Two of my favorite novels of all time were by Darryl Poniscan from the very early 70s -- "The Last Detail" and "Cinderella Liberty."
(Yes, both were made into very good movies in the early 70s as well.)
Both novels told the stories of modern day **enlisted** Navy guys and chronicled their day to day lives in peace time.
Both books are heartbreaking.
And there has not been any like them since.
All of today's modern Navy fiction revolves around techno warfare stuff ala Tom Clancy or Stephen Coots. Or action adventure submarine novels.
All these novels are about officers who either fly warplanes or shoot at them from submarines.
What about all the enlisted men and women stationed at bases all over this country and their everday lives?
Poniscan (who wrote his two novels after serving in the U.S. Navy as an enlistend man) showed that wonderful fiction can be written about these forgotten people and their every day lives.
Does anybody out there know about any books or novels (Navy or any branch for that matter)about the common enlisted military person during peace time?
If you do, let me know.
― Steven Ward, Wednesday, 9 March 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)
All these novels are about officers who either fly warplanes or shoot at them from submarines.Hooray, the story of my dad! Oh wait.
I actually have recently become friends with a former Navy enlistee who lives out here now and stories about stick-up-ass officers from the Academy are rampant, which is why I'm pretty glad my dad never fit that role -- a stickler for detail but not for its own sake, thank god. There's certainly grist for the mill to be had for any branch of the service these days, especially considering the last few years.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)