US Marine, Colin McKinnon, fell in love with Emily in high school, but when he elected to join the Marine Corps, Emily chose to marry Colin’s best friend, Alex, preferring a safe and secure life. Brokenhearted but resolute, at their wedding, Colin promised Alex he’d take care of Emily if anything ever happened to Alex. Though Emily loved Colin, she married Alex, one of her best friends. She couldn’t abide the heartache of Colin marching into harm’s way. Alex was the safe choice with a career in accounting. When someone runs their car off the road, Alex is killed, and Emily miscarries their baby. In her search for answers to who would want them dead, Emily realizes Alex was into something deeper than simple accounting. Her search for the truth, lands her in danger. Colin, on leave to search for his missing father, remembers his promise to Alex and is set on keeping Emily safe. Together, they unravel the mystery of who wanted Alex dead. In the process, they rediscover the love they never forgot, and uncover another clue in the quest to find Colin’s missing father.

The true story of Lieutenant Steve Joyner, who carried all the traits of a "perfect Marine" - character, compassion, determination, patriotism . . . an All-American football star. But then came the harsh and unforgiving realities of combat in Vietnam. How the two worlds he inhabited both connected and conflicted reveals the character of an extraordinary man gone far too soon. "Promise Lost is a touching, crisply rendered account of a Marine lieutenant who fell heroically in the final, bloody days of the 1968 battle for Khe Sanh while leading a counterattack into the teeth of an overwhelming enemy assault force," writes Vietnam veteran and author Michael Archer. "Yet, the real story here is of Steve Joyner's life, his personal character, and enormous potential. Dan Moore reliably and deftly weaves this poignant tale of friendship, honor and fate; culminating in the agonizing reality that war does not end on the battlefield; but rather back home, often decades later, within a fallen warrior's circle of family and friends."

Life-threatening, near-death experiences are common subjects for books or television; usually these focus on a single experience in one persons life. A Marines Promise to God, by David L. Ray, follows the author on his tour of Vietnam in 1970, through more than ten near-death experiencesduring which he never even received a wound. He was the squad point man, notorious for being the most dangerous combat role. The marines around him were wounded and killed, but Ray survived by the power of prayer and the promise he made to God, which he has done his best to keep. As Ray chronicles his path to joining the Marines and discovering the chaos of the life of a Marine grunt in Vietnam, he introduces readers to his experiences of life with his company and in the bush. The narrative follows Ray as he works day and nighttime missions and patrols, finds his place, and sees moments of extreme violence and sadness. David L. Ray is a living example of the power of prayer, divine protection, and overworked guardian angels. Time after time, when the shooting and explosions had stopped, Ray realized that not only was he still alive, but he hadnt even been hit. To this day, he has never forgotten what God did for himand he has never forgotten his friends who fell while serving their country.

Lawrence of Arabia meets Sebastian Junger's War in this unique, incendiary, and dramatic true story of heroism and heartbreak in Afghanistan written by a Pulitzer Prize–nominated war correspondent. Army Special Forces Major Jim Gant changed the face of America’s war effort in Afghanistan. A decorated Green Beret who spent years in Afghanistan and Iraq training indigenous fighters, Gant argued for embedding autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan to earn the Afghans’ trust and transform them into a reliable ally with whom we could defeat the Taliban and counter al-Qaeda networks. The military's top brass, including General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, approved, and Gant was tasked with implementing his controversial strategy. Veteran war correspondent Ann Scott Tyson first spoke with Gant when he was awarded the Silver Star in 2007. Tyson soon came to share Gant’s vision, so she accompanied him to Afghanistan, risking her life to embed with the tribes and chronicle their experience. And then they fell in love. Illustrated with dozens of photographs, American Spartan is their remarkable story—one of the most riveting, emotional narratives of wartime ever published.

Marine Corps Warfighting Publication MCWP 6-10 (Formerly MCWP 6-11) Leading Marines 2 May 2016 The act of leading Marines is a sacred responsibility and a rewarding experience. This publication describes a leadership philosophy that speaks to who we are as Marines. It is about the relationship between the leader and the led. It is also about the bond between all Marines that is formed in the common forge of selfless service and shared hardships. It's in this forge where Marines are hardened like steel, and the undefinable spirit that forms the character of our Corps is born. It draws from shared experiences, hardships, and challenges in training and combat. Leading Marines is not meant to be read passively; as you read this publication, think about the material. You should reflect on, discuss, and apply the concepts presented in this publication. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of leaders at all levels to mentor and develop the next generation of Marine leaders.