In The Arena by Mike Curry

Mike Curry 

I endured the grueling selection process to become a United States Marine Corps infantry officer. I led long-range reconnaissance teams into the enemy occupied jungles of Vietnam. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer, living and working in a foreign country and in an alien culture.

None of that prepared me for what I experienced as an inner city school principal contending with violence, guns, gangs, physical and sexual abuse while implementing court ordered desegregation. If it were a movie, it would be R rated. But it wasn't a movie. It happened. This is my story. It is an entertaining, sometimes intense, story filled with humor, idealism, adventure, and poignancy.

In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, I was a man "in the arena."

"....The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood....." Theodore Roosevelt.

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IN THE ARENA 

BY MIKE CURRY 

SYNOPSIS 

A significant portion of the book relates Curry’s experience in OCS and his tour in Vietnam as an infantry platoon commander, first with the 7th Marines and then in 1st Recon Bn.

Curry also writes about the 1965 Watts Riot, the six years he lived in Jamaica as a Peace Corps Volunteer/teacher and the 31 years he served as a principal in an inner city school system dealing with gangs, guns, drugs, physical and sexual abuse, and some pretty unruly kids. There is a short detour while mobilized for Desert Storm describing his experience attending Jump School as a 49-year-old member of the 20th Special Forces.

The story is filled with humor, idealism, adventure, and poignancy. It is an entertaining, sometimes intense, story.

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"In the Arena" Book Review May 21, 2020

Great story of the life of Mike Curry. He seved in Vietnam as an infantry officer with 7th Marines and with 1st Reconnaisance Battalion, 1st Marine Division with fascinating stories about leading small patrols with frequent engagements. After Vietnam he and his wife joined the Peace Corps in Jamaica.

He earned a Doctorate in Education and spent 31 years in inner city schools in Birmingham, Alabama. He also went back into the National Guard, mobilized for Desert Storm and completed jump school at the age of 49. I went to Marine Corps OCS and Basic School with Mike Curry and most of the other Marines in the photos in 1968-69 at Quantico, Virginia. Mike has led a very interesting life.

Fascinating story. I strongly recommend it. In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, He was a man "in the arena."

I went to Marine Corps OCS and the Basic School at Quantico, VA with Mike in 1968-69. His book is a great companion piece to the book written by Mike Hodgins, also from our Basic School Class and who wrote another great book about 1st Recon Battalion.

Semper Fi


Craig Hullinger