Major Rick Spooner USMC (Ret.) “was living in Northern California when World War II broke out; he subsequently enlisted in the Marines at age 17 as a rifleman. Major Spooner participated in several operations during the war, including the Battle of Saipan, where he was briefly taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army. He also fought in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war, he was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and eventually commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. During the Korean War, Spooner served in with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and also taught infantry tactics at Camp Pendleton. During his subsequent career, he commanded five companies and the Marine detachment aboard a heavy cruiser.

By the time the Vietnam War broke out, Richard Spooner had achieved the rank of Major. During the war, he served in the Provost Marshal Division and as an adviser to the South Vietnamese police. Spooner received a medical discharge and retired from the Marine Corps in 1972.”  Major Rick Spooner is the author of The Spirit of Semper Fidelis: Reflections From the Bottom of an Old Canteen Cup.

According to the book description of The Spirit of Semper Fidelis: Reflections From the Bottom of an Old Canteen Cup, “These are the war stories of a remarkable band of Marines who fought their way across the Pacific during WW II. Some were old line professionals but most were wartime warriors still in their teens. The names of the principals have been changed and some of the details of the stories, having been partially obscured by time, are fictionalized. Today's Marines stand tall, and this volume will show how the seed of warfare, nurtured in a band of raggedy assed Marines, fighting across the white sands of hell in the Pacific, grew into a great oak.”

According to one reader of The Spirit of Semper Fidelis: Reflections From the Bottom of an Old Canteen Cup, “I loved this book for three reasons. First I had the pleasure to meet and talk with Major Spooner last August. Secondly I live on Saipan and walk the same ground that Pvt Spooner and his comrades fought and died for. Third, I found the book to be a page turner. Major Spooner keeps you on the edge of your seat either crying or laughing.

Having been in the US Army myself (Major Spooner still talked to me, Thank You Sir) I know that war is hell but there are moments of laughter too. It is all here in this book. It covers before, doing and after the Battle of Saipan and Tinian. I learned new information about the battles and its combatants.  You will be reading history yet it will be like hearing a good friend telling you a fabulous story.”