K. W. Gorsky Jr

The United States Marine Corps was tasked to produce a greater number of Marines to meet the escalation of troops for the Vietnam War. Recruit training was reduced from 12 weeks to 8 weeks to provide those new Marines. Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, accommodated more Marines in a shorter time at the hands of an increased number of combat-veteran drill instructors. Turning green recruits into basic Marines became an even more arduous endeavor for the DIs and increased the rigors endured by the recruits in boot camp.
You will follow Ski, a high school graduate for less than a month, who signed up at the local recruiting station for the Marine Corps. At age 17, he needed parental permission and received it reluctantly. Accustomed to the military by way of 4-years in Civil Air Patrol, he prepared to fulfill his boyhood desire to serve his country as a Marine. Ski, the protagonist, shares with the reader his candid thoughts and honest feelings from the moment of induction, through the trials and rigors of an intentionally daunting and sometimes distressing training, culminating in his hard-earned graduation day.