Non-virgin in Numeniyah

Staying on the Dear Dotti theme, I tried to get another picture of her during the Iraq war, but failed.









For the duration of the WWN's existence, Dotti claimed to be in her 20s, so 50 probably wasn't a stretch. Unfortunately, she only printed the letter.

For today's Marine usage tip, "Marine" should always be capitalized, though I'll give Dotti a pass. This doesn't go for soldier, sailor, or airman, but try not capitalizing Marine around a sergeant major or drill instructor and see what happens. Various style manuals say this capitalization isn't correct -- guess if we care?

One of my great regrets from the Iraq war is never finding out which of my letters were printed and which were not. Okay, I disappeared for 17 months, blah, blah, blah, two young kids at home, blah, blah, blah, but my wife wasn't able to check every single issue of the WWN for Dear Dotti letters. I have no idea what happened to the letters below.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sasquatch in Afghanistan

Image
I just came across this picture from 2010. At the time, I'd warned colleagues that Bigfoot had been spotted at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Nine years later, I still haven't figured out what he was doing there, or whose side he was fighting for.
Read more

R.B. Miller Almost Wins Hogaboom Writing Award

Image
As described previously, the majority of my publications were short and in a particular section of the Weekly World News . In distant second place are a series of longer essays (usually 2000-3000 words) in the Marine Corps Gazette . Most were entered in writing contests, and I recently won my ~4th 2nd Place or Honorable Mention, not bad for an enlisted grunt. This was my first (and, by the contest rules, last) entry in the Hogaboom Essay Contest. Look for my article in approximately the October issue, and expect the excerpt below to have one fewer comma. By the way, contrary to the implication, I won $500, not a bad consolation prize. My least favorite consolation prize was for a writing contest in Outdoor Life  (something about how being a lousy hunter made me a better Marine). First Prize was a $22,000 guided elk and moose hunt in Canada. Second Prize was a cheap pocket knife normally given to subscribers to induce them to subscribe for another year. I won second. The
Read more

Major General James N. Mattis and the Major James N. Mattis Marching Band

Image
A common theme between both authors and among all areas of combat operations is the appearance of marching bands. Stateside, I'm as big a fan of our marching bands as anyone. In combat -- well, I tend to grumble when the Marine Corps brings trombones, but not food. I've been serenaded during the Gulf War, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, and tend to share the authors' cynicism. Gary, May 13, 2003: May 13, 2003, near Diwaniyah, Iraq. MajGen James N. Mattis: May 13, 2003, near Diwaniyah, Iraq. The MajGen James N. Mattis Marching Band:
Read more