Recently – and sadly – Navy veteran and member of the “Greatest Generation,” Glenn McDuffie died.

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This would not have been any more newsworthy than the passing of many WWII veterans every day. However, as this USA article notes.

Glenn McDuffi was considered by many to be Kissing Sailor in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s world-famous V-J Day, 1945 photograph. That was news. However, as we detail in our U.S. Naval Institute book, The Kissing Sailor, Mr. McDuffie is not the sailor in the famous Life photo. George Mendonsa is.

The kissing sailor and white dressed woman in Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day, 1945, in Times Square still walk amongst us. And while the scene they created appears so familiar to most, we know far too little. Against all the odds, and with fate’s forces at their back, two strangers traversed a triumphant world’s most popular square on the day that history’s most destructive war ended. Without rehearsal or intent, they communicated what the climax of a victorious war felt like. The particulars of that saga inspire the human spirit. Proof of their part in that iconic photo persuades the inquisitive. Treatment of their claims upsets the fair-minded. Forces well beyond their control have denied them their due far too long. Their story, most worthy of the celebrated begs telling.

The search for the kissing sailor is not our exclusive undertaking. Some of the findings fall short of breaking news. What we add to the discussion, while considerable, always existed for consideration. Well over a half-century ago a photographer and his Leica camera made plainly visible almost everything needed to make a positive identification of the kissing sailor. All one had to do is look. Really look. Not just watch.

Out of the Ashes

Out of the Ashes

A new Tom Clancy’s Op-Center, the first in 10 years, written by the New York Times bestselling authors of Tom Clancy’s ACT OF VALOR, with a chilling ripped-from-the-headlines scenario.

See the published praise for OOTA

Before 9/11 America was protected by a covert force known as the National Crisis Management Center. Commonly known as Op-Center, this silent, secret mantel guarded the American people and protected the country from enemies. The charter was top secret and Director Paul Hood reported directly to the president. Op-Center used undercover operatives with SWAT capabilities to diffuse crises around the world, and they were tops in their field. But after the World Trade Center disaster, in the interest of streamlining, OP-Center was disbanded—leaving the country in terrible danger.

But when terrorists detonate bombs in sports stadiums around the country leaving men, women and children dead or mutilated, the President executes an emergency order to bring back Op-Center—an Op-Center capable of dealing with the high tech crises of the 21st Century, and there is a lethal one brewing in the Middle East. A renegade Saudi Prince with ambitions of controlling the world’s oil supply has an ingenious plot to manipulate America into attacking Syria and launching a war against Iran. Next, they would ignite a sleeper cell to attack the America homeland, resulting in a bloodbath unlike any other. Only the men and women of Op-Center, using sophisticated technology, realize what is about to be unleashed. Only they have the courage to issue a warning no one wants to hear. But will anyone believe them?

Hear Chapter 1 of Out of the Ashes

Buy Out of the Ashes

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Amazon

iTunes

IndieBound

Tom Clancy Presents: Act of Valor, the novelization of the Bandito Brothers/Relativity Media top grossing hit movie, was a New York Times best-seller for the better part of three months.

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Additionally, Act of Valor was just awarded the Military Writers Society of America Silver Medal Award for fiction.  You can read more about the making of the movie and the evolution of the book on the website.

Now that Lone Survivor recently hit the box office bringing in $38M gross. You can read the box office analysis here.

 

Ballistic missile defense (BMD) and the US

Ballistic missile defense (BMD) is one of the most important missions for the United States’ military – and it is one that is growing in importance – with rouge nations such as North Korea and Iran possessing ballistic missiles armed with weapons of mass destruction.

The U.S. Navy’s contribution to U.S. BMD is based on the Aegis weapon system and has been on patrol in guided-missile cruisers and destroyers since 2004. Aegis BMD has grown in importance based on its proven performance as well as its long-term potential.

For years, the U.S. Navy’s contribution to U.S. BMD was secondary to many other systems. Today, the U.S. Navy is “in the van” as we describe in our article in the US Navel Institute Proceedings.

DMN on Increased Autonomy for Military Unmanned Systems

Military, intelligence, and industry officials are nearly universal in their praise for unmanned systems (UxS). These systems have been used extensively in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will continue to be equally relevant – if not more so – as the United States’ strategy shifts towards the Asia-Pacific region and the high-end warfare this strategy requires. Indeed, UxS are already creating strategic, operational, and tactical possibilities that did not exist a decade ago.

But many wonder about a potential “dark side” as unmanned systems become even more autonomous. This was the subject of my article “Where is Increased Autonomy for Military Unmanned Systems Leading?” published in Defense 2013 in Review, Fall 2013.
and also carried on the Defense Media Network’s website at this link:

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-dark-side-of-unmanned-systems-autonomy/

Act of Valor is a Military Writers Society of America 2013 Awards Finalist

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In addition to being a New York Times best-seller, Act of Valor is a Military Writers Society of America 2013 Awards Finalist.

 

If you’re interested in purchasing Act of Valor for yourself you can pick up a copy here:

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Penguin Publishers

 

Read the Latest Sterling Reviews of George Galdorisi

George Galdorisi

George Galdorisi is famous for works such as, “Leave No Man Behind”, “Act of Valor” and “The Kissing Sailor”.  Odds are if you haven’t had the chance to pick up one of these works, you’ve at least heard of them.  Act of Valor, while being written, hit the cinema and drew in over $81,000,000 at worldwide box offices.  The Kissing Sailor, another one of George Galdorisi’s astounding works that reveals the two members of the iconic end-of-the-war kiss photo, and has been featured in the news and media for the past year.

George’s works are well-known and it’s no surprise that they have garnished some great reviews such as these:

Leave No Man Behind

Tom Clancy Presents: Act of Valor

The Kissing Sailor (MWSA) | The Kissing Sailor (USNWC – *Last on Page)

After reading these, and the many other great reviews that are circling the web, you’re going to want to pick up these works at your local Barnes and Noble, or on Amazon.com.  Don’t forget to leave your own reviews of all of George Galdorisi’s books.

 

George Mendonsa Featured Today on The Katie Couric Show

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The Kissing Sailor himself, George Mendonsa, will be featured today on The Katie Couric show.  The show airs locally in Maryland at 4:00 pm.  To find out more about the Katie Couric Show, visit her website and make sure to tune in today at 4.

The Kissing Sailor Featured on Travel Channel’s Monumental Mysteries

Don Wildman on the Monumental Mysteries set.

The Kissing Sailor mystery and book have been featured on the Travel Channel’s, Monumental Mysteries.

 

David Owens of the Huntsville Times Discusses The Kissing Sailor

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The power of the great American Story told in The Kissing Sailor, can be seen in the David Owens story in the Huntsville Times, but perhaps more importantly, in the speed at which this story was picked up in other media. This story resonates with America.

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