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13 Months of Glory for a Lifetime of Pain: True Story of a Florida Boy

Don and Bettlou PerrinBy Don Perrin, Charlie Company, 19th Infantry Regiment

That's Don and Bettelou Perrin at left in a photo I took of them at the 2010 FL 24th/5th RCT Mini Reunion in St. Augustine, FL.

A short review by Tom Thiel:

I first met Don Perrin at the 2010 St. Augustine mini-reunion. He said something about writing a book.

I forgot about it.

At this year’s reunion (2011), Don had the book, and a copy of a professional reviewer’s news release recommending the book. I came home and read the whole book, at one setting.

Don writes just like he talks—directly and forcefully. Like one man who has seen mortal combat to another.

Consider, for example: “I don't know how many times I've gotten to a patient that there was no way I could save him. I always pulled his bandage off his belt, ripped it out, put the bandage on so he couldn't see.

I would light a cigarette and put it in his mouth and say, ‘You lucky bastard. You're going home.’ If he was able to talk, he would usually say, ‘No shit, doc?’ I would say, ‘Yep, all the way.’

We were both thinking of different places.

When he would die, I would take the cigarette out of his mouth and put it in mine. I felt he was part of me. I swore I would never quit smoking because I might lose him, but that never happened. In 1988, I had to give up smoking, and I was always afraid they would be gone, but they are still with me in my heart and my soul.

The worst part of all this was if he was a good buddy, it was all I could do not to cry. But you can't linger.”

Don's life's adventures in the book take him through many unusual life experiences; you have to read it to understand what I am talking about.

His story was riveting to me; I’m sure it will be to you also, and have no hesitation in recommending it to you.

Now you can read the professional reviewers release below.

Engaging Memoir Introduces Readers to Someone Who Has Seen It All

Author Donald Perrin narrates his firsthand accounts of the infamous Korean War

SEBASTIAN, Fla. — For the great Julius Caesar, one has lived long enough if both nature and glory has been satisfied. What if there's a heavy price to pay for that short and fleeting moment of glory's grandeur and splendor? Author Donald Perrin shares his life when he joined the ranks of men who fought during the Korean War in 13 Months of Glory for a Lifetime of Pain: True Story of a Florida Boy.

Perrin's gripping autobiography starts with his first memory of living with his grandparents back in Central Florida and takes readers to the time when he signed up for the army as part of the maintenance team. Everything from then on in Perrin's life took a different turn even after he went back home.

A true story in itself, 13 Months of Glory for a Lifetime of Pain narrates the author's experiences while he risked life and limb in the battlefield, and places readers to where the real action happens with his firsthand accounts of the raging war that happened between July 1950 and August 1951 in Korea.

Specially dedicated to the author's comrades in the "Victory Division" who won more battles than any combat division in the history of modem warfare, 13 Months of Glory for a Lifetime of Pain is a riveting and engaging memoir of somebody who has seen it all; someone who really came, saw and conquered.

13 Months of Glory for a Lifetime of Pain by Donald Perrin, True Story of a Florida Boy, Publication Date: June 30, 2011, Trade Paperback / $15.99; 97 pages; ISBN 978-1-4568-7952-5. Don’s book can be purchased at Xlibris bookstore. For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or http://bookstore.xlibris.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=perrin

Donald B. Perrin, 7930 129th St., Sebastian, FL 32958-3633, Ph:772-388-9342