thedrifter
06-15-06, 05:55 AM
Author gains Marine Corps interest with new book about drill instructors
Published Thursday June 15 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
A former Vietnam War protester is causing a stir at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and it's not with antiwar antics but with his new book that tries to delve into little-known mysteries of the Corps.
Larry Smith now calls himself an "aficionado" of the Marine Corps.
"It evolved with the writing of the book," he said. "I began to understand how the Corps functioned."
"The Few and The Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words" focuses on recruit training and features several chapters on former Parris Island drill instructors.
Smith said he became interested in writing about drill instructors after interviewing several Marines for his book about Medal of Honor winners, "Beyond Glory."
"I looked at recruit training and realized the essence of the Marine Corps mystique was really embodied by the drill instructor," said Smith, who spent about two years visiting recruit depots on Parris Island and in San Diego and hours in phone interviews.
A book signing on Parris Island on June 8 was fairly well attended with most drop-ins being recruits, one day shy of graduating, and their families.
The book honestly recorded a history of the Marine Corps that needed to be written down, said Gene Alvarez, who was a drill instructor in the 1950s and went on to be a history professor and an author.
"It recorded history of the way things used to be," which Alvarez said was much harsher.
Smith said he also looked at the role of women in the Marine Corps and recruit training. All female Marines undergo basic training at Parris Island.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Denise Kreuser, who also has her own chapter in the book, said much changed from when she went through boot camp in 1978 and when she returned as a drill instructor in 1985 and then again in the early 1990s and eventually returned to head up the drill instructors.
"Now it's equal," she said. "It's better for females overall to be equal. ... We can take care of ourselves."
When she entered the Corps, women didn't have to learn how to shoot a rifle, only were tested on a mile run and even attended tea parties to practice etiquette, Kreuser said. Now, for example, women must meet the same qualifications as the men on the rifle range and are tested on a 3 mile run, as the men are.
"Male counterparts said female (drill instructors) are harder on female Marines," Kreuser said, adding she realized this was true when she came back to lead the drill instructors at the end of her military career.
Kreuser's husband, Clint, is also a retired sergeant major and was interviewed for the book. They live in the Beaufort area, and they both said they enjoyed Smith's book. "When we read it, it's like they're speaking," Denise Kreuser said.
R. Lee Ermey, a former drill instructor at San Diego, played a role in Hollywood as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket," and his views are also included in Smith's book.
Smith said his book has received a lot of interest, especially after some excerpts were published in Parade magazine. He said the book provides reinforcement of values to Marines and a window into an unknown, mysterious world for the general public.
"The true story of the drill instructor has never been told," Smith said. "He or she is best known through images created by Hollywood. They don't really tell the public at large what a drill instructor accomplishes."
Though never in the military himself, Smith said he had some personal experience on the transformative effects the Corps, and especially its three-month basic training, has on young men and women. He said his brother was given the choice basically between going to jail or joining the Marines. He chose the Corps, and after six years there, he came out an upstanding citizen, Smith said.
A story which isn't uncommon in the Corps, he said.
"There are several individuals in the book that if it hadn't been for the Marine Corps, they would've been in jail."
Ellie
Published Thursday June 15 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
A former Vietnam War protester is causing a stir at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and it's not with antiwar antics but with his new book that tries to delve into little-known mysteries of the Corps.
Larry Smith now calls himself an "aficionado" of the Marine Corps.
"It evolved with the writing of the book," he said. "I began to understand how the Corps functioned."
"The Few and The Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words" focuses on recruit training and features several chapters on former Parris Island drill instructors.
Smith said he became interested in writing about drill instructors after interviewing several Marines for his book about Medal of Honor winners, "Beyond Glory."
"I looked at recruit training and realized the essence of the Marine Corps mystique was really embodied by the drill instructor," said Smith, who spent about two years visiting recruit depots on Parris Island and in San Diego and hours in phone interviews.
A book signing on Parris Island on June 8 was fairly well attended with most drop-ins being recruits, one day shy of graduating, and their families.
The book honestly recorded a history of the Marine Corps that needed to be written down, said Gene Alvarez, who was a drill instructor in the 1950s and went on to be a history professor and an author.
"It recorded history of the way things used to be," which Alvarez said was much harsher.
Smith said he also looked at the role of women in the Marine Corps and recruit training. All female Marines undergo basic training at Parris Island.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Denise Kreuser, who also has her own chapter in the book, said much changed from when she went through boot camp in 1978 and when she returned as a drill instructor in 1985 and then again in the early 1990s and eventually returned to head up the drill instructors.
"Now it's equal," she said. "It's better for females overall to be equal. ... We can take care of ourselves."
When she entered the Corps, women didn't have to learn how to shoot a rifle, only were tested on a mile run and even attended tea parties to practice etiquette, Kreuser said. Now, for example, women must meet the same qualifications as the men on the rifle range and are tested on a 3 mile run, as the men are.
"Male counterparts said female (drill instructors) are harder on female Marines," Kreuser said, adding she realized this was true when she came back to lead the drill instructors at the end of her military career.
Kreuser's husband, Clint, is also a retired sergeant major and was interviewed for the book. They live in the Beaufort area, and they both said they enjoyed Smith's book. "When we read it, it's like they're speaking," Denise Kreuser said.
R. Lee Ermey, a former drill instructor at San Diego, played a role in Hollywood as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket," and his views are also included in Smith's book.
Smith said his book has received a lot of interest, especially after some excerpts were published in Parade magazine. He said the book provides reinforcement of values to Marines and a window into an unknown, mysterious world for the general public.
"The true story of the drill instructor has never been told," Smith said. "He or she is best known through images created by Hollywood. They don't really tell the public at large what a drill instructor accomplishes."
Though never in the military himself, Smith said he had some personal experience on the transformative effects the Corps, and especially its three-month basic training, has on young men and women. He said his brother was given the choice basically between going to jail or joining the Marines. He chose the Corps, and after six years there, he came out an upstanding citizen, Smith said.
A story which isn't uncommon in the Corps, he said.
"There are several individuals in the book that if it hadn't been for the Marine Corps, they would've been in jail."
Ellie