Hey, CCs tell YOUR story! CCHQ is updating “Last To Know, First To Go”

Okay, CCs. When Gary Cameron’s “Last To Know, First To Go,” the unofficial history of our merry band, hit the streets in the late 1970s, a lot of us started bitching about names left out, happenings that didn’t, and why didn’t he include anything about the unit I was in and why didn’t he use this photo or that. Some of us liked it, some of us didn’t. Most of us have agreed since, that while a monumental effort, a sequel was needed to bring us up to present day and hopefully correct some of the problems of the original book.

Well, here’s your big chance. Thanks to Life Member Agostino “Omar” VonHassell (as general editor), Don Caetano and Life Member publisher, Dave Biesel, St. Johann Press, we’re going to try it again and this time we will get it right – with your help.

Noted writer Ed Breslin, who has worked with such luminaries as W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy, has been named chief editor. The writers and photographers will be you. If you cooperate, Omar and Ed are promising a book that should have good market appeal, both to us and to the general public. Quite frankly: We hope to knock your socks off!

We have set an unofficial “by date” for submissions of June 15. In the meantime, Dave Biesel, is having the original book dismembered and re-scanned on the high-tech equipment at Soho Press in New York. While we have the original book plates, thanks to former Executive Director Don Gee, they cannot be used in this day of high-tech printing. Dave promises the re-scanning will lose little in quality of both the written word and the original photos. What it saves is the entire re-type of the original book. This is being done on Dave’s nickel.

In addition to making necessary corrections and inclusions to the original, we will be adding new chapters on all battles/wars since the book ended with just mention of Beirut. Today’s active duty CCs and Combat Camera Marines will also find their exploits duly recorded.

What we need now is the cooperation of every journalist, still or motion photographer, radio, television broadcast or production person, artists and illustrators. In so many words, if you were ever connected with a specialty covering our great Association, we want to hear from you. We will be exploring the Archived materials at the Marine Corps University as well as the Leatherneck Archives.

These are our material needs: photographs (color or black and white), articles of unique interest produced by CCs, articles involving CCs in action, anecdotes involving our members, unusual situations, books authored, awards won, you name it. CCHQ will be supplying names of DPA and Merit Awards winners that we have on record. We put no limitation on what we will accept (no jo-blos, however). We do ask, however, that if you can send your material electronically or on CDs that you do so. If you are sending photographs and manuscripts, please remember to add proper backing to avoid damage. We cannot send back your material.

In the next few days we will be asking certain veteran CCs to volunteer as chapter (or period) editors. You will be by-lined for this if you accept.

All materials shall be sent to a special CCHQ email address: usmccca-alpha@cfl.rr.com. Please include in the subject line: Revised Book. Please include your name and a telephone number where you can be reached if necessary.

Semper Fidelis, Jack
Jack T. Paxton, Executive Director
110 Fox Court, Wildwood, FL 34785
Tel. 352.748.4698