We'll All Die As Marines: One Marine's Journey from Private to Colonel Paperback – January 1, 2012

Excellent read. Semper Fidelis

I served with Col Jim Bathurst in 87-88 in BLT 2/6. I was the battery commander (E 2/10) attached to the BLT. He was (and is) a Marine's Marine. I have finally read his book---a great read---and now have even more respect for him than I ever had in the past. I knew portions of his life-story, but not the full picture, which he provides eloquently in his book.I very much enjoyed the sections of the book describing his Vietnam service. As a Battalion and BLT Commander, he had very strong feelings about how we trained, planned and executed missions, and how we took care of our Marines----and 30, 40 years later I now know why he said, did and emphasized the things he did. The difficult and trying experiences of combat in Vietnam had formed and shaped him well. He trained and pushed the BLT hard...but we ended up a well trained, prepared and motivated BLT. We lived in the field constantly....and were better for it.His leadership was simply superb. Tough, but still caring. I learned a great deal from him...probably more than any other commander I ever served for or under. I would have followed him anywhere. Just a great Marine and leader of men.I was also sorry to read how his career came to a close at CLNC. I had heard bits and pieces of what had supposedly taken place....but it was good to hear directly from him. I'm glad he went out on his own terms...he knew it was his time. I encourage all to read the book. A great American story about a great American Marine. Semper Fi.

"Reading Jim's book is like coming home!" So says the sixteenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, USMC (Ret), in his endorsement of Colonel Jim Bathurst's newly published book We'll All Die As Marines: One Marine's Journey from Private to Colonel in print this month (December) by iUniverse®. In it, Col Bathurst chronicles his nearly thirty-six years as a United States Marine from the day he arrived at boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, on March 6, 1958, to his retirement ceremony at Camp Geiger, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on October 1, 1993.In his in-depth account of his journey from Private to Colonel, Bathurst depicts his boot camp experience vividly and provides a comprehensive study of his service at all his subsequent duty stations and assignments including as a Drill Instructor at Parris Island to Vietnam where he led an infantry platoon in combat as a Sergeant being awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V", a Purple Heart, and ultimately a combat commission to 2nd lieutenant. You live his life vicariously every step of the way from the viewpoint of a low-ranking enlistee up every rung of the ladder until his last day on active duty when he stood on the parade field as a Colonel of Marines being honored for his lengthy and honorable loyalty to his Corps and country.I found the book enthralling from cover-to-cover perhaps due to my own time as a United States Marine, but I am certain that anyone who takes pleasure in and learns from true-life stories of success will enjoy the book. It is an entertaining exposé of one person's commitment to excellence, hard-fought determination to succeed, and steadfast loyalty to his Corps and country. I found the heartfelt stories of combat--especially the gut-wrenching depiction of the pure violence and heartrending loss of fellow Marines--to be the most emotionally alluring parts of the book. Bathurst takes you to the battlefield where you sense the intensity of combat, smell the acrid odor of cordite, and hear the dreaded cry "Corpsman up!" as if you were there. His renditions of war are that accurate and sensory.In summary, Jim Bathurst says it best on his front flap when he states "...the Corps was not a job, a career, or even a profession; it was--and still is--a way of life.

I have just finished reading Col. Bathurst's book and found myself not wanting the story to end! He shares an amazing story of honor, courage and integrity. You feel as if you are there alongside him as he takes us from his boyhood in Baltimore through an entertaining and impressive career in the Marine Corps. His candor in retelling many of the episodes in his career really make his story come alive.What really sets this book apart for me is that it is not a historical retelling of one Marine's career. It is also a lesson plan in leadership and a blueprint for success.Having grown up the son of a Marine infantry officer and later enlisting in the Marine Corps myself, I found so many parallels to my own life. Lessons in leadership, responsibility, accountability and decency; so many names, places and life lessons, the Colonel's book brought back many good memories for me as I read. And for anyone interested in what the Marine Corps is all about, this book will shine a spotlight on it for you. A very entertaining and inspiring story. As a boy and as a Marine there were Marines that I idolized- my father, Chesty Puller and Gen. Gray. I have now added another name to my list. Thank you Colonel for sharing your story with us.

Having been in the Corps (10 years - 1958-1968) for part of the time covered by the Colonel, I can in honestly say that he is very accurate in both what he recounts and what he believes. I share a fair number of his prejudices relative to the coverage of 'Nam by the press. I only wish that we had more fact-grounded information relative to both war-time and semi-peace operations by and within the U. S. armed forces.