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Lieutenant Colonel Ronald K.
Culp, USMC (ret.) was a “twenty-seven years a Marine, enlisted and officer, retired in 1991. He then
taught science and computers, worked as a freelance editor, and now writes fiction as well as nonfiction.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ronald K. Culp is the author of The First Black United States
Marines: The Men of Montford Point, 1942-1946. He has also co-authored with his wife, Judy
Culp, The Search for Freedom; The Search For Truth; and, The Search for Justice.
According to the book description of
The First Black United States Marines: The Men of Montford Point, 1942-1946, “On June 1, 1942,
the United States Marine Corps broke a 144-year tradition and enlisted the first black Marines. Three months later, more than
400 black volunteers began their training as members of the 51st Composite Defense Battalion at Montford Point, a Marine camp
of over five square miles located within Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Compiled from personal interviews, this volume takes
an in-depth look at the men who braved the color barrier and became the first black Marines. Beginning with a look at the
pre-World War II Marine Corps, it examines the creed and contemporary image of the USMC.
The main focus is the Marine Corps
and the fighting experiences of their newest members. Additional topics include internal Marine perspectives on the admittance
of blacks, initially enforced quotas, and the difficulties of segregation. Appendices provide information regarding monthly
inductions into the Marine Corps from 1941 to 1945; rank and pay structure; depot and ammunition companies from 1943 to 1946;
and Pacific Ocean area units of fire for ground weapons.”
According to the book description of
The Search for Freedom, “Tilman Wagner receives a telegram for help from long-time friend
John McCandless Law, an army captain serving at Fort Davis, Texas. John's daughter, Lomida, and the girl's young schoolteacher,
Madeline Brown, have fallen into into the hands of Mexican bandits. The leader of the bandits, Chuy Ayala, wants to ransom
the girls for the Gatling gun at Ft. Davis, a weapon he needs to begin his revolution.
The action intensifies when renegade
Indians arrive on the scene. Lomida and Madeline find themselves trapped on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande in an escalating
war surrounded by renegades and bandits. Tilman and his friend, Butter, plan to ride into the melee to
rescue the girls and return the Gatling gun to its rightful place at Fort Davis, ending Ayala's revolution.”
According to the book description of
The Search for Justice, “Tilman Wagner is back, this time with his new wife Catherine and
her son. In response to a telegraphed plea for help from Catherine's sister-in-law, Esperanza, the new family is on their
way to the New Mexico Territory to help Catherine's brother try to save his land and his family from greedy cattle rustlers
and no-account lowlifes. They get more than they bargained for in the form of a wayward son's rage against his father,
a stolen herd of cattle, and some unsavory citizens of the Texas cattle town of Tascosa. The roots of greed extend to Santa
Fe where dishonest men are hard at work to skin the family out of its land. Along the way, Tilman calls in a favor from cattleman
John Chisum at the Bosque Redondo. Once again, Butter Pegram is on hand to help Tilman in his attempts to aid a frontier family
struggling with their search for justice.”
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