Noted WWII Writer Visits The MARINE Shop
On 30 March 2012, The Marine Corps Association & Foundation hosted a "Meet the Author" & Book Signing Event with John Gordon, author of Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines at The MARINE Shop at Quantico, Virginia. In attendance for the OCS Family Day, numerous family members and friends of the Corps visited The MARINE Shop and had the opportunity to meet John Gordon.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and veteran artilleryman from Lakewood, NJ, John Gordon tells the story of how the Navy and the Marine Corps played a vital supporting role under General Douglas MacArthur during the five-month, Philippines campaign during WWII. When asked what inspired him to write the book, Mr. Gordon stated that at the time there was a wide range of material about what the Army did in the Philippines. As he learned more about how the Navy and the Marine Corps tried to defend the Philippines, he noticed these two military branches were not being adequately recognized for their contributions.
Six years Ago, Gordon took his story to the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), and worked on the book from 2007 to 2010, and in October 2011, Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines was released. While doing his research, Gordon was fortunate to meet a number of veterans of the Philippines campaign. When asked what he found interesting in researching the Philippines campaign, Gordon stated that he was able to tell the Japanese side of the story, and how they felt to fight against American Naval personnel and Marines.
John Gordon has written widely on subjects related to defense and public policy and also serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason and Georgetown Universities. MCA&F invites, and encourages noted authors with books about Marine Corps History to be a part of the “Meet the Author” and book signing events. These events are great ways to meet noted authors and everyone is cordially invited to attend. View MCA&F’s upcoming professional events and book signing schedule here.
MCA&F is dedicated to Marine professional development. Through the Commanders’ Professional Forums and PME’s with presentations and discussions from noted authors and scholars, Marines have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of military art and science and appreciation of current issues.
You can support Marine professional development and advanced leadership by joining MCA&F. You will have access to our flagship magazines, Marine Corps Gazette and Leatherneck, to stay informed about issues affecting Marines as well as unfolding Marine Corps history. Members receive other benefits including discounts with affinity partners and member value pricing at MCA&F retail locations.
Check out the video with Leatherneck Editor, Colonel Walt Ford, USMC (Ret) speaking with noted author, John Gordon on his book, Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines.
Member Oorahs!
My Name is Sergeant Major Juan. M. Hidalgo, Sergeant Major of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) out of Camp Pendleton, CA. Sergeant Major (Ret.) Frank Pulley is one of my mentors and is someone that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. The MCA and SgtMaj Pulley do a phenomenal job in helping us recognize our Marines and Sailors and they continually demonstrate that they are always more than ready to support; anytime...Anyplace! And on behalf of the entire 13th MEU, I thank you very much!
Christina,
Thank you for all your help over the phone today. Planning a Marine Corps Ball is a lot of time, energy and work.
Timothy C. Summers
I'm so pleased to see all the great merchandise you are stocking and the awesome promotions. Your store was dissappointing a few years ago and I shopped only at Sgt Grit.
Now, I can find what I am looking for with you guys.
Great job!
Ms. Pappas,
Congratulations. You are more responsive and informative than any other website contact I can recall. I appreciate that very much. It’s really nice to have someone like you at the MCA “front door.”
Sincerely, Alfred
I want to relay my many thanks to everyone at Marine Corps Association and Military Historical Tours for providing me the opportunity to experience such a wonderful trip to Russia. Had I not won this trip through MCA I may have never taken advantage of such fantastic travels. The group, the Russian Tour guide (Oleg Alexandrov) and Charlie Dunn were wonderful companions during the trip. It will be a memory I will cherish all of my remaing days on this earth.
Again, Many thanks and Semper Fidelis!
Thanks for the email; I purchased the two Marine Corps. Cups for my brother who served with the First Marine Div. in Vietnam . He was very pleased with the cups and I was very impressed with the purchase. The online catalog did not do the product the justice it deserved. Thanks again and I am sure you will hear from me in the future.
I received my Dress Blues I ordered from The Marine
Shop in the mail today. And I just wanted to write and tell everyone there
that you all did a great job! Everyone from the tailors, to the customer
service reps. I am highly impressed with the quality and tailoring of your
uniforms. I will definitely keep coming back to The Marine Shop in the
future for uniforms!
Ma’am,
I received the shipment of plaques, books and certificates today for
mail call. It was more exciting to me than candy or magazines! Thank
you very much.
Semper Fi,
Member saying thanks to our Customer Service Representative, Skylar Hand.
Thank you so much for your help!!! I think you should be commended for your excellent customer service! You were extremely helpful and I was about to get upset about my order but you handled it before I could say anything. You are the best. Thanks again!!!
It is ALWAYS a pleasure to work with a consummate professional such as SgtMaj (Ret.) Frank Pulley. As the company 1stSgt for Hotel Company, MCT, SOI (West), I’ve attended a number of his briefs and one can visually see a positive change in the student’s attention levels as the SgtMaj delivers his presentation. The SgtMaj truly cares about the Marines and the Marine Corps and represents the MCA in an extremely admirable manner. It has been my experience that all Marines (including myself) benefit from the experience of attending a MCA presentation. And regardless of rank or years of experience, Marines should always seek to increase their level of proficiency and knowledge and MCA briefs provide us with that opportunity.
Related Content
- Book Signing with John Gordon (MCAF Event)
- FIGHTING FOR MACARTHUR: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines. (Book Review)
- FIGHTING FOR MCARTHUR: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines (Book Review)
- Exclusive Author Interviews (Magazine Page)
- American Marines in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton (Magazine Page)


