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A Few Good Memories: Tales from USMC Boot Camp

by Bob Taylor

164 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0546; ISBN 1-55369-144-X; US$17.50, C$23.95, EUR15.60, £10.80

Humorous and nostalgic stories about Marines in Boot Camp, told by Marines on themselves and others.

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About the book      About the author      Sample excerpt      Catalogue info

About the Book Stories, mostly humorous, some nostalgic, about Marine Corps Boot Camp. What wasn't funny then can be humorous now. Marines, relatives, and friends submitted over 400 first-hand stories. The best of these are in this book. As one new Marine said to the author, "Nothing's funny in Boot Camp." But it is, years later.

About the Author Bob Taylor was a Marine for seven years. He began his service in Quantico, where he earned his gold bars. In 1958, during the Free World's struggle to conserve freedom in parts of the Middle East, his unit was rushed to Beirut, Lebanon, where, for several months, his weapons platoon guarded the entrance to the Beirut Airport. "Why not fly?"he wondered. The corps agreed and assigned him to NAS Pensacola, where he won his Naval Aviator wings of gold. As a civilian, Bob was a Computer Software Developer.

Sample Excerpt

   Harry D. was proud to be a new Marine and to talk of his rifle range exploits. But the following story shows that it doesn't always turn out exactly as intended:

   I was proud of myself. I had finished boot camp and was home to see the family. Uncles, a brother, aunts, sisters, and even my girl friend, were at the supper. They asked a million questions a minute, and I tried to answer them. My mama was hanging on every word. "Your daddy would have been so proud of you," she said a hundred times.
   Edward, my youngest uncle, was a gun nut and he wanted to know how I did at the rifle range. I told him I did OK and I showed him my sharpshooter badge. Everybody turned to listen about how we would shoot and pull butts and shoot some more, and how the range personnel jumped on anyone who didn't follow the rules. I told them that I might have shot "expert" except that I had this accidental discharge on the firing line one day and the range people stayed on my case the rest of the week.
   Mama piped up. In trying to make me feel better she said, "Harry, you got to remember that that can happen to any young man, especially when he's not married yet. Don't worry yourself about it."
   That broke up the party and they're all still laughing about it after twelve years!

Catalogue Information