Meet the Author

MEET THE CAT WITH THE CATITUDE - AND THE MEN WITH THE REMEDY!!

Meet the author

June Andrade

June lives near Port Royal, S.C.

June's Federal Service:

1964 Joined the Federal Civil Service/ Department of Defense

1964 – 1969: US Army Audit Agency, Washington, DC/Atlanta, GA

Hunter Army Air Field, Savannah, GA

1969 – 1970: Served in South Korea- Yongsan (G2) 8th Army

1971 – 1973: Served in South Vietnam (LongBinh/TanSonNhut AFB)

1973 – 1978: Secretary to the CG, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

1978 – 1993: Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC): Manpower/Aviation/Training and Logistics Departments.

1993 - Retired as a Program Analyst GM-13 from the U.S. Marine Corps

Systems Acquisition Command, Quantico, VA

Awards/Memberships:

Service in Vietnam Medal

Glider Pilot License

Associate Member, Marine Corps League (MCL)

Associate Member, American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 70

Member – National Association of Active & Retired Federal Employees (NARFE)

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recognition of

June's service in Vietnam

Library of Congress – Video/file recognition of June's service in Vietnam

After Retirement:

The Beaufort Gazette, Beaufort, SC: published 86 weekly columns by June titled "Pepper - Cat About Town."

June wrote and published two books:

THE HAT and THE CAT aka

A WILD MARINE’S BOOT CAMP TALE

YOUNG MARINES (and a cat) SAVE CHRISTMAS

a wORD FROM JUNE

I’m June Andrade and one of the reasons I wrote THE HAT and THE CAT was to give the children of Marine Corps' drill instructors an insight into what their mom or dad did when they left home in the wee hours of the morning and sometimes didn’t return before they were tucked into bed. I used the actual U.S. Marine Corps recruit training manual, so the kids could follow the kitty cat (Recruit Pepper Parker) through his training – the exact same schedule their parents would be putting their real recruits through. I could visualize the kids putting themselves into the cat’s “boots” and trying to survive the impossible - like the cat. No matter how cantankerous or talented he was, his drill instructors (their parents) were more determined to train him than he was to escape! The imagination is a wonderful thing and I hoped the kids would gain strength from Pepper’s antics and survival. Also, I hoped they’d better understand their parent’s jobs and be proud of their shared accomplishment when the recruits graduated. Liesl Bell beautifully illustrated the books, giving the kids another incentive to read them.