My First and Only Paid Vacation

About the Book

My First and Only Paid Vacation written by Marine Corporal Joseph L.Frank is a wonderful book filled with the first hand knowledge that can only be told in the fashion of "You are There" type blow by blow description. From start to finish this book entails the journey of not just one Marine during the WWII, but entire groups of Marines. From the battle of Iwo Jima to the outer chains of south pacific islands,the struggles and battles, the preparation, the training to help them come home alive is all included in My First and Only Paid Vacation.There has never been a book written like this before.

About the Author

My publisher said I needed to insert a biography. Webster's Dictionary defines biography as a "written account of a person's life". You can bet your bottom dollar I'm not about to tell you everything about my past history. Some of it has been too enjoyable and fun. All the good things I'll keep to myself and give you this little bit:

I was born in Post Falls, Idaho in 1923. I went to 1st and 2nd grades in Hayden, Idaho and then moved to Southern California where I completed my schooling.

I had my first real job driving a mule, snaking timber out of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Later, I worked cutting firewood in the same area. I received one dollar per day, room and board, with a package of Bull Durham tobacco thrown in. Later, about age 16 I worked summer vacations in the Mohave Desert in a gold mill processing gold tailings. I was working at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, CA when I enlisted in the Marines. After the war, I finally found a job working cattle in a feedlot in Puente, CA. I worked there for about ten years and after the lot closed I went to work operating heavy equipment on jobs such as UCLA, Century City, Irvine College, and more.

I moved to Northern California to work on the Oroville Dam project; then the Interstate Highway 5 project. For the next twenty years I worked as a project manager for a land developer here in Northern California, and then I retired.

While I was in Southern California I belonged to a riding group (the Rough Riders). We rode in parades all over the area. One of our highlights was riding in the opening parade of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

For hobbies I enjoyed breaking a few horses; did some oil painting; furniture caning and glass blowing. For years my wife and I raised cattle and sheep for 4H projects.