"In the cyclic turn-of-events, the highs, the lows, the successes, the failures, I would opt to conclude that the survival - the achievement of the goal: a military career as a professional soldier - was the ultimate high." Colonel Burks' inspiration for this book can be credited to his fellow soldiers, our nation's many great and good leaders, and the system that prevails. He dedicates this effort, therefore, to those equally dedicated but goal-denied peers, who fell in WWII, in Korea, between the Wars, and in Vietnam.