“Reading Jim’s book is like coming home!” So says the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, USMC (Ret.), in his endorsement of Col. Jim Bathurst’s book “We’ll All Die Marines: A Marine’s Journey from Private to Colonel” . In it, Colonel Bathurst recounts his nearly thirty-six years as a United States Marine, from the day he arrived at boot camp on Parris Island, South Carolina, on March 6, 1958, until his ceremony. Retirement at Camp Geiger, Camp Lejeune. , North Carolina, on October 1, 1993.
In his detailed account of his rise from private to colonel, Bathurst vividly describes his boot camp experience and provides a comprehensive portrait of his service at all of his duty stations and subsequent assignments, including as a drill instructor on Parris Island to Vietnam, where, as a Sergeant, he led an infantry platoon in combat and received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star Combat “V” Medal, a Purple Heart, and ultimately a second lieutenant combat commission . You live his life vicariously every step of the way, beginning from the perspective of a low-ranking enlisted man on each rung of the ladder to his last day on active duty when he stood on the parade ground as a Marine Colonel being honored for his long and honorable service to his Corps and country.
Includes assignments such as his posting at Marine Barracks, 8th & I Streets, Washington. DC, as a platoon commander of the world-renowned Special Ceremonial Platoon, famous for its precision drill performances, as well as Commanding Officer of the largest Marine Corps Recruiting Station (Chicago), and many others. His story is filled with the daily challenges he experienced as a leader of the Marine Corps at all levels, in all circumstances, in various geographic locations.
Colonel Bathurst accurately characterizes his book: “What you now hold in your hands was fifty-five years in the making, nearly thirty-six years living it and nineteen years writing it.” Reading the details and description of what his life as a Marine entailed, it is obvious that he put a lot of thought into the book, written in an easy-to-read, flowing style that invites one to join him in his day. everyday adventures and make the reader part of them. The book is extremely emotional in some parts, especially in its combat tests, while in others it is humorous.
The primary focus of the writer is leadership: from squad and platoon level in combat (Vietnam) to peacetime battalion commander of an infantry unit, commanding officer of a Marine barracks (NAS, Lemoore) and his final tour. as Commandant of the School of Infantry (Camp Lejeune), and presents the reader with an up close and personal account of the many challenges that leaders at any level experience on a daily basis. He provides explicit examples of many of them and offers the solutions that have worked best for him over the years.
Colonel Bathurst accurately sums up his intentions in writing this book from the beginning in the “Acknowledgements” section when he states, “I have endeavored here to write honestly and frankly about my life as a United States Marine, to put into words the fundamental nature of what it was like to live such an adventure, both the good times and the not-so-good times, and recounting the unique experiences a Marine has over the course of several years, the true essence of my service in arguably one of the best organizations military in the world, and some of the many brothers and sisters I acquired over those years, many of whom I will fondly remember until my last days. Couldn’t have said it better.
I found the book fascinating from cover to cover, perhaps due to my own time as a United States Marine, but I’m sure anyone who enjoys and learns from real life success stories will enjoy the book. It’s an entertaining exposé of one person’s commitment to excellence, dogged determination to succeed, and unwavering loyalty to his Corps and his country. I found the candid combat stories, especially the harrowing depiction of sheer violence and the harrowing loss of fellow Marines killed in action, to be the most emotionally engaging parts of the book. Bathurst takes you to the battlefield where you feel the intensity of combat, smell the acrid odor of gunpowder, and hear the dreaded cry “Medic Corps up!” as if you were there. His depiction of war, both physically and emotionally, is just as precise and sensory.
You don’t finish reading this book without your own favorite aspects of his exploits and becoming intimately involved in this man’s exciting life as a Marine on the long journey from private to colonel with all that that entails. It is a well accomplished saga in all aspects.
As General Pace says on the cover: “…Marines past and present remember the camaraderie, courage, teamwork, and humor that make our Corps a shared, life-changing experience, regardless when or where we serve”.
In short, Jim Bathurst says it best on the cover of his book when he writes “…the Corps was not a job, a career, or even a profession; it was, and still is, a way of life.”
The book, published by iUniverse®, is available online in both hardcover and paperback (softcover), as well as in e-book format. Retail price is $42.95 for the hardcover, $32.95 for the paperback, and $7.99 for the downloadable eBook, although actual prices are often lower.
Exceptionally, the author offers autographed copies of his work by contacting him at [email protected]