Phord's Way
The terrible trouble started when corporal Phord, infantry squad leader USMC, is forced to deal with civilians. Of course, he encountered a lot of trouble in his life as a civilian before he joined. Raised in a violent home, he found a real home in the Marine Corps, a home so conducive to fulfilling his need to be part of a larger life than his own that it made the inevitable troubles of military enjoyable. He knows if he ever left the Marines and returned to civilian life, he might, honed by jarhead passions and animated by his violent upbringing, kill or be killed or be jailed. Then the Marines, as he says, "sucker punched me." He is transferred to recruiting duty – which means back to civilian life for him. The violence he encounters interacting with civilians while on that duty comes close to actualizing his kill/be-killed/jailed fears – forcing him at the end of the novella to make a shocking, life changing decision.
Dedication: To my first platoon sergeant who found that storming the sea wall at Inchon was a piece of cake compared to dealing with a butter bar commander.
Phord's Way is the first book in the acclaimed leadership authority's "Short Night Quintet," dealing with the American life during the Vietnam War. The following books are Death Before War, No Rank Man, Jan, and Repudiation and Redemption