Dear R.B. Kick Butt. Dotti Primrose.

Whenever I visited a new country, my goal was to get a letter published in the Dear Dotti column of the Weekly World News (1979-2007). Prior to enlisting, I'd had many letters published from the U.S., and one from France. The highlight of my literary career was getting this letter published in the run-up to Desert Storm:


Okay, the letter wasn't actually true -- I'd kill any Saudi trying to take my Dotti picture -- but it prompted her to send me a picture, something I'd failed at many times previously.

It's hard to articulate why I first enlisted, but the 1991-2019 portion of my career reflected my pride that Dotti was behind me, supporting what I did and wanting me to Kick Butt.

One usage error that Marines rarely tolerate is being called soldiers. Marines aren't soldiers. Soldiers are in the Army. Whenever a newspaper -- even the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, or New York City Times -- gets a picture of men in uniform, they label them "soldiers." On the enlisted side, it's hard to go wrong saying Marine for Marines, soldier for the Army, airman for the Air Force, or sailor for the Navy. Of course, Dotti can call me anything she wants.

I got other war-related letters published, but the only other one from Desert Storm is below. Note that my draft copy was worded a bit differently.





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