Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps (Hardcover)

~ John Schaeffer (Author), (Author) "When John was newly born, his damp hair smelling sweet, the nurse placed his long body in my arms and then, bless her, forgot us..." (more)
Key Phrases: silent drill team, parade deck, yellow footprints, Parris Island, Marine Corps, Air Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The story of a young man having a growth experience by joining the military is a classic scenario, and John Schaeffer does justice to his take on it in his account of personal transformation from high-school graduate to U.S. Marines corporal. Interspersed with his narrative are his father Frank's remarks on the rest of the family's incidental affiliation with and new perspective on the marines in particular and the military in general. They brought to the encounter the ignorance and prejudice against the military that too often accompanies their status as members of the college-educated white middle class, from which, in fact, precious few of America's servicemen come. But in the end, Frank expresses open pride in having sent one of "the best ye breed" to the corps before September 11. One of the better books of its kind, and likely to remain so. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

In 1998, Frank Schaeffer was a successful novelist living in "Volvo-driving, higher-education worshipping" Massachusetts with two children graduated from top universities. Then his youngest child, straight out of high school, joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Written in alternating voices by eighteen-year-old John and his father, Frank, Keeping Faith takes readers in riveting fashion through a family’s experience of the U.S. Marine Corps. From being broken down and built back up on Parris Island (and being the parent of a child undergoing that experience), to the growth of both father and son and their separate reevaluations of what it means to serve. From Frank’s realization that among his fellow soccer dads "the very words ‘boot camp’ were pejorative, conjuring up ‘troubled youths at risk’ " to John’s learning that "the Marine next to you is more important than you are," Keeping Faith is a fascinating and personal reconsideration of issues of class, duty, and patriotism. But as John and his fellow recruits battle to make the cut—and John’s family struggles to deal with the worry and separation, it is also an extremely timely, moving, and wonderfully written human interest story—a moving chronicle of love, duty and patriotism in contemporary America. "Beautifully written ... great insight and unselfconscious humor."—Publishers Weekly

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710977
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710973
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #190,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The change is forever", November 27, 2002

By	Vulcan Forge Blacksmith Shop (Lancaster, NH USA) - See all my reviews

I recently received a copy of the new book, "Keeping Faith" by Frank and John Schaeffer for review. This book is a collaborative effort between a Marine (John) and his father (Frank). It not only tells the story of one young man's journey from a "nasty" civilian to a Marine, via Paris Island, but it explores the feelings between a son and a father during that
transition. Though two of my own kids made that journey nearly four years ago, this book dredged up all the emotions of that time-the selfish disappointment at having a child leave home, the anxiety over whether they would make it, and the pride in having a son or daughter become a member of America's most elite fighting force. It also brought new understanding to what the training at Parris Island accomplishes and painted the vivid details that my own kids omitted when recounting their experience.

Throughout the book, the chronological story of the training at boot camp is interspersed with John Schaeffer's poetry and letters to his dad and Frank's letters to Recruit Schaeffer. "Keeping Faith" unveils the love and emotions of a father and son in an intimate way and examines the subtle changes in that relationship that the journey from childhood to adulthood, via the Marine Corps, brings. If you are a the parent of a poolee or new recruit, this book will be invaluable to understanding what your son or daughter is about to undertake and what it will mean to you. For those who have already made the journey, "Keeping Faith" will rekindle all those emotions, from your recruit getting on the bus, to the pride filled day of graduation. It should be mandatory reading for all Marine parents. Even your non-Marine friends would gain an understanding of why Marines and their parents are so proud of the title, United States Marine.

I highly recommend this book to all.

Neal Wells
Proud Father of...

2 Marines and an Airman

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book!, September 24, 2002

By	"nsta" (Bloomfield Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Keeping Faith details, through Father and Son journal excerpts, letters and conversations, the days leading up to, and during, Frank Schaeffer's youngest son John's enlistment into the USMC. The book presented me with moments of hilarity, and tears. I recommend it strongly not only to Fathers and Sons, but also to military families everywhere.

For Fathers the book provides an honest look inside a father's heart as he struggles with the issue of letting go of his youngest child, while facing the realities of the empty nest.

For Sons the book gives an intimate look and one son's path to manhood, as he breaks away from his father's shadow and enhances his sense of self, without ever leaving his father's heart.

For USMC fans the book offers an intimate look inside the Corps experience. From the hell of boot camp life and the interdependence it fosters among the recruits to the often-frustrating life within the Corps that follows boot camp graduation. What an eye opener for those whose only experience with the Marine Corps is that which is presented by Hollywood!

What a book!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Tribute to our Servicemen in the Corp, May 6, 2003

By	R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This book covers a cross section of subjects. While I think the father intended it's focus to be about his relationship with his son, the son's in-depth narrative of boot camp and his transformation into a Marine were much more touching to me.

As to the father-son relationship, this is the tale of a loving father who is losing his son as he grows to a man. And this really starts before he enters the Marines as he becomes more attached to a girl of whom the father does not approve...When the son John enters boot camp, the real excitement starts as you live through the experience with him. The brainwashing of these recruits seems extreme until you watch these recruits grow into the type Marines the DIs wanted. I'm not sure I could survive the mental and physical effects of boot camp and anyone who has passed boot camp is to be commended. It's interesting to watch these guys struggle the last few weeks with injuries that should be treated but would only delay the recruit's training.

After boot camp, the book then shows the negative of the military. This motivated recruit is sent for Morse Code training for 4 months only to be sidelined for over a year, as his security clearance has not been processed in Washington. What a waste of taxpayer money and young people's lives. But even this demeaning treatment does not shake the extreme pride in the Corp.

Probably the most important lesson of this book is how a son from an upper-middle class family chooses a career in the Marines while suffering the ridicule of the liberal friends of his parents and how his father's attitude changes about this. I felt this could have been covered in more depth. More importantly, this recruit bonds with the fully integrated Marines and learns to share many experiences with most other recruits less fortunate.

I strongly recommend this book to learn more of one of our greatest natural resources, the men and women who choose to serve in the military. The most heart-wrenching part of this book is seeing the stories of Marines with families who qualify for food stamps. People, something is not right with that concept