All posts by Jim

Left HS before report cards came out. Enlisted in the Marines for four years. By the time those years were over, I was hooked - they had me for life. Spent nearly ten years as enlisted. Received a Silver Star, Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart as a Sgt during first RVN tour. Upon returning to the State's received a combat commission to 2Lt. Retired after 36 total years as a Colonel. Book follows my career, but is more about the heroes with whom I served, the great mentors I had, and the leadership principles they instilled in me.
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New Movie

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Title Only-crop (2)Great news! Watch for the new movie at your local theater called We’ll All Die As Marines starring  _________  (you fill in the blank)

My book was published by IUniverse, which is a POD Publisher (Print On Demand). In other words, I paid them to print my book, and I will say they did a magnificent job. I love the cover, which they designed once I provided them with the photos, verbiage, etc. They even designed the website, business cards, book markers, and postcards — by the way, none of this was cheap. Once all that was done they do nothing but sell the book at what I consider an exorbitant price, but I have no say in that whatsoever, it is all based on the number of pages.

I believe they actually make their money on selling programs not books. I have bought into some of their many marketing programs at several thousand dollars each, which did nothing but put me deeper into the red. While some appeared to have promise of getting the book in front of a quasi-military audience, I cannot attribute one sale to any of the programs I purchased.

I was constantly hounded, and yes, I considered it “hounded” and unprofessional to continually call me to buy a program to market the book so they could sell more and receive 80% of the net profit on each sale.

Then came the final shot — they tipped the scales with this one. They wanted me to have a screen writer do an outline, which they would send to an entertainment company. If the company liked it, I would then allow the screen writer to actually develop a movie script. Sounds wonderful right? What author would not want to see his book title on a theater marque, or on a DVD at Blockbuster’s, or on Netflix? There is one small catch; however, this entire program was to cost me slightly over $20,000.00. And even then, there was no guarantee that it would be picked up by a production company. Needless to say, I damned near fell out of my chair laughing at the poor gal that had to make that call.

First of all, the book is not the type that would produce a movie script. Had she read it, or even scanned it before making the call? Hell, had anyone at the company even peeked at the book to see if it had the right kind of story? I think not.

Therefore, once I regained my composure, I politely told the young woman that I thought I’d pass. I told her I wouldn’t do it because they might get Cruise, Clooney, or worse yet Penn to play me. I could handle Mark Wahlberg, Gary Sinise, or John Travolta — I like their passion. She actually thought I was serious and told me I would have “rights” in the production. This was so hilarious — it was beyond belief, and it ended my relationship with the publisher, except for ordering books from them.

So, I am sorry to say, there will be no movie entitled We’ll All Die As Marines. LOL

Semper Fi, Jim

Originally posted 2016-02-17 11:03:55.

Peek Inside

Table of Contents

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scan0004Several folks have asked for more details about the book; therefore, I thought the best way to answer their requests was to show the “Contents” page. So, here it is. Some titles are a dead giveaway as to the content, but then others might be a play on words. Remember I only sell the hard cover, but for much less than you can get anywhere — it will be inscribed as you desire, and I eat the postage. If you are a Marine, or if you know a Marine, It would be a gift he or she will cherish and thoroughly enjoy. I guarantee it will rekindle many fond (and maybe not so fond) memories. The time set of the book is 1958-93.

 

                                   Contents

  1. “Brewed on the Shores of the Chesapeake Bay”
  2. “From the Halls of Montezuma”
  3. Parris Island
  4. Infantry Training Regiment
  5. The Private’s World
  6. Schools Demonstration Troops
  7. Republic of Philippines
  8. Treasure Island
  9. Crossing the Pacific
  10. Welcome to Japan
  11. The Price of a Lucky Strike
  12. The Monkey House
  13. Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines
  14. Drill Instructor School
  15. The DI
  16. The Platoon Leaders Course
  17. Schools Demonstration Troops—Revisited
  18. Republic of Vietnam
  19. ”Corpsman Up”
  20. Only a Sergeant
  21. Sparrow Hawk
  22. Sheer Terror
  23. Operation Hastings
  24. Anderson Trail
  25. Bordering on Ridiculous
  26. WAINE
  27. Cpl Gary Wayne Olson, USMC
  28. The Silent Majority
  29. Oldest Post in the Corps
  30. “Who the Hell’s Jim”
  31. Hail to the Chief
  32. My Officer Candidates School
  33. Staff Sergeant “Chesty”
  34. The Special Ceremonial Platoon
  35. Anchors Aweigh
  36. Company “E”
  37. Amphibious Warfare School
  38. Go Army!
  39. Methodist College
  40. Okinawa
  41. Marine Barracks, Lemoore, California
  42. Armed Forces Staff College
  43. Recruiting Station, Chicago
  44. College of Naval Warfare
  45. Huxley’s Harlots
  46. Landing Force Training Command, Atlantic
  47. The School of Infantry
  48. The Consequences

 

Originally posted 2016-02-15 22:29:40.

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The Toughest Assignment in the Corps

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I have no idea how I became blessed with the honor of commanding the Special Ceremonial Platoon (SCP) at Marine Barracks, 8th & I, Washington, D.C.  The platoon consisted of three sections: the Corps’s Color Guard, the Body Bearers, and the Silent Drill Team. It was my Officer Candidate School (OCS) as I reported in as a SSgt from Vietnam destined to become the platoon sergeant of SCP. However, a combat commission recommendation from my RVN company commander was approved and I became the platoon commander vice the platoon sergeant — quite a strange sequence of events.

Body BearersI was blessed to be able to see first-hand what these Marines do day in and day out. It is quite a story in my book and worth the read, especially if you are familiar with the battles during my time there (1967-69) — the Tet Offensive of 1968. The Body Bearers were so busy, we had to augment them and the color guard with Marines from the drill team. A very sad time for all of us in Ceremonial Guard Company. While every burial was deeply emotional, it became unbearable when you knew the Marine you were burying.

This link will take you to an inside look at what it is like to be one of the brave souls — it is very emotional to me personally. God bless those Marine s assigned to that duty. Read the book and learn what it takes to be one of these blessed souls, and how they are able to maintain their sanity in such an assignment.

If this video does not touch your heart, perhaps you do not have one.

Originally posted 2016-02-14 12:52:00.

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Life After Downton Abbey?

downton-eventIs there life after Down Abbey?  It’s over, yes it is over for my bride and me. Not so, you say, the last episode doesn’t air until mid-March. Well, for us it is, in fact, over. You see, I am one of those impatient souls who hate commercials — yes I realize there would be no great shows without support from those irritating, obscene, and sometimes utterly ridiculous three or so minutes between the important stuff, but that doesn’t make them more bearable.

Secondly, when I am watching what I consider a great show, I have difficulty waiting until next week to see the results of tonight’s episode. I mean, let’s get real here — at my age, knowing the unpredictability of life, I may not be alive next week.  I can not imagine not knowing “whodunit?”

We stopped watching the Downton Abbey sometime into the 3rd season, I have not the slightest idea why that happened; however we had an epiphany and decided to catch up.  Since we have Amazon Prime for other reasons e.g., purchasing supplies for our cattery, we decided to use it to catch up to the current season first (free), then for about $20, we bought the sixth and final season. We watched all nine episodes in three nights — it’s nice being retired and able to sleep late the next mornings.

I shall not reveal anything about the last season, especially the very last episode. That would be awful, and probably worth snuffing someone out if they did that to me — smiles of course. All I shall say is we enjoyed the entire season, and hope you do as well. Send me a comment when you’ve seen them all and share your final thoughts.

So I shall ask again, is there life after Downton Abbey? Lord, I hope so. I must now search the vast supply to find another one, but I doubt if one will ever stand up to Jullian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey.

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Originally posted 2016-02-12 12:15:10.

Recent Posts

Special Place in Hell

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Colonel Andy has done it again and told it like it is. Such candor, such forthrightness, and such truth from a fellow “Swinger of Birches.” Yes, South Carolina, we wait.

Cover, right click, and go to. Or copy and paste into browser.

http://www.acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2016/02/theres-special-place-in-hell.html

Originally posted 2016-02-12 11:02:24.