thedrifter
10-28-07, 07:36 AM
"Why Marines Fight":
Book unites author, LI cop
October 28, 2007
Newsday -
When Suffolk County police detective Dennis Delaney called James Brady this past spring, he was looking for another autograph in a book he owns about former Marines who excelled in life. Brady, a bestselling author of frothy Hamptons novels and serious fiction and nonfiction books about war, also writes a celebrity column for Parade magazine and a media column for Forbes.com.
Brady had another thought, though, as he invited Delaney to his East Hampton home to sign the volume. He also wanted to interview him for a book he was working on.
Delaney, 60, a Vietnam veteran - and Sag Harbor resident - with a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, is the hero of chapter 14 of "Why Marines Fight," Brady's new book to be released this week. Brady, 78, commanded a rifle platoon during the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star.
The two men sat last week on Brady's sunny patio, recalling how they came to know each other earlier this year on that very spot.
Delaney described his trepidation about calling on the writer to sign his copy of "Anyone Here a Marine?" by Dennis Carpenter. "I decided, he can only say no." But when he identified himself to Brady's daughter, who answered the phone, as a "former Marine," he says, "I realized those were the magic words. ... Mr. Brady was tremendously gracious in inviting me over."
"He can even call me Jim," Brady adds, joking. Despite Delaney's formal politeness, the men seem to share a camaraderie. Brady had asked Delaney back for a second visit to interview him, and the two plan to meet again soon.
Brady says he got the idea for his endeavor two years ago, while promoting his previous book, "The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea." He says he often was asked, in this time of unpopular war, what moved Marines to fight - and valiantly.
"I wanted to explore if it was fear, discipline, love of country, hatred of the enemy or a desire to prove oneself," he says. He interviewed more than 50 former and current Marines, including some who contacted him after an article about his project appeared in Leatherneck, a magazine for Marine Corps veterans. Some are well known - New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) (whose son, Lance Cpl. Jim Webb, sent Brady e-mails from Iraq) - but most are not.
The most frequent answer Brady says he received is, "I fought for the guy in the next hole, and we fought for our country." Though Marines are usually reticent, Brady says, they talked to him because he also has been a Marine in combat.
"Absolutely," Delaney says. "He is the real deal."
When he left the service in 1952, Brady wrote ads for Macy's before joining Women's Wear Daily, where he later became publisher. This is his 17th book.
Delaney, a Lindenhurst High School graduate who was a plumber before joining up in 1965, became a police officer afterward. Both credit the self confidence and discipline they learned as Marines for their success.
(In related news, Nassau Community College in Garden City presents "Scott Ritter vs. Big West: Two Ex-Marines Debate the War in Iraq and America's Future in the Middle East" Nov. 7 at 11 a.m.; call 516-572-7153.)
Ellie
Book unites author, LI cop
October 28, 2007
Newsday -
When Suffolk County police detective Dennis Delaney called James Brady this past spring, he was looking for another autograph in a book he owns about former Marines who excelled in life. Brady, a bestselling author of frothy Hamptons novels and serious fiction and nonfiction books about war, also writes a celebrity column for Parade magazine and a media column for Forbes.com.
Brady had another thought, though, as he invited Delaney to his East Hampton home to sign the volume. He also wanted to interview him for a book he was working on.
Delaney, 60, a Vietnam veteran - and Sag Harbor resident - with a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, is the hero of chapter 14 of "Why Marines Fight," Brady's new book to be released this week. Brady, 78, commanded a rifle platoon during the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star.
The two men sat last week on Brady's sunny patio, recalling how they came to know each other earlier this year on that very spot.
Delaney described his trepidation about calling on the writer to sign his copy of "Anyone Here a Marine?" by Dennis Carpenter. "I decided, he can only say no." But when he identified himself to Brady's daughter, who answered the phone, as a "former Marine," he says, "I realized those were the magic words. ... Mr. Brady was tremendously gracious in inviting me over."
"He can even call me Jim," Brady adds, joking. Despite Delaney's formal politeness, the men seem to share a camaraderie. Brady had asked Delaney back for a second visit to interview him, and the two plan to meet again soon.
Brady says he got the idea for his endeavor two years ago, while promoting his previous book, "The Scariest Place in the World: A Marine Returns to North Korea." He says he often was asked, in this time of unpopular war, what moved Marines to fight - and valiantly.
"I wanted to explore if it was fear, discipline, love of country, hatred of the enemy or a desire to prove oneself," he says. He interviewed more than 50 former and current Marines, including some who contacted him after an article about his project appeared in Leatherneck, a magazine for Marine Corps veterans. Some are well known - New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) (whose son, Lance Cpl. Jim Webb, sent Brady e-mails from Iraq) - but most are not.
The most frequent answer Brady says he received is, "I fought for the guy in the next hole, and we fought for our country." Though Marines are usually reticent, Brady says, they talked to him because he also has been a Marine in combat.
"Absolutely," Delaney says. "He is the real deal."
When he left the service in 1952, Brady wrote ads for Macy's before joining Women's Wear Daily, where he later became publisher. This is his 17th book.
Delaney, a Lindenhurst High School graduate who was a plumber before joining up in 1965, became a police officer afterward. Both credit the self confidence and discipline they learned as Marines for their success.
(In related news, Nassau Community College in Garden City presents "Scott Ritter vs. Big West: Two Ex-Marines Debate the War in Iraq and America's Future in the Middle East" Nov. 7 at 11 a.m.; call 516-572-7153.)
Ellie