Page 15 - BusinessWest November 9, 2020

under the pseudonym Will Remain (with Remain being an anagram of Marine), came out early this year.
Covering the period from 1899 to 1917, several months before the U.S. entered World War I, it tells the story of Kenneth Remain (Will’s grandfa- ther, who was born in Worcester and educated at Harvard), and the love triangle he enters along with Harvard classmate Lawrence Blakeslee and the “beautiful KatyKay Mulcahy.” The reader is also introduced to the 57 enlisted men of the fictional Fourth Platoon of the 87th Company of the true-to-life Third Battalion of the Sixth Marine Regiment.
“When Kenneth takes KatyKay away from Lawrence, it creates problems between the two fami-
lies that last for decades,” Hebert said, describing the plotline for the first book and those that will follow. “There’s this interaction between the two families that will last right up ’til the Vietnam War.”
The book is selling fairly well, but Hebert admits to not yet reaching the ‘break-even’ point that all self- publishers aspire to. Originally in hardcover, there’s now a paperback version of Remains of the Corps, as well as an e-book, and an audiobook will soon follow.
A second book is in progress, one that will take the story into the battlefields of France in World War I, with subsequent volumes covering
the 1920s and ’30s. Eventually, his fictional char- acters will fight in World War II, which his father did, having taken part in the epic battle on Iwo Jima.
His father’s service — and his own — helped inspire the books, said Hebert, who told Busi- nessWest his writing is a way to give back to the Marine Corps, which he said gave him so much.
“
used a very large vocabulary, and I had to develop my vocabulary tremendously to have it fit for these two gentlemen .”
When asked what, specifically, he said the Corps gave him discipline, something he’s called on in all facets of his intriguing life, as well as some moments he won’t forget.
“Discipline and leadership ... that’s what I took away from the Marines,” he explained. “It shows in the respect I have for people, including the people who work for me — treating them well, treating them with respect.”
Thus, Hebert’s saga represents the perfect Vet- eran’s Day story for this business publication: it’s a tale of military service and a family’s devotion to the Marine Corps, but also one about business — the one Hebert joined with some help from that matchbook cover, as well as the one he’s in now — and the challenging world of publishing.
These gentlemen would have
Tom Hebert says his novels are a way of paying back the Marine Corps for all it has given him.
We honor the sacrifices of those who give so much that we may live free.
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