Dress Blues
Authored by William E. Moore
Synopsis
Dress Blues is the story of five men's careers in the United States Marine Corps, the people they loved and the experiences that shaped their world. Although
written as fiction, the events in the book are based on fact. The author changed some of the names to protect the families of those so portrayed.
The story begins in the late 1940s as William "Smokey" Baker is joined by four other men from different states en route to the United States
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. Apprehension of an uncertain future binds them together as friends.
Upon graduation from "Boot Training" four of them are assigned duty in Washington, D.C. The fourth one is assigned to Marine Base Quantico,
Virginia, to undergo officer training. While in Washington, the three buddies are assigned to Arlington Cemetery, but they are quickly reassigned after a foul-up.
Assigned duty at the Marine Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, they become part of Marine infantry.
Time passes quickly and when the training ends they are given leaves to visit family and friends. While at a bus station, one of the
Marines meets his future wife. A wedding is planned but a change of orders separates the couple and homesickness begins to take its toll.
A tour of duty in China hardens the men as they are faced with uncommon situations. Returning from China they are sent to Australia and
New Zealand for further training. Orders disbanding their unit are received and they are sent to Japan to join the First Marine Brigade. They are later
assigned duty in the United States Embassy, Seoul, Korea for the purpose of training embassy personnel.
North Korea invades south Korea and war begins. They begin a trek to Pusan where they once again join a Marine unit. After an amphibious
assault on Inchon, they advance northward to the Chosin Reservoir. And the story continues....
About the Author:
William E. Moore, the son of Howard and Anna Moore, was born in March of 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA. He enlisted in the Marine Corps, having been influenced by tales
of glory from Marine veterans returning from World War II.
A veteran of the Korean War, his awards include a Silver Star and four Purple Hearts. Upon leaving the Marine Corps he attended the University of Pittsburgh,
earning a degree in history.
He currently resides in Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Deborah. His family includes six daughters, ten grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.
Order Information:
Fiction/War & Military; trade paperback; publication date - 2010; price $20.00 plus shipping costs; ISBN - 978-1-4349-6363-5; 202 pages. Available for purchase
at www.redleadbooks.com or write: Red Lead Press, 701 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222; phone 1-800-834-1803 or
call the author at 412-824-7824.
Hope in Hungnam
Authored by David Watts
Synopsis:
Hope in Hungnam is a novel of the Korean war and is inspired by these true events. Hope in Hungnam tells the story of a Marine desperately searching for meaning,
the woman who saved him, the Captain who saved them all, and the ship that did the impossible. From the frozen killing fields of Chosin Reservoir to the beaches of
Hungnam, David Watts weaves an epic tale of the men who fought, the men who died, and the men who risked all in the most stunning, and yet almost unknown naval evacuation
in all of human history.
In the darkest days of the Korean War, just before Christmas of 1950, the most remarkable naval evacuation in all of human history took place
in the harbor of the North Korean city, Hungnam. Under intense pressure from the Chinese Communist forces at Chosin Reservoir, UN forces withdrew to Hungnam and quickly
evacuated to South Korea to fight another day. At least 100,000 North Korean Civilians also evacuated to Hungnam. On one side: the icy waters of the Sea of Japan. On
the other side: tens of thousands of rapidly approaching
Chinese troops, who had promised to kill the North Korean civilians for suspicion of cooperating with the UN forces. Trapped with no escape,
the US military agreed to help evacuate the helpless civilians. In the course of a few short days 100,000 civilians were loaded onto anything that could float and were
taken to South Korea.
One particular ship stood above the others: The SS Meredith Victory. She was a simple cargo ship with accommodations only for her crew of 46
men, yet she took an unbelievable 14,000 civilians into her cargo holds and transported them safely to South Korea. For three days they travelled without food, water
or toilet facilities. Her commanding officer was Captain Leonard P. LaRue. He and his crew demonstrated courage, conviction and clarity of duty in risking everything
so that thousands could flee the scourge of communism and flee to the south.
About the Author:
David Watts lives in East Texas with his wife, three children and various dogs and cats. By day he works as a technology consultant and project manager. By night, he
writes. Often his work has him travelling each week back and forth across the country. According to Watts,
"I remember watching a special on TV about US Korean War vets that go back to South Korea and meet up with their South Korean counterparts.
It was interesting of course to see their reunion, and to see them visit sites near the DMZ. But in the middle of this special, there was about a 10 minute focus
on the story of the evacuation from Hungnam and in particular, the work done by the Captain and crew of the SS Meredith Victory. I was completely amazed that virtually
no one has heard of this story. I think it was really the fact that no one has heard of it. I remember the narrator saying that if this event had happened
during World War II, there would have been movies made about it by now. I also remember a comment making a comparison between Oskar Schindler and Leonard P. LaRue,
the Captain of the Meredith Victory. The comment in particular was that Schindler saved a thousand or so while LaRue saved 14,000, yet while everyone knows the
name Schindler, no one has heard of Captain LaRue. At that moment, I knew I had to write something of the story of the evacuation and the Meredith Victory. Of course,
none of this comparison detracts from the remarkable work done by Oskar Schindler to save so many Jews from slaughter during World War II. Rather, it makes me want
to tell the story of the Meredith Victory and Captain LaRue."
Order Information:
246pp. ASIN: B0089NV1BO. Kindle edition $0.99. On sale for a limited time. Regular Kindle price $2.99. Order online:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089NVIB0/ref=cm_sw_su_dp.
Killers from a Distance: Korea-1951, Combat while the truce
talks stuttered
Authored by James F. Walsh
Synopsis - Fictional Story Based on
Reality
From the author: "63 years ago I was a
combat infantryman on Korea's MLR (Main Line of Resistance).
I started writing about combat experience in 1975 and "Night
Guard in Dog Two Bunker" was published in August 1976 in the
VFW Magazine. In the 2001 Spring Issue of Notre
Dame Magazine was published my "In the Line of Fire".
In October 2001, Military History magazine published my "A
Survivor's Story: Futile Fight for Hill 440". This
story included many photos I had taken in Korea. In 2004
the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project published "Voices
of War", which included numerous excerpts and photos from my
unpublished memoir: From the Seminary to Korea's Front
Line-1951-1952.
As recollections of Korea and combat in
Korea never fade away, I found it necessary to again write about
combat but in a novel titled: Killers From a Distance:
Korea-1951, Combat while the truce talks stuttered. As
if the pressure of combat wasn't enough on GI infantrymen,
Killers From a Distance adds reactions to a new GI
replacement made gunner on a heavy thirty who teams with a South
Korean soldier, gets painful letters from home, sees contending
officers in the CP, a war weary machine gun section sergeant,
unit members' personal problems that pour all over their
buddies, all the while each soldier thinking he may yet survive
combat against Chinese Communist troops if there were a truce in
1951. Stress!"
Order Information:
Available from Amazon.com in Kindle
form (file size 3942 KB) for $2.99 or paperback (456 pages) for
$14.29.
The Day to Eternity
Authored by Joanne Monte
Synopsis
A sweeping story filled with scenes of love, war, and great personal sacrifice, The Day to Eternity follows three characters who struggle to find their place—and one
another—against tremendous odds. Set in the early 1950s against the backdrop of chaotic, war-torn Korea and an enchanting but fragile postwar Japan, the reader is taken
deep into the lives of characters whose responses to present adversity and the tortuous pull of the past crucially shape their destinies: Gavin, an American fighter
pilot shot down and held behind enemy lines as a prisoner of war; Claire, a missionary nurse, whose overwhelming passions threaten either to destroy or to save her;
and Madeline, a British war correspondent with a mysterious past.
A host of fellow characters fills the story with the reality of human contact amid the setback and shocks of war—Brosnan, brother to Gavin and Claire’s cold, unforgiving
husband; Father McGwire, who risks everything to establish a Christian mission in the nightmare landscape of South Korea; Soo-keung, the ill-fated North Korean mother
who turns against her country and who must cope with man’s inhumanity; and the sinister General Noh, determined to force Gavin to reveal military secrets—or break him
in the process.
Redolent of the shimmering heat and sudden storms of the Far East, The Day to Eternity invites the reader to explore its characters’ search for love and personal
accountability in a world of war that relentlessly tries to destroy them.
About the Author:
Joanne Monte is the daughter of a Korean War veteran whose stories and memories of the Korean War inspired her to write The Day to Eternity. An award winning poet,
she spent the last eight years researching and writing the novel in order to offer readers an understanding of an important piece of American history that has long
been ignored.
Order Information:
Fiction/War-Romance; soft-bound $16.95; also available on Kindle; publication date: January 2012; ISBN 978-1-59571-760-3; 334 pages; available for purchase at Amazon,
Barnes and Noble, Word Association Publishers: 1-800-827-7903.
The Medal
Authored by Stephen E. Lewis
April 1953. The Korean War has raged for three years. A new soldier, Private First Class Edward Michaels, joins a patrol that encounters and destroys
a superior enemy force. He returns as the patrol's only survivor. For gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, Michaels is awarded America's highest
decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. But First Sergeant MacKenzie Campbell, a seasoned veteran of two wars, is skeptical. No one was left alive to
confirm or deny the intrepid deed, which begs the question--is Michaels really an American hero?
From the war-torn hills of Korea to the steaming jungles of pre-war Vietnam, this is the story of Mack Campbell's journey to find the answer.
About the Author:
Stephen E. Lewis retired from the United States Army in 1993. He lives with his wife in Seoul, Korea, and is currently working on his next book.
Order Information:
Fiction/War & Military; trade paperback; publication date - October 2007; price $16.95; ISBN - 0-7414-4364-3; 283 pages. Available for purchase at
www.buybooksontheweb.com or write: Infinity Publishing, 1094 New Dehaven St., Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428; ph.
610-941-9999; toll free - 877-Buybook; fax 610-941-9959.
War Remains
Authored by: Jeffrey Miller
Synopsis:
Robert “Bobby” Washkowiak battles his way through the bitter first winter of the Korean War, longing for home, his wife, and newborn son. Fifty years later, his son
and grandson come across his wartime letters and together, they try to find out what really happened to him on one of the battlefields of that “forgotten war."
About the Author:
If there was one expression that best describes Jeffrey Miller, it would be "the unexamined life" is not worth living" because that is what he has done all his life--examine
the world around him as a writer, essayist, journalist, and teacher.
Originally from LaSalle, Illinois, he has been living and working in Asia since 1989. After serving in the United States Air Force from 1976-1980, he attended Southern
Illinois University, Illinois Valley Community College, Eureka College and Western Illinois University. Currently teaching at Woosong University in Daejeon, South
Korea, he has also been a feature writer for the Korea Times (2000-2006). It was during this time when he started to "discover" a forgotten war covering numerous Korean
War Commemoration events that would be part of the inspiration for his first novel. He divides his time between Korea and Laos, where his wife Aon and two sons,
Bia and Jeremy Aaron live.
Order Information:
Available through www.lulu.com. Download $6.99. 6x9 paperback $19.76. Hardcover $30.20.
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