Marckmann, USAF (Ret). CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1493654796. Available at www.amazon.com ($10) and Kindle ($4.99) 

Surviving as a prisoner of war takes courage. While no longer in combat, POWs are at the mercy of their captors, who try to control prisoners through intimidation, physical harm, or simply crushing their spirits. 

Career Marine Chief Warrant Officer Felix McCool understood the challenges facing POWs better than most. First captured by the Japanese in World War II, McCool was also a POW during the Korean War. 

The Chinese captured McCool at Chosin, and took him to a Communist POW camp. His captors attempted to indoctrinate prisoners and turn them against the United States. 

McCool's letters home, poems, and speeches describe the pressures applied to prisoners, their hardships, struggles, and how the men managed to remain dedicated and loyal to their country. 

Edited by McCool's grand-nephew Scott Marckmann and Marckmann's mother, Let's Face It is an inspiring collection of thoughts on war and freedom by a true patriot. 

Fiction  

The Chaplain’s Cross: Crisis in Conscience — An Inspirational Historical Novel. By Lt. Col. Ed DeVos, USA (Ret). WestBow Press. ISBN 978-1-4908-3412-2. 226 pp. $15.59. Available at www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. 

In his newest work of historical fiction, The Chaplain’s Cross: Crisis in Conscience (published by WestBow Press), Ed DeVos tells a thought-provoking story of two men — an Army Air Corps chaplain and a Japanese fighter pilot — as both prepare for a critical air battle that takes place in March 1944. 

In this inspirational novel, DeVos explores the faith and actions of these two men as they prepare for the combat to come. Unexpectedly, at the climax of the battle, these two men find themselves facing each other as they are presented with new moral and spiritual dilemmas; challenges warriors in combat often encounter. 

Throughout the book, the characters demonstrate what valor, courage, integrity, and honor look like, words that DeVos says are infrequently heard in today’s society. 

Memoir    

Sky Hawk. By Col. Gerit L. Fenenga, USMC (Ret). Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-1907-2823-0. Hardback: $23.96. Available in a tablet edition.

This book is a firsthand account of the Vietnam conflict as it unfolded before a midlevel career military officer. In a first-person account, it does not portend to be a microcosm of that war but, rather, what it was like for one year, at one place to participate and ultimately lead an attack squadron in combat. This is an upbeat, anecdote-filled, historically accurate but nonscholarly take on events seen or taken part in by the author. The book aims for a wide audience that likes aviation, adventure, and insight into leadership. It forcefuly brings home the lessons we as a country should learn from such turmoil. This is no “memoir” to justify the action or inaction of a midlevel manager, but a month-by-month account of controlled mayhem and high humor among professionals in the maelstrom of battle.