The Corps Series

The Corps is a series of war novels written by W.E.B. Griffin about the United States Marine Corps before and during the years of World War II and the Korean Conflict. The story features a tightly-knit cast of characters in various positions within the Marine Corps, Navy, and upper levels of the United States Government.

List of books

*Book I, "Semper Fi" (1986) - Main action takes place between January 2, 1941 and January 17, 1942.
*Book II, "Call to Arms" (1987) - Main action takes place between December 18, 1941 and August 30, 1942.
*Book III, "Counterattack" (1990) - Main action takes place between December 7, 1941 and August 9, 1942.
*Book IV, "Battleground" (1991) - Main action takes place between June 4, 1942 and August 25, 1942.
*Book V, "Line of Fire" (1992) - Main action takes place between Spring 1942 and October 11, 1942.
*Book VI, "Close Combat" (1993) - Main action takes place between October 11, 1942 and November 19, 1942.
*Book VII, "Behind the Lines" (1996) - Main action takes place between April 7, 1942 and February 8, 1943.
*Book VIII, "In Danger's Path" (1999) - Main action takes place between November, 1941 and May 5, 1943.
*Book IX, "Under Fire" (2002) - Main action takes place between June 1, 1950 and September 29, 1950.
*Book X, "Retreat, Hell!" (2004) - Main action takes place between September 28, 1950 and November 3, 1950.

Primary Cast of Characters

Major Kenneth "(The) Killer" McCoy, USMCR

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

Initially known as "The Killer" for killing two Italian marines in self-defense with a baby Fairbairn knife, and twenty Chinese bandits, the introductory character of the saga is Ken McCoy, a Marine private first class stationed in Shanghai, China with the 4th Marines (the primary component of the "China Marines") prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Due to his actions in carrying out intelligence missions on Japanese assets, he is transferred back to the United States and enters Officer Candidate School to earn a commission as a second lieutenant. He is assigned as an officer courier for intelligence in the Pacific. While on a courier run, he is caught at Pearl Harbor on December 7 and survives. He manages to make it to the Philippines shortly before the Japanese invasion and reunites with Captain Ed Banning while assisting in the defence of the landing beach. Following an artillery barrage McCoy carries Banning to a monastery for treatment. He manages to make it through enemy lines and return to the States. He is awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received and a Bronze Star for his performance under fire and his efforts to save Captain Banning. He participates in several other missions under Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, including landing on Japanese-controlled Mindanao, and setting up a weather station in the Gobi Desert.

Colonel Edward C. Banning, USMC

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

Introduced as S-2 "Intelligence" Officer assigned as McCoy's legal aid after the killing the 2 Italian marines, Banning quickly becomes an integral part of the book as McCoy is slowly indoctrinated into the world of intelligence gathering. Also a China Marine, his relationship with McCoy changes from superior officer to peer as the story progresses. He is a graduate of The Citadel aka "the Military College of South Carolina." After the 4th Marines are ordered out of Shanghai and to the Philippines, he finds himself defending the Philippines during the Japanese invasion. He is temporarily blinded and transferred off Corregidor by submarine with other seriously wounded US servicemen. His sight returns before reaching port. Banning subsequently serves in the Office of Management Analysis and under Brigadier General Pickering in the OSS during World War II. At the beginning of the Korean War in "Under Fire", he is near retirement, contemplating a future in real estate.

Master Gunner Ernest Zimmerman, USMC

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

Ernest "Ernie" Zimmerman is a China Marine sergeant who serves with McCoy in Shanghai and operates with him in reconnaissance missions. When the 4th Marines are ordered to the Philippines, he is forced to leave his Chinese wife along with Mrs Ed Banning in China. Later, he serves with Second Lieutenant McCoy in the Marine Raiders when McCoy is assigned to spy on Evans Carlson, the innovative combat leader who is seen as a threat to the Marine establishment. Following this, Zimmerman serves in a Marine air wing in the Pacific, and at McCoy's request, is transferred to the OSS to set up a weather station in the Gobi Desert. It is during the Gobi desert Operation that Zimmerman is reunited with his wife, and Mrs Banning, who have since fled China. Between the Gobi Desert assignment in 1943 and the beginning of the Korean Conflict, Zimmerman is appointed a Master Gunner. During the Korean Conflict, he serves with Captain/Major McCoy in the CIA.

Major Malcolm "Pick" Pickering, USMCR

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

On the train from San Diego to Pennsylvania, McCoy meets a peculiar civilian by the name of Malcolm Pickering (known as "Pick" to his friends). After parting company, McCoy and Pick meet up again at the Platoon Leaders' Course at Quantico, Virginia, as classmates. Pick is the son of Fleming Pickering, owner of Pacific and Far East (P&FE) shipping and Patricia Foster Pickering, heir to the Foster hotel chain, allowing him to stay at his family's hotels without cost. While Ken acts as an officer courier, Pick's sights are set upon flight training, and he enters into flight school at Pensacola. He was promoted to major while commanding a reserve squadron shortly before the Korean war, where his squadron was activated and deployed to. He gained a reputation for shooting trains and had locomotives painted on his F4U Corsair for each of his "kills." Flying combat missions of the escort carrier USS "Badoeng Strait", he is shot down but survives and returns to friendly lines.

Brigadier General Fleming "Flem" Pickering, USMCR

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

Pick's father, Fleming, is the owner and Chairman of the Board of Pacific and Far Eastern Shipping, a large and successful oceanic freight corporation. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the then-Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, asks him to take a wartime commission as a Navy captain and act as his plenipotentiary for the Pacific. During the First World War, "Flem" was a Marine corporal, twice wounded in action and recipient of the Navy Cross (the second highest award for valour. It is the Navy version of the Distinguished Service Cross). He was also commissioned as a Marine Brigadier General and served as the OSS Deputy Director for the Pacific and the CIA's Deputy Director for Asia.

upporting Cast of Characters

Ernestine Sage

First Appearance: "Semper Fi"

Ernestine "Ernie" Sage is the daughter of a pharmaceutical magnate. The Pickerings and the Sages are old family friends, and Ernie and Pick have been friends since childhood. Ernie meets Ken McCoy shortly before he and Pick earn their commissions as second lieutenants.

Captain George Hart, USMCR

First Appearance: "Line of Fire"

Private George Hart was conned into the Marine Corps by a zealous recruiter. A homicide detective with the St Louis PD in civilian life, George is handpicked from boot camp and elevated to Sergeant to act as Flem's personal bodyguard while he operates in the intelligence sector of the military. He was promoted to captain while commanding a reserve rifle company between wars, and went back to serve General Pickering for the Korean war.

Patricia Pickering

Patricia Pickering has been the Chairman of the Board of the Foster Hotel Chain since her father, Andrew Foster, died in the years between World War II and the Korean War. She is the wife of Gen. Fleming Pickering and the Mother of Maj. Malcolm Pickering. Notably while her husband was serving in the Pacific theatre during WWII she was acting Chairwoman of Pacific & Far East Shipping.

Brigadier General Jack (NMI) Stecker, USMCR

A Medal of Honor recipient during World War I, Jack (No Middle Initial) Stecker first appears as a seasoned master gunnery sergeant who recognizes his own qualities in McCoy and assists him in assimilating to life at Quantico. He is commissioned as a Mustang, promoted to Marine Captain, which enables him to correct persecution of McCoy by First Lieutenant Richard B. Macklin, an officer who disgraced himself in China by failing to heed McCoy's advice. Stecker's son Dick becomes a friend of Pick while both are at flight school. By the end of WWII he is advanced to Brigadier General and is on the staff of General Alexander A. Vandegrift (Marine Corps Commandant).

Other Notable Characters

*Captain Jim Carstairs, USMC - Instructor pilot in Pensacola of Pick Pickering & Dick Stecker
*Brigadier General (previously Lieutenant Colonel) Clyde Dawkins, USMC - Commanding Officer, MAG-21
*Major Jake Dillon, USMCR - Former enlisted China Marine; Recalled to wartime duty as a major in the Public Affairs Division
*Major (previously Lieutenant) Hon Son "Pluto" Do, US Army - Signal & Cryptographic officer attached to MacArthur's headquarters in Australia
*Lieutenant Colonel (previously Lieutenant) William C. Dunn, USMC - Executive officer, and later commanding officer, of VMF-229
*Eric Feldt, Lieutenant Commander, RAN - Director of the Coastwatcher organization
*Ellen Feller - Former wife of a Christian Missionary to China; Civilian linguist & analyst attached to MacArthur's Headquarters in Australia (assimilated rank O-4, equivalent to Major); Ultimately hospitalized in order to control her dangerous sexual behavior and to protect the military secrets she knew
*Richardson S. Fowler - Junior Senator from California
*Captain (previously Technical Sergeant) Charles Galloway, USMC - Commanding Officer, VMF-229
*Captain David Haughton, USN - Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy
*Lieutenant General (previously Major General) Thomas Holcomb - Commandant of the Marine Corps; Later relieved by MajGen Vandegrift
*Caroline Spencer Howell - Edward Banning's love interest after returning from the Philippines
*Frank Knox - Wartime Secretary of the Navy
*Major (previously Lieutenant) Robert B. Macklin, USMC - A generally slimy creature and the epitome of everything a good Marine officer shouldn't be
*Staff Sergeant Thomas McCoy, USMCR - Ken McCoy's brother; Awarded the Medal of Honor on Guadalcanal, earned the nickname of "Machinegum McCoy."
*Carolyn McNamara - Girlfriend of Charles Galloway
*Major General (previously Brigadier General) D.G. "Doc" McInerney, USMC - Head of Marine Corps Aviation
*Lieutenant John Moore, USMCR - Cryptographic & Analysis officer attached to the Office of Management Analysis
*Brigadier General (previously Lieutenant Colonel) Fritz L. Rickabee, USMC - Commanding Officer Office of Management Analysis
*Major (previously Lieutenant) Edward C. Sessions, USMC - Officer attached to the Office of Management Analysis
*First Lieutenant Dick Stecker, USMC - Jack Stecker's son and Pick Pickering's buddy
*Major General Alexander Archer Vandegrift - Commanding General - 1st Marine Division; later, Marine Corps Commandant
*Captain (previously Lieutenant) James B. Weston, USMC - Pilot who escaped to Mindanao prior to the fall of Corregidor to fight as a guerrilla
*Ludmilla Zhivkov - Edward Banning's White Russian wife
*Lieutenant Robert (Bobby) "Easterbunny" Easterbrook (previously Corporal), USMC - An small slight enlisted Combat Correspondent on Guadalcanal with limited experience just out of Parris Island and forced to grow up fast in the heat of combat. His ears become flush with anger or embarrassment in contrast to his fair skin, earning him the nickname "Easterbunny" among his peers, (a play on his last name), much to his irritation. After he returns to the United States and is commissioned, Easterbrook is identified in a nationwide news story by a Medal Of Honor winner as "The bravest man on Bloody Ridge."

Inconsistencies in the Books

*Ken McCoy's middle initial starts out as "J." and remains so through most of the series. However, in "Retreat, Hell!" it seems to have been changed to "R."
*Macklin's first name changes from John ("Semper Fi") to Richard ("Counterattack") before it finally settles on Robert ("Battleground").
*Ernest Zimmerman's name starts out as Ernst (a German name) in "Semper Fi" but has been changed to simply Ernest by the last book.
*Ken McCoy was often described in later books to have received his Baby Fairbairn knife (a version of the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife) from William Ewart Fairbairn himself, after learning how to use it properly. In fact, he won the knife in a poker game.
*A dedicated reader will soon discover that the timelines in the series are independent from book to book. Character ages aren't consistent (Macklin is 35 in the first book in 1941 and is still in his mid-thirties during the Korean war). People are introduced to each other early in the series, then meet again for the first time two or three books later. One example is Banning meeting Ernie Sage; another is Ernie Sage meeting Ernie Zimmerman. Another example is the meeting between Koffler and Macklin in "Behind the Lines". The narrative suggests a first meeting, however, encounters between Koffler and Macklin were detailed during their time at the USMC Parachute School and Lakehurst NAS, detailed in "Counterattack".
*Eric Feldt says he doesn't speak a word of Japanese, yet later is described as fluent in Japanese, which partly explains why he and Banning get along so well.
*In "Semper Fi", Zimmerman is described as being on his second hitch with the 4th Marines and is also mentioned to be 26 years old. In the following book, "Call to Arms", it says he only served one hitch with the 4th Marines and is suddenly younger.
* Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift later the 18th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps is misspelled and regularly referred to as "General Vandergrift"
*When George Hart gets commissioned as 2ndLt. Moore gets promoted to 1stLt. But in "Behind the Lines" Moore is still only a 2ndLt. although Hart is also a Lieutenant.