JS: Temple is a composite character, drawn from the personal memoirs and diaries of several Marines. But every event he witnesses is accurate, every move his squad makes is authentic, every experience is something that was endured by a real Marine. Also, the officers and sergeants who lead his squad into battle are real figures — every name (and the date of their death) is accurate, taken from the official records of the American Second Division, which included the Marines. Q: What lessons can be learned from this story? Is there something about World War One that is as relevant today as it was then? JS: There is one lesson that Pershing himself was very much aware of. At one point in his memoirs (and in my story), he quotes Napoleon, who said that he always enjoyed fighting a “coalition”, because they are the easiest enemy to defeat. In the First World War, Germany nearly won, because they were fighting a mix of nations who held an uneasy and uncomfortable alliance, and who exhauste