Call of Duty By Buck Compton

I recently read the book Call of Duty, My Life Before, During, and After the Band of Brothers, by Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton, with Marcus Brotherton.  Let me start by saying that I particularly enjoyed this book because the writer kept me entertained with many different topics such as, war, baseball, and life in general. I think the author did a superb job in translating and organizing, Buck's thoughts and what he said into a book.

 The book begins with a foreword by Senator,and presidential candidate, John McCain. In the first chapter Buck speaks about his high school and college days. He was an outstanding baseball player for the UCLA Bruins before he volunteered for the military. He even had the privilege of playing ball with Jackie Robinson, who later on became the first player of color to enter the Major leagues, breaking down a huge racial barrier that had been preventing African Americans from playing in the MLB.

Once Buck volunteered for the military, he chose to join the paratroopers. In the book he talks a lot about his days in Germany and France. But don't get me wrong, this book is not only about war and death, it is also about Buck's personal life. In this book, he talks about his father's death, and his relationship with his soon to be wife.

 After the war was all said and done, Buck went back to Los Angeles California where he married his long time girlfriend, Donna Newman. In Los Angeles he became a member of the LAPD, where he served for five years. He then graduated from law school and became a well known district attorney. He successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert Kennedy. After his days of being a lawyer, Buck and his wife moved up to the San Juan Islands in Washington State where his wife passed away in 1994 and he currently resides.

 Buck is still very active in the community,  as he speaks on a regular basis to different groups. I personally had the privilege to hear Buck speak, and he talked about many of the things I read in the book, as well as the television series Band of Brothers. In closing, I thought this was a very well written book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good biography to read.