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There were still some incoming mortar rounds, so the Hawke broke away from the other ships, looking for a vector that wouldn't endanger their own ground forces. Several minutes later the destroyer found the angle she required and with deadly efficiency silenced the remaining pockets of resistance.

The air stank with sweat, spent gunpowder, fuses, and projectiles. It clung to the men like cheap perfume on a Filipina hooker.

ciecheesemeister wrote: ↑28 Nov 2019, 19:00 I enjoyed reading the descriptions when Zack first boarded the ship of its corridors and the small space the men have to sleep. I certainly wouldn't want to be confined to such myself!

jeminah28 wrote: ↑28 Nov 2019, 21:20 I cannot forget why some young men joined the Navy because of the Naval theme during those times, 'Join The Navy And See The World.' Traveling to another place is somewhat cool.

It was an ideal situation: carbohydrates from rice, protein from rats, and pesos from sailors from the surplus of both.

AvidBibliophile wrote: ↑29 Nov 2019, 01:08

jeminah28 wrote: ↑28 Nov 2019, 21:20 I cannot forget why some young men joined the Navy because of the Naval theme during those times, 'Join The Navy And See The World.' Traveling to another place is somewhat cool.

Most definitely! It seems like such an appealing offer in a sense, and those persuasive marketing campaigns have the same effect now as they did 100 years ago. Whether it’s Uncle Sam on a poster pointing into your soul while saying “I Want You” or the local recruiters promising “you’ll see the world AND get college paid for”... the multitude of benefits and trade-offs certainly have to be kept in balance. But to young, naive curiously ambitious men and women, the illusion will always offer great temptations! And possibly create more well-rounded people as a result.

Patrick Nandi wrote: ↑29 Nov 2019, 23:18 That's certainly a great piece because the greatest ambition for the naval seal is to serve and they will surely serve so with the persuasion making them feel both wanted, needed and loved.

In his dream he saw their souls, gray-green ethereal wisps, rise skyward leaving their bodies as soon as they stopped their spasms. He saw the sampan slowly sink down beneath the waves, and watched the clear blue water cleanse and cover their mutilated bodies.

AvidBibliophile wrote: ↑27 Nov 2019, 18:53 While absorbing this maritime tale through Miller's inclusion of poignant and descriptive language, a few phrases stood out to me as especially unique, memorable, or of the uniquely "military mindset" variety...

There were still some incoming mortar rounds, so the Hawke broke away from the other ships, looking for a vector that wouldn't endanger their own ground forces. Several minutes later the destroyer found the angle she required and with deadly efficiency silenced the remaining pockets of resistance.

The air stank with sweat, spent gunpowder, fuses, and projectiles. It clung to the men like cheap perfume on a Filipina hooker.

Both of these excerpts appeared around page 58, but were there some others that caught your immediate attention too?

djr6090 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2019, 09:14 I was put in mind of Micky Spillane's Mike Hammer when I read these two passages.

jeminah28 wrote: ↑28 Nov 2019, 21:20 I cannot forget why some young men joined the Navy because of the Naval theme during those times, 'Join The Navy And See The World.' Traveling to another place is somewhat cool.