The Baseline Killer, Plumber Bob, and Military Magazine

I became interested in the Baseline Killer a few months ago because my daughter moved to Phoenix to attend school. The police have been trying to catch this monster for a year. He's responsible for eight murders, two dozen robberies, a dozen rapes, and is known to wear different disguises. I had the DC snipers figured out within a few days, but was ignored by the police and FBI. My profile could have saved lives. This time, I used limited available information and created a profile on the Baseline Killer and sent it to the Phoenix police. I felt I could add a new angle that the overworked police may not have considered. Sometimes a fresh outlook can open new direction.

I was shocked yesterday when my phone rang and it was Commander Frank Sweeney of the Phoenix Police Department. He told me he liked my profile, believed it was plausible, and he was going to make sure the Homicide detectives working the case got copies. The odds are slim that I'm right (mainly because I don't have inside information and have to assume many things) but I seem to have a knack for profiling monsters. I must have assumed a lot of things right for the police to give me serious consideration. I hope my profile helps catch this guy. Only time will tell, and I hope they get him before he murders again.

The Bad Season made Plumber Bob's top 18 books on Amazon. It's in with some big time writers. That was a surprise. The book is up and down this week.

My previous blog entry about the VC flag will be published in the December print issue of Military Magazine. The editor contacted me yesterday and wants to use it. It's been a productive week.

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Vietnam: The Liberty Bridge

(This entry has had a lot of comments, and I'm glad it can help bring Nam vets together or to help find each other. If you have a comment, please attach your name to the comment or from this point forward it won't be published. I've received many comments that are phony and obviously made up, submitted by anonymous submission. I do screen all comments. Click the photo to enlarge. Semper Fi.) This is the Liberty Bridge (click to make larger) in Quang Nam Province in Vietnam during July of 1968. Of the 14,000 Marines killed in Vietnam, 10,000 were killed in Quang Nam Province. (Figures in comment section show a little under 7000 KIA in Quang Nam.) This was late in my tour on July 2. The bridge had been blown once again by the enemy to isolate the Marine base at An Hoa. I was a 50 caliber machine gunner on a convoy to resupply the An Hoa Firebase. I called this the River Styx because it had a ferry boat. Once you crossed the river you entered a nightmare hell on earth cal

The Jesus Moth

Photo taken through a window screen. I had just gone over the first print copy of The Bad Season on July 22, 2006. I walked over to the window and saw this moth on my outside air conditioner unit. It was the most bizarre thing I had seen in a long time. I retrieved my digital camera and snapped a picture through the glass and the window screen before going outside in a failed to attempt to capture the moth. I contacted a moth expert. He told me what kind of moth it was, but added that he had never seen one with a cross on its back like this one. I call it the Jesus Moth, the Crusader Moth, or maybe the Infidel Moth. The syndicates wanted me to give it to them for free. They said they don't take pics from non-employees because "we would actually have to pay you for it." Hmm, what a novel concept, getting paid for something. I offered to swap for a syndicated story about my book. They refused. So I copyrighted the entire pic (the one below is a fragment from that p

The Old Corps: Marine Corps Boot Camp 1966

BLT 1/3 USMC 1967 Vietnam Boot Camp Hell I recently saw a video of what I assume was the current Marine Corps Boot Camp. It mentioned recruits reporting any abuse right away and the DI was trying to be tough (and he did sound tough to an extent), but underneath it all you could tell the old Corps was gone in the civilian desire (political desire by people who never served) to make things easier and less traumatic for the boots. They never mentioned abuse to us in 1966 because we were abused 24/7. I'm an old Corps Hollywood Marine (that's an inside Marine joke about the difference between boot camp in Parris Island or San Diego.) The boots in Parris Island claimed they had it rougher because they had swamps. The Hollywood Marines had mountains. I would rather walk in water than climb mountains so I disagree. I entered the Marine Corps on August 10, 1966. Marines had been in Vietnam for over a year. All of us would probably go to Nam. For some of us it woul

Dennis Latham: Life, Fiction, and the Pursuit of Madness

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