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Tom Hebert recommends!
While you are waiting for "Once An Eagle," the
television miniseries, I highly recommend the three following
outstanding miniseries based on the novels of Herman Wouk.
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An informal (for now) gathering of individuals who live
by the following creed:
"To act with honor and hope and generosity, no matter
what you've drawn. You can't help when or what you were
born, you may not be able to help how you die; but you
can - and you should - try to pass the days between
as a good man."
To express an interest, email
samdamonsociety @once-an-eagle.com
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Gen. David H. Petraeus
Commanding General
Multi-National Force - Iraq

Read General Petraeus' biography
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Press Release
to find out!
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Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
http://icasualties.org/
oif/default.aspx
The most accurate and useful casualty
site on the web.
Up-to-date, accurate, and reliable. Comprehensive
news links.
Analysis. Includes Operation Enduring Freedom.
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The late
David Halberstam's final book
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"Tree of Smoke" Novel by Denis Johnson
"Tree of Smoke" Audio CD by Denis Johnson
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" Once An Eagle"
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"Once an Eagle" Miniseries Release
Delayed Until 4th Quarter of 2010
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Tom Hebert has been pushing for
the miniseries release for years and has the inside
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& the selected distributor.
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* * * * *
Dateline - January 2010: I recently
spoke directly with the EVP of Acquisitions at the distributer
selected by NBC Universal to bring the miniseries to market.
"Mastering" problems are causing the delay. Mastering
is the digital optimization process that readies a DVD project
for replication or duplication. NBC Universal & the
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release.
Dateline - August 2009: We did it!
The “Giveustheminiseres!“ campaign,
orchestrated by Tom Hebert, played a critical role in
NBC Universal’s decision to bring Sam Damon to
DVD. Tom thanks everyone who participated!
Thank
you NBC Universal!
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ONCE
AN EAGLE
Once An Eagle, a novel by Anton Myrer,
was published in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War.
Nearly forty years later, this classic novel of soldiers
and soldiering remains in print, having sold well over three
million copies. It remains a fixture on the Marine Corps
Commandant’s Reading List, as well as other military professional
reading lists. The novel also spawned, in 1976, an outstanding
nine-hour television miniseries of the same name, starring
Sam Elliot, Glen Ford, and Darlene Carr.
Once An Eagle is the epic tale of good versus
evil. The good is embodied in protagonist Sam Damon,
a soldier’s soldier and a consummate professional, noted
for his bravery under fire and his dedication to the men
who serve under him. Damon’s chief adversary, Courtney
Massengale, is evil personified. His dedication is
to the advancement of his career, without regard to the
devastation it wreaks on his family and the blood shed by
those affected by his command decisions.
Once An Eagle is also a remarkable study
in leadership. It has become a touchstone for military
professionals who aspire to emulate Sam Damon.
This New York Times #1 bestseller, published in
nineteen languages, is the sweeping story of America’s fighting
men serving in World War I, the peacetime army between the
world wars, World War II, and the Khotiane (a fictional
Vietnam) War.
A Marine combat veteran himself, Myrer’s battle action
scenes rank with the very best. His novel has been compared
to Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and Erich
Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front.
Once-An-Eagle, the website, is dedicated
to
spreading the word about:
- Once An Eagle, one of the finest war
novels ever written
- the remarkable talents of its author Anton Myrer
- the inspirational leadership qualities of its protagonist
Sam Damon
Separate web pages are devoted to The Story, The
Characters, The Author, The Acclaim, The
Allusions (a Glossary and a Gallery), The Vocabulary,
The Miniseries, and a Readers’ Forum.
Go to the O-A-E Military Store
Now



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Once An Eagle
– Key Facts
FULL TITLE
Once An Eagle
AUTHOR
Anton Myrer
TYPE OF WORK
Novel
GENRE
Literary novel
LANGUAGE
English (+19 translations)
TIME WRITTEN
Mid-1960s, height of the Vietnam War
DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION
1968
PUBLISHER
Holt, Rinehart and Winston
POINTS OF VIEW
Various, by chapter and section: Sam Damon –
79 (chapters or sections); Tommy Damon – 12; Courtney
Massengale – 6; Joe Brand – 6; Ben Krisler –
2; Joey Krisler – 2; Emily Massengale – 2; Jack
Devlin – 1 minor characters – 10
SETTING (TIME)
1916-1962. pre-WWI, between the wars, WWII, early
1960s
SETTING (PLACE)
Nebraska, Mexico, France, American southwest,
Fort Benning (Georgia), Lake Erie, Philippines,
China, northern California, Pacific Theater,
Australia, Washington, D.C., Long Island, N.Y.,
Khotiane (fictional Vietnam)
PROTAGONIST
Sam Damon
ANTAGONIST
Courtney Massengale
OTHER MAJOR CHARACTERS
Tommy Damon (Sam’s wife), General George T.
Caldwell (Tommy’s father), Jack Devlin (Sam’s
best friend in WWI), Ben Krisler (Sam’s best
friend, post-WWI), Donny Damon (Sam and
Tommy’s son), Joe Brand (Sam’s protégé), Emily
Massengale (Courtney’s wife), Joey Krisler
(Ben’s son)
MAJOR CONFLICT
Sam Damon and Courtney Massengale engage in
a decades-long battle of wills that dramatically
impacts family, friends and fellow soldiers.
MINOR CONFLICTS
A less pronounced but still clearly evident conflict
is the friction that exists between Sam and Tommy
Damon throughout their marriage as she competes
with Sam’s love for army life. Still another
conflict
is Sam’s refusal to accept the lot of his
downtrodden men, especially in the face of
abusive, uncaring officers and despite the negative
impact on his career.
RISING ACTION
Sam and Massengale cross paths often, tension
building all the while, each encounter fore-
shadowing an inevitable grand confrontation
amidst the violence of war.
CLIMAX
Broadly speaking, Operation Palladium, but more
specifically, Sam’s refusal to accept Massengale’s
betrayal that costs Sam’s men so dearly.
FALLING ACTION
Sam’s decision to break his promise to Tommy,
come out of retirement, and accept the Khotiane
mission.
THEMES
Heroism, good versus evil, ethics and morality,
the
grim reality of war, adultery, anti-war, corruption
of power, career over family, devotion to country,
unchecked ambition, impact of sexual dysfunction.
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Once An Eagle has more to teach about leadership
– whether it is in the boardroom or on the battlefield –
than a score of modern-day management texts. It is
a primer that lays out, through the lives of its two main
characters, lessons on how and how not to lead. --
Charles C. Krulak, Commandant,
USMC
Once An Eagle is a classic novel of war and
warriors. Sam Damon doesn’t preach, he lives his values
and they are universal, not only military. --
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
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Once An Eagle
by the Numbers
1
#1 New York Times best seller
3
More than 3 million copies in print
5
Number of books that comprise the novel
7
Major characters in the novel
19 Translated
into 19 languages
90 Minor
characters in the novel
817
Number of pages in the Army War College
Foundation edition
938 Number
of pages in the HarperCollins
hardcover edition
1291 Number
of pages in the HarperCollins
paperback
editions
1916 Year
in which novel opens
1962 Year
in which novel closes
1968 Year in which novel
was published
1976 Year in which miniseries
based on novel was
shown on NBC
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Click
here to email this web
page to an active duty or veteran friend
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"With our own feathers,
not by other's hands,
are we
now smitten."
--
Aeschylus |
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Warrior
Creed
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of
a team.
I serve the people of the United
States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the
mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a
fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically
and mentally tough, trained and proficient in
my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain
my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage,
and destroy the enemies of the United States of
America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and
the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

|

Marines’ Hymn
From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines.

Our flag's unfurl’d to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job –
The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
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Sam Damon addresses his fellow Nebraskans
at a memorial dedication in Walt Whitman
in the fall of 1945…
“I hope you’ll
forgive me if I sound a little confused. Five
short days ago I was in Japan, walking along the shore of the Inland Sea. It used to take five days to drive from here
to Big Spring in a buckboard, when I was a
boy … I’ve been away a long time – almost
thirty years – and the world has shifted under
my feet. Under all our feet. It is not the
world we knew in 1916.
You have asked
me to assist in the dedication of this memorial;
and I am greatly honored. But I know you will
understand if I avoid the use of words like
gallantry or valor or glory. I will leave
them to those who have not had to add up the
ledger of violence and misery. My own heart
is too full of losses today. We are assembled
here to honor the men whose names are inscribed
on this tablet. Let us, then, do them the
simple honor of honesty. This war was a long,
lonely, dirty job, as these men seated here
behind me can attest. They fought it with
courage and fortitude and the hope of better
days, and what they did cannot and will not
be forgotten. But there is nothing glorious
about killing one’s fellow man, or being killed
by him, or passing many, many days in hatred
and misery and fear. And whoever says it is
a matter for glory lies in his teeth.
We like to say that war is cruel. But no
one knows how cruel it is – how deeply, monstrously
cruel – unless he has himself walked through
the fire and felt it sear him. The men recorded
on this tablet have done that. Many of them
died horribly, some of them needlessly. Yes,
needlessly. Because what is most hideous about
war is its waste: destruction of goods and
homes, waste of life and hope and that the
dream of individual dignity we cherish as
the particular achievement of America. A country’s
treasure is in its young men, and their loss
is terrible beyond measure because it is irreparable.
It is as shocking as the loss of innocence,
or self-respect. And more often than not it
is the good man who goes: the large act, the
spendthrift heart. The medic who goes out
to bring in the wounded man, the automatic
rifleman who covers his patrol’s withdrawal,
the officer trying to prevent panic, the gunner
who throws himself on the grenade menacing
his friends.
There they are, arrayed on the face of the
stone. All that is left of their eager faces,
their dreams, their inviolable souls. They
are dead now. They were singularly trusting.
They asked no collateral on the prompt surrender
of their lives, they demanded no social privileges,
no distinctions, no seats of power of influence
as they walked steadily into the valley. They
demanded nothing. What about us, the beneficiaries
of such profligate bounty? Will we be so callous
as to scheme and despoil for these things
again – and mock their death, their slow,
immeasurable agony?
Power. We have it now. In our two hands.
A new world, a clean slate. These young men
have made the down payment on it – and it
was a bitter payment, I can assure you. Bitter
as gall. And they did not make that payment
for a world of rockets and bombs and barbed
wire, or for a world of overseas markets and
a favorable gold balance and the wolfish gutting
of what we are pleased to call the underdeveloped
nations. Old friends, we can build a new Jerusalem
– but we will reach only what we seek.
Let us remember, then. They would want us
to remember – if only because it may cause
us to strengthen our resolve not to sow the
dragon’s teeth again. The naked sword we hold
so proudly is two-edged: it is as dangerous
for the wielder as for the recipient.
We stand at an immense fork in the road.
One way is the path of generosity, dignity
and a respect for other races and customs;
the other leads most certainly to greed, suspicion,
hatred and the old, bloody course of violence
and waste – and now, God help us, to the very
destruction of all the struggles and triumphs
of the human race on this earth. My old friends
and fellow townsmen: which will it be?
Forgive me, if you can, for so somber an
address on this beautiful September day, when
the whole land echoes with cries of triumph;
but I am weighed down with losses – I am constrained
to cry, like another soldier sick of slaughter
and folly: The weight of this sad time
we must obey; Speak what we feel, not what
we ought to say …”
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Sam
Damon’s Officer’s Code of Conduct
- Leadership & Bravery
- Lead from the front whenever possible
- Make personal sacrifices
- Make difficult decisions
- Take on enemies and challenges regardless
of size
- Loyalty
- Be a patriot, motivated only by flag and
country
- Hold the needs of the enlisted man in
the highest regard
- Never forget the men who died or were
wounded while under your command
- Never abandon a friend
- Honor
- Never go back on your word
- Never use your rank or position to better
your circumstances
- Professionalism
- Commit yourself to a life of learning
- Forthrightness
- Speak truth to power
- Speak what you feel, not what you ought
to say
- Humanity
- “Act with honor and hope and generosity,
no matter what [the lot in life] you’ve
drawn”
- Be humble in all things
- “Pass your days as a good man”
- Be racially and religiously tolerant in
your beliefs
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| Once-An-Eagle: A Reader's Companion
is currently self-published. I am searching
for a publisher. Interested publishers should
contact thebert@once-an-eagle.com.
- Tom Hebert
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Looking for Sam Damon
by Colonel Sean J. Byrne, US Army
This diligently researched, thought provoking,
and enormously popular 1999 magazine article,
published in Military Review,
brought back to the internet by
once-an-eagle.com

Click
here for printer-friendly article
Click here
for biography of Major General Sean J. Byrne
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email this web page
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