Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
May 6, 1986: Nick Popaditch arrives at the Receiving Barracks, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California.

April 9, 2003: An AP photographer captures a striking image seen around the world of the Gunny Sergeant smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Popaditch is immortalized forever as "The Cigar Marine."

April 6, 2004: The tanker fights heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffers grievous head wounds that leave him legally blind and partially deaf. The USMC awards him with a Silver Star for his valor and combat innovation.

April 18, 2004: "Gunny Pop" comes home to face the toughest fight of his life-a battle to remain the man and Marine he was. This is the central drama of Nick's inspiring memoir, Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery.

Readers in and out of the military will stand up and cheer for this valiant Marine's Marine, a man who embodies everything noble and proud in the Corps' long tradition. Never has modern mechanized combat seemed so immediate and real, or the fight in Iraq seemed so human and worth believing in.

At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat at the point of the spear. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity, to help the brothers in arms he so aches to rejoin. Facing the inevitable following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his permanent disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way-the Marine way-because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.

The real triumph in Once a Marine is its previously untold, behind-the-scenes tale of the day-to-day life of a career Marine noncommissioned staff officer. In most books and movies, a "Gunny" is little more than a cardboard character. Nick's portrayal is a man complete: a husband and father, as well as a warrior and a molder of young warriors. He reveals himself completely, something no memoirist in his position has ever done before. This includes our very personal introduction to his wife April, whose heroics in the story equal Nick's, together with dozens of others who, as Sgt. Popaditch writes, gave so much, so selflessly and freely, to him. Like the man himself, Once a Marine is full of gratitude and refreshingly free of false bravado and braggadocio.

All Americans, of all political persuasions, have a duty to meet this courageous and admirable fighting man, an exemplar of all our military men and women who give so much out of love for their nation. Meeting Gunny Sergeant Popaditch through the pages of his inspirational memoir offers up new reasons to be proud and shoulder our own responsibilities as Americans.

Once a Marine will instantly take its place among outstanding combat classics. And once you read this remarkable and uplifting book, The Marine's Hymn will never sound the same.

REVIEWS

" Nick Popaditch's transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences should be read by every one of our nation's political leaders-to help them understand the incomparable quality of those who fight on the front lines. Read this inspiring story, recommend it to friends-and send a copy to your member of Congress!"

- Ralph Peters (Lt. Col., ret.), New York Post columnist and author of Looking For Trouble and Wars Of Blood and Faith

"Retired Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch's narrative will burn through your heart, and then settle deep in your gut. . . . Readers will shed a tear, and simultaneously burst out with eagle, globe and anchor emotive-pride. That, I guarantee!"

--Leatherneck Magazine (USMC)

"America has always been blessed by wonderful, patriotic, and often anonymous men and women who have sacrificed so much in defense of liberty and freedom. Once a Marine, Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch's heart-wrenching and inspiring memoir, puts a name and a face on this sacrifice. Every American should read this book to remind them of what these brave warriors of freedom endure on our behalf."- Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"Gunny Popaditch's story is as inspiring as it is dramatic. This wounded warrior suffered grievous injuries - an RPG to the head! - but refused to give up on life, even when his wounds forced him out of the Corps. Once a Marine is a 'must read' story of one of today's real heroes."- Jerry D. Morelock, PhD, Colonel, U. S. Army (Ret.), Editor in Chief, Armchair General

"Author Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch, a Silver Star recipient and the subject of the world-famous AP photo, has penned what must surely be classed as among the best personal memoirs of any combat soldier in recent memory. Once a Marine is an in-your-face blast of raw emotion and realism that will strike a raw nerve and keep you up at night. This autobiography of combat, courage, and recovery should be required reading for every American, young and old, who yearns to grasp the true cost of freedom."

- Caspar Weinberger Jr., Military and Current Affairs Columnist

"A riveting and inspirational story of the consummate professional warrior. It is impossible to read Once a Marine without being proud of our military and grateful that our Nation produces men like Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch."- Michael F. Nugent, Major, US Army (Ret.), co-author of One Continuous Fight: The Retreat From Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863

"Gunny Popaditch's story makes me incredibly proud to have worn the same uniform. Without intending to, Once a Marine articulates life in the modern Marine Corps more clearly than anything I've read. No blindly loyal fanatic, Popaditch candidly acknowledges the bullshit, yet artfully captures the inimitable spirit of camaraderie and commitment that makes the Marine Corps unique. Extraordinarily motivating and compellingly honest book, it made me pine for my own long-finished Marine Corps career."- Jay A. Stout, Lt.Col. USMC (Ret.), author of Hornet's Over Kuwait

"Gunny Pop" Popaditch's courageous memoir of his life in and out of the Marine Corps is intelligently written and imbued with a brazen honesty rarely found elsewhere. His personal courage-and that of his wife, April-gives the term "home of the brave" an entirely new meaning."- Sgt. Michael Volkin, author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp

Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Takes you step by step through the streets during The Battle of Fallujah! December 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Wow, nice to hear what's going on over in Iraq from other than a Reporter or Politician. If you want into someones head that is in the heat of the battle, read this. This book is like looking over Nick's shoulder from the training that goes into preparing for the mission that ultimately puts him in the tank driving up the streets of Fallujah, his interaction with the Iraqi people and dealing with the aftermath of the battle!

5 out of 5 stars

Oorah! November 26, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

After I bought Once a Marine, I simply couldn't put it down. Popaditch's style is frank and personal, and by the end of the book I felt like I'd known the man for years. After finishing the book, I must say that it was one of the best books I have ever read, and well worth every penny. Readers in the military and out will be struck by this inspiring tale of life in the services and Popaditch's struggle to readjust to life after being hit in the head with a rocket propelled grenade. I'd highly reccomend it to anyone in the world- be you civilian, military, or politician, for a true grasp of what kind of caliber people we have defending our country.

5 out of 5 stars

A Must Read !! November 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Only a few books leap off the shelves and demand to be read - and "Once a Marine" is one of those few.

This is the story of Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, U.S. Marine Corps. It's important to add "USMC" after his name, because in Popaditch's story, being a Marine is integral to his survival following a grievous head wound and the subsequent rehab problems afterwards.

In true "Gunny" fashion, this is an aggressive book. "Gy Pop", as he's known, came into his own as a young Marine, saw combat in Desert Storm, and became a drill instructor afterwards. He's as OOH-RAH and Semper Fi motivated as they come, and his energy and enthusiasm for all things Marine comes through loud and clear in this well-written book.

Gy's life continues on a positive roll when he's photographed in Baghdad in 2003, cigar-in-hand, in front of the statute of Saddam. Now known to the world as the `cigar Marine', Gy Pop returns home to his loving wife April, and sons. But true to being a Marine, he volunteers for another tour in Iraq, where he's shot in the head with an RPG in Fallujah, loses one eye, much of his sight in the other, and is medically retired from his beloved Marine Corps. A typical macho Marine story, one might think, but it's Gy Pop who makes "Once a Marine" such a compelling story in the midst of such frustration of his life's seeming unraveling.

"Once a Marine" is a spellbinding and story. From the stories of his Desert Storm days, to storming Baghdad in 2003, to the horrific story of being shot in the head by an PRG to the personal friction between him and his wife as he contemplates the premature end of his career in his beloved Marine Corps, this is the type of book that the reader will devour in an evening.

What grabs the reader aren't the battle sequences; those who have fought tend to downplay their role in combat, and Gy Pop is no exception.
Instead, his focus is on Marine Corps ethos and work ethic, his Marines, and how they all came together to assist him in his time of need. Needing assistance is unusual for Gy Pop, and he writes honestly and movingly of his struggle to accept help from his wife and sons, his Marines, and even the medical team at the "Blind Hospital."

For a rough & tough Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Popaditch has written a brutally honest, yet incredibly moving story of his life as a Marine, and how the Marine Corps has prepared him for life afterwards.

Recommended? Absolutely! ...and well done, and good luck to you, Gy...

5 out of 5 stars

Telling it like it is November 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Excellent book,couldn't put it down, a great read. Mr Popaditch humbly and honestly details his:
experiences in the USMC,
participation in conflicts overseas,
injury and partial recovery,
problems and frustrations in dealing with red tape before and after his release from the USMC.

I highly recommend this book.

5 out of 5 stars

A real story about a real Marine to which other veterans can relate November 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The story of Gunny Pop is a gritty and real version of one man's firsthand accounts in the Corps. I gave this book on Veterans Day to a family member and Marine whose enlistment is complete, although currently hospitalized for PTSD due to his own war wounds from Iraq. Even though every service member has his or her own story to tell, I hope Popaditch's memoir can help the healing process of not only my Marine, but other soldiers and warriors who have served and suffered physical and emotional wounds.

Good Grape Wine Company