We generally experience overseas military operations in real time through the media of newspaper and television news accounts. These reports are generally superficial sketches of the action and rarely reveal the depth of the drama unfolding on the ground.

This novel tells the story of Marines in combat―the comradery, humor, and sacrifice of the men on the ground thousands of miles from home. You go with the Marines out on the ship, ashore for the invasion of Grenada (the last combat of the Cold War), and then on to Beirut where the Marines fight Muslim militia (the first combat of the War on Terror).

Throughout, newspaper excerpts track events that provide the setting of this fictional story. But this fictional story is framed by real events, including true accounts of the terrorist attack on the Marine headquarters in Beirut and the coup in Grenada that triggered the invasion. In all, this story shows the reader what it was like to be there.