Early Out: A Memoir

In early 1962, Carlos Ledson Miller had three months remaining on his four-year active-duty commitment in the Marine Corps. He'd qualified for an officer program and had made tentative plans for a military career. However, while home on leave, he receives unexpected notice that he's qualified for early release from active duty. He makes an on-the-spot decision to take the "early out."Historically, this period marks the beginning of the Turbulent Sixties, which includes the Cuban Missile Crisis and the troop buildup in Vietnam. At the same time, following President Kennedy's assassination, the country enters into a decade of social and political upheaval. While Miller navigates these uncertain times, his two-year inactive-reserve military status makes him vulnerable to recall by the Marine Corps in case of national emergency. As he attempts to improvise a life for himself, his personal odyssey will take him from British Honduras to the New Orleans French Quarter to Houston, Texas.