Through a series of unapologetically honest and unintentionally humorous letters to his mother, the author shares his unvarnished experiences as a naive 18-year-old navigating the tribulations of boot camp.
Welcome to the July 22nd stop on the blog tour for Letters From A Warrior by Dale E. Dallman with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for excerpt spotlights, more guest posts, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
Convincing people is how I made my living for decades!
It involved leading, manipulating, slight of hand, play on words, bribe, coddle, coheres, plead, trick! I sold used cars, sold drugs (legal ones for Bristol Myers), was on the Sheriff Department talking people down, BUT– I don’t need to use any of those tricks to tell people to read my new book, “LETTERS FROM A WARRIOR P.S. Mom, I Love You”
This book reeks of honesty! It sells fear, love, hate, friendship. You will enjoy the pure humor of a young boy, overwhelmed with a choice in life that seemed way past computing! It shows why the US Marines are the best fighting force in the world. It shows how to break down a personality and rebuild it the way you want it. It gives you insight into forming teams that live as long as you do.
Most Corporations, Sports Franchises, schools preach teamwork. Believe me, it isn’t the same as the Marines! When you leave college, retire from the business world or get too old for professional sports, the team spirit dies somewhat. Not so in the Marines! You are taught that your life is secondary to the team. You read untold amounts stories of Marines laying down their life for their brothers. You don’t find widespread racism in the Marines. All Marines bleed GREEN! This alone should convince you that you need to read this book.
If you want a book that you can’t put down. One that will cause you to stay up late to read. One that has you skip TV program or your favorite movie so you can read, this is the one! If you want a book you can send as gifts and the receiver doesn’t just add it to the dozens already on the shelf, collecting dust, they read it, this is the one! I don’t know if I can convince you, but the other readers can!
About the Book
Letters From A Warrior
P.S. Mom, I Love You
by Dale E. Dallman
Published 1 July 2024
TAWCarlisle Publishing
Genre: Non-fiction Military History
Page Count: 159
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
“Letters From A Warrior, P.S. Mom, I Love You” is a captivating true story full of adventure and self-discovery. It is portrayed with a relentless wit that offers an intimate glimpse into the world of the US Marine Corps Boot Camp in 1960. This is all done through the eyes of a young man who trades his small-town roots in Minot, North Dakota for the thrilling and challenging life of a Marine.
Through a series of unapologetically honest and unintentionally humorous letters to his mother, the author shares his unvarnished experiences as a naive 18-year-old navigating the tribulations of boot camp. With the specter of his seemingly menacing drill instructors looming large, this young man’s quest for a life beyond his hometown quickly becomes a rollercoaster of exhilaration, fear, and personal growth.
Witness the author’s transformation from a small-town boy to a dedicated warrior as he overcomes adversity and learns invaluable lessons about courage, resilience, and the true meaning of strength. From his first day at the MCRD to his thrilling new beginning in Hawaii, this unforgettable memoir stands as a testament to the power of determination and the indomitable spirit of youth.
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Excerpt
Well, we are starting another day.
They had us all file into a huge room. Here, some Marines in uniform started hollering at us to get undressed. We all took off our clothes and piled them on the floor. This Marine screamed that he meant all of our clothes. Mom.
We had to take off our underwear too! We all stood around naked as a Jay Bird! There were a lot of us in this room, it seemed like hundreds. A Marine went to the head of the line and screamed he wanted the line A to B! Mom, this means you have to stand right against the guy in front of you. I mean touching! He then ordered us to march into the next room. Here each of us was given a galvanized bucket. We then proceeded to receive a toothbrush, a shaver, a bar of soap, and a towel. They then made us all line up sideways and told us to sit down on the bucket. You have to visualize a hundred or more, naked, sitting on a bucket to really see the funny side of this!
We didn’t get dressed for hours. They pushed, prodded, walked, and humiliated us from one room to another. They finally let us put on a pair of green pants, a yellow sweatshirt that said U.S. Marine Corps, and a pair of white tennis shoes.
We were taken to chow and then back to the receiving area. The Marine said our Drill Instructors would be here tomorrow. He smiled and said, “Good luck, you will need it!”
This won’t be so bad.
LOVE DALE
About the Author
Dale E. Dallman, Senior was born on a hot dry day in Britton, South Dakota, just off the Sisseton Indian Reservation, east of Lake Tewaukon, because that was the closest hospital. His relatives all worked for the railroad and/or farmed near Fort Ransom, Cayuga, and Rutland, North Dakota. When his father got the chance to quit farming and transfer to the railroad they moved to Minot, North Dakota where Dale attended grade school at Sunnyside and graduated high school at Minot High.
After Dale and a few of his friends got themselves into trouble towards the end of their senior year, a nice judge “suggested” that he and several of his acquaintances join the United States Marine Corps. The formation of the “NODAK PLATOON” made the timeline fit. The Marines took him to San Diego, California, Hawaii, Asia, and back to San Francisco, California. He grew up fast in the Marines. One of his buddies stuck with him after they were discharged and the two followed each other off and on through life.
His first real job after the service was in Billings, Montana with Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co. as a road salesman. This led to other road salesman positions with the American Greetings Company and the Bristol Myers Drug Company. He ventured into real estate, casinos, auto sales, RV sales, which took him to Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He became a deputy sheriff in California for a while, then traveled on to Washington, Arizona, Virginia, Germany, and Colorado, to name a few.
Today, Mr. Dallman lives in the South with his wife Cassandra Dallman, a professional photographer and singer out of Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys and continues to take great pride in his children and their offspring.
This book is neither his first nor last written work so please check back to see upcoming books from Dale E. Dallman.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads
Giveaway Alert!
Dale E. Dallman will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| July 22 | Westveil Publishing | July 23 | Sandra’s Book Club |
| July 24 | Literary Gold | July 24 | The Faerie Review |
| July 25 | Fabulous and Brunette | July 26 | Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read |
| July 29 | Kenyan Poet | July 29 | The Pen and Muse Book Reviews |
| July 30 | Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews | July 31 | Hope. Dreams. Life… Love |
| Aug 1 | Long and Short Reviews | Aug 2 | Author C.A.Milson |
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Thank you so much for hosting today.
This looks awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I liked the excerpt.
Sounds like a great book.
I just checked in to see how the event was going! It looks GREAT!! Thank you all!! This book was a prescription from A VA shrink! She told me to face my past to secure the future!! Although these letters were written in the 60’s, they were lost until the flood of 2011, that destroyed the family house! These were found in a trunk, stuck in a tree, about 14 foot in the air!!
Great excerpt and giveaway. 🙂
I would enjoy reading this book. Sounds perfect for me.
I think this story sounds really good.
intriguing
Thank you for the excerpt. this is a perfect gift for someone dear to me.