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

(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 end of an era? New Year's Resolutions This year I'm once again on New Years...giving up skydiving, rock climbing, any Alfredo sauce, alcohol, watching all pro football, peeing outside, and most gambling. It's a tough call. And since I'm a man, keeping my hand away from my crotch. (Back in the 50s that's all we had to play with most of the time.)  Tough habits to break.

A typical Sunnyvale resident back in the days I spent there. He never attended groups because he would sit on his own face. Written at Sunnyvale Mental Rehab in Fermonga, Ohio. A Short Excerpt From A Book You'll Never Read Chapter 41 Vito Nazarini and Monk Spitzanelli watched as the man they were supposed to kill stepped from a parked car. In a moment, they were at his side. "Hey, Frankie," Vito said to the victim. "Big Elmo says dat you is supposed to take a ride wit us, ha-ha." Frankie Garbaroni knew his executioners well, and though trapped with two ice picks jabbing his back, he had a plan. "Big Elmo who?" Frankie said. Vito and Monk looked at each other, and Frankie knew their limited third grade education might save his life. "Frankie, you know who it is," Monk said. "Big Elmo Maraconzon, uh, Maracuzzo, uh, you tella him, Vito." "Hell, Monk, I can't a pronounce dat nam...

New for handgunners: Extend your pistol accuracy with the Latham bipod The Latham Bipod Christmas Special You may have heard about it, but probably not because most people wouldn't dream of owning a bipod for their pistol. But marksman Dennis Latham has the answer with this general purpose fold up bipod that slips easily in your pocket or on a belt loop. In the picture above, Cecil Pettigrew, is seen holding a derringer equipped with the Latham bipod system. "I just clamp that sucker on there and have increased my effective range from eight feet to up to twelve feet. It's enough to save your life in a bad situation like a bar fight or church Bingo." Hardcore critics argue that the concept of a bipod on a derringer is ridiculous, and by the time a right handed shooter put it in place and balanced the bipod on the left forearm (from Latham instruction manual), the shooter would probably already be shot by the bad guy. Plus, it looks like a cheap rifle bip...

As soon as I find the missing manuscript, I'll write some more on the tales of Guilford. But until then, a Guilford Santa may be coming your way. From my King of Guilford...or is it fiction? Hire a Guilford Santa This Year...or maybe not.

This picture makes about as much sense as the logic behind this story. Give Us Your Muskets Last Night on Fox News I saw a guy who represented some anti-gun group led by Gabby Gifford. They want to ban muzzle-loaders as weapons of mass destruction. They claim that equipping a muzzle-loader with a silencer will make someone able to become a mass shooter. They don't care that a silencer does not completely muffle a gunshot or doesn't make sense to put a silencer on a powder flintlock. They don't care that it is a single shot cap and ball weapon. They don't care or understand that it takes at least a minute or two between each shot to rig a muzzle-loader to fire again, making it the least likely to be a weapon of any kind of mass destruction. All they care about is trying to regulate the deadly muzzle-loader because it fires a .50 caliber ball. Next they will ban any mention of the Revolutionary War in schools as evil because of muskets. I can see it no...

    Bizarre stories from the alternative reality. © Copyright 2000 by Dennis Latham From the story collection Sudden Victims 2008 Originally published in Gothic.net   Squeeze After the court hearing, Gina seemed on edge during the ride to dinner. She had changed during our six-month separation. The gray streaks had been dyed black, and she wore bright red lipstick. A green dress, cinched tight at the waist by a thin green belt, accented her weight loss and made her eyes bright emeralds. "You look a lot younger."             She stared out the passenger window. "So do you, Michael."             "Younger?"             "Full of yourself." She glanced at me before turning away.             "Thanks. I guess your new lover bends to your every need."           I realized then how much she had wa...