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Colonel S.A. d'Amore, USAF
(ret.) is author of The Challenge of Candidate 101: From a Soldier's Diary. According
to the book description, “As a young man, Gaetano Dante becomes inspired to pursue a career as a commissioned officer
in the United States Army. He wins a Congressional nomination to attend West Point, but fails the admission criteria because
of an uncorrectable eye deficiency. He leaves northeast Pennsylvania during the Great Depression to find employment in a resort
area, and lands a job at one of the most prestigious hotels in the country where he is taken under the wings of a Spanish
couple who train him. Dante is placed in a position to meet many celebrities and influential guests. Here he meets two such
persons who become instrumental in rekindling his pursuit of a commission. A serious hurdle is thrown in his path. He meets a beautiful young lady, the daughter of internationally
known and highly respected parents. To protect herself, this perfidious coquette registers a contrived charge against Dante.
Her friend, a young military cadet about to be commissioned an officer in the army, is led to believe the fabricated accusation.
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Two years later the cadet, now a captain,
is assigned to an officer candidate school. Dante becomes a candidate for a commission at the same school. The captain immediately
employs a bag full of tricks to expel Dante. He fights back. The vendetta is vicious and is continued to the last days of
school, when his survival is very much in doubt”
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