Leatherneck Warriors Book I, The Beginning: "It took a moment to adjust his eyes to the low light level emanating from a kerosene lamp in the rear of the tent. Pittman couldn't see any sign of another guard so he turned over his shoulder to look at Foster and gave him a thumbs-up sign, motioning for Foster to join him. Both Marines grabbed an arm of the Soviet soldier, dragging him back inside the tent. Pittman removed his K-Bar knife from the body, wiped the knife clean on the soldier's uniform, and placed it back in his sheath. As he looked up, he saw Foster staring dumbly at the object in front of them. In all the excitement of the moment, Pittman hadn't paid any attention to the object. Now he also stared. In front of them was the strangest looking aircraft either one had ever seen." Based on a true story about the Ho 229 German Luftwaffe Bomber, Hays mixes historical fact with fiction. Reimar and Walter Horten, German Luftwaffe pilots, have developed a radical aircraft wing design that may become a successor to the Stealth Bomber. The goal of the Leatherneck Warriors is to rescue Reimar and prevent the Soviets from developing the design into a supersonic, undetectable bomber aircraft.
About the Author: Gene Hays lives with his wife, the former Barbara Gray, and his three sons and their families in Oxford, Mississippi. The second oldest, Eric, has served in the U.S. Army in South Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq. Gene retired from Active Duty in the Marine Corps in January 1986. Gene attended basic and advanced formal Navy schools in aviation electronics and later instructed both courses at the Naval Air Station Memphis, TN. In 1973 he then returned overseas joining Task Force Delta at the Marine Corps Air Station "Rose Garden" in Nam Phong, Thailand during the end of the Vietnam War. Returning to the States in 1974, Gene taught fixed and rotary wing avionics courses at the CH-53 "Sea Stallion" trainer in Tustin, CA. In 1978 he was selected to serve at Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, in Washington, D.C., as an Assistant Aviation Monitor managing over 7,000 Enlisted Marines in over 60 different military occupational specialties. Working out of the historic Navy Annex, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, Gene did the screening for all Marine Enlisted Instructors throughout the Naval Aviation Maintenance Training Group as well as the initial screening for all newly assigned candidates to the prestigious Marine Helicopter Squadron One, the President's helicopter squadron. Returning to Memphis in 1981, Gene was instrumental in establishing the newly formed Enlisted Aviation Maintenance Trainee Management Unit that managed the follow-on training of all Marine Enlisted Aviation Trainees leaving Memphis. At his retirement in 1986, Gene was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. His personal decorations include the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat "V" and the Combat Action Ribbon, as well as several letters of commendation. After his retirement, Gene worked for Martin Marietta Data Systems (now Lockheed-Martin) for five years, and went on to teach electronics at two different two-year colleges. In 1996, Booz-Allen, Hamilton Inc. selected Gene as a Senior Consultant to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since returning in 1997 from Saudi Arabia, Gene has worked in his field of electronics and in the banking industry. Gene is the Judge Advocate for the J.C. Hooker Detachment, Marine Corps League Pontotoc, MS, a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3738 and a Past Commander for American Legion Post 55 both in Oxford MS. You can contact him by email at rghays47@gmail.com.