cover image The Few and the Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words

The Few and the Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words

Larry Smith, . . Norton, $26.95 (325pp) ISBN 978-0-393-06044-7

This series of interviews with Marines, most of whom are current or former drill instructors, offers a multifaceted, personal history of the Marine Corps and its training methods since WWII. Alongside a host of distinguished Marines, several celebrities who spent time in the corps are featured, including R. Lee Ermey, the actor and technical adviser who portrayed the ultimate drill instructor in Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam epic Full Metal Jacket ; former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, who served for 13 months in 1945 and 1946; and the late photographer Eddie Adams, who honed his skills behind the camera as a combat photographer in the Korean War. Smith (Beyond Glory ) lets the Marines do most of the talking and chimes in with explanatory essays on the nuts and bolts of boot camp life. While nearly all of the Marines' comments are positive, Smith also includes details about the 1956 Ribbon Creek training incident, in which seven recruits drowned during an ill-advised night march. He offers perspectives on the Marines' acceptance of African-Americans following WWII and its treatment of females in the past 60 years. Former Marines and military buffs will find much to pique their interest. (May)