A Few Good Memories: Tales from USMC Boot Camp [Paperback]

Bob Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

   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!

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155369144X
• ISBN-13: 978-1553691440
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, September 14, 2005

By 

Jack Dempsey (South Miami Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Few Good Memories: Tales from USMC Boot Camp (Paperback)

Picked this up after hearing about it through a buddy from the "Together We Served" website. You Devil Dogs who don't know about that site, need to check it out. Anyway, back to the book, not going to go on and on and on about, except to say that it really hits home and brings back floods of memories. Those who served know, and wherever your dividing line for your USMCRD was, it makes no difference...this book is the same for all of us. Get it, and get it for your family members who are in or going in. You'll love it and so will they.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Few Good Memories, July 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Few Good Memories: Tales from USMC Boot Camp (Paperback)

A real marine book. I bought one for each of my two sons in the Corps and they love it. Tells it like it is in Boot Camp.