I Promise You I'll Be Home

<p> As a 21-year-old Marine sent to the front lines of the Korean War Al Martinez dispatched letters almost daily to his young bride Joanne. In battle he experienced the worst that war can bring and then he served as a combat correspondent and as writer and editor of his regimental newsletter the <I>Ridgerunner</I>. After the war he entered a career in journalism becoming a featured columnist for the <I>Los Angeles Times</I> where he would earn three shared Pulitzer Prizes. </p><p> Written from the unique perspective of an obviously gifted professional writer at the beginning of his career his letters home capture his experiences eloquently and with depth of understanding as they express the dangers hardships fear friendships and even humor of life at the front. His vivid often humorous pen-and-ink drawings portray scenes from the front lines.</p>