Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Simmons served in the Marine Corps for thirty-six years, from 1942 to 1978, and is a decorated veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He also served the Corps for seventeen years as a civilian, including many years as Director of Marine Corps History and Museums. He is the author of the Korean War novel Dog Company Six, The United States Marines: A History, and Frozen Choisin: U.S. Marines at the Changjin Reservoir, among other publications. He died in May 2007. Col. Joseph H. Alexander served in the Marine Corps for twenty-eight years and fought in Vietnam. He is the author of the award winning Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa and four other books. He has helped produce twenty-five military documentaries for cable television and was chief historian on the exhibit design team for the National Museum of the Marine Corps.