ONCE A MARINE, ALWAYS A MARINE: A Memoir of Service and Survival
At sixteen, he struggled to survive above a friend's garage on his own. By seventeen, he joined the Marine Corps in San Diego, seeking discipline and purpose absent from his youth. Boot camp in 1976 was brutal, marked by abuse and loss, but he endured and became a Marine.
His service included surviving violent encounters and harsh conditions, from a gang attack in Phoenix to Arctic Circle war games that almost killed him. Though faced with setbacks like demotion, his resilience earned respect and restoration of rank.
Stationed at Camp Lejeune (1978), he unknowingly drank contaminated water daily-an exposure linked to illness and death among Marines, concealed by the Corps. The memoir details a forty-year battle with disease caused by toxic water, and the struggle for recognition.
His gratitude lies not with the institution that harmed him, but with the identity, camaraderie, brotherhood and purpose that is a Marine.
Once a Marine, always a Marine-even when consequences follow.
About the MemoirA stark account of survival, brotherhood, and the lasting impact of toxic exposure on Marines.
R.D. Parrish is an American author whose work blends atmospheric horror, Southern Gothic melancholy, and deeply human storytelling. A Marine Corps veteran and longtime resident of the American South, Parrish draws inspiration from the quiet places-flooded fields, forgotten towns, and the heavy, humid stillness where memory clings to the earth.
His debut novel, Hollow Ground, is an intimate rural-horror tale set in the fictional Mississippi Delta community of Gethsemane Parish, where relentless rain awakens an ancient, listening intelligence beneath the soil. Parrish is known for crafting horror that is slow-burning, emotional, and rooted in character-stories where fear emerges not from monsters, but from misunderstanding, grief, and the fragile ways humans try to connect.
Parrish writes with a focus on atmosphere, psychological depth, and the strange beauty of the natural world. When he isn't writing, he enjoys time with his family, exploring small-town history, and working on the next haunting story set in the world just beneath our feet.
He lives in the United States with his wife, De.
