I Promise You I'll Be Home: Korean War Letters of a U.S. Marine - Paperback

by Al Martinez (Author), Sara S. Hodson (Editor)

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 Ridgerunner. After the war, he entered a career in journalism, becoming a featured columnist for the Los Angeles Times where he would earn three shared Pulitzer Prizes.

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.

Author Biography

Al Martinez (1929-2015) served in the Marine reserves while a student at San Francisco State College before being called to active duty in Korea for a year beginning in April 1951, first on the front lines and then in his regiment's Public Information Office as a combat correspondent and newsletter writer and editor. After returning home, he began his career as a journalist in Oakland. Enticed to join the Los Angeles Times in 1971, he became a featured columnist for the paper in 1984. For the next 23 years, his columns appeared regularly, earning him many awards, including three shared Pulitzer Prizes and a National Headline Award for the best column in the United States. Sara S. "Sue" Hodson is the retired curator of literary manuscripts for The Huntington Library. A fellow of the Society of American Archivists, she writes and lectures widely on archival and literary topics. She lives in Pasadena, California.