Romantic men with military backgrounds are a very old tale indeed. Some of the
first characters I can remember crushing on, on television, were military men:
The A-Team, a military team wrongly
convicted of a crime that go on the lamb, but still help people who can't help
themselves. Stringfellow Hawke is a former military man and so was MacGyver.
Military service builds strength of character, determination and helps boys
become men. It should come as no surprise then that many paperback heroes come
straight from the ranks of the services: Marines, Navy, Army or Air Force.
Paperback Heroes: The Soldier
Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar features Heralds who are more than
soldiers, but are still the Arrows of the
Queen. Skif and Kris are two Heralds that leap to mind romantically. Skif
is the reformed thief who makes use of his light fingers and devilish thinking
in service to his country while Kris is the child of nobility, who enjoyed
teaching younglings and serving. The military unifies all classes to one class:
brotherhood.
John Paul
Renard from Julie Garwood's Killjoy
served as a Marine. From the bayou, his own natural survival skills enhanced his
training. He was soon one of the best snipers in his division, but mission after
mission for the CIA hammered away at his humanity and he left. Yet, John Paul
Renard remains a deeply loyal and honorable man who is hunting down the assassin
who tried to kill his sister.
In Jennifer Morey's The Secret Soldier,
Cullen McQueen saves his future lady from terrorists in Afghanistan. In Minette
Meador's The Centurion and the Queen
Marius must choose between his duty to Rome and his love for Breton Queen Delia.
In Lisa Pietsch's The Path to Freedom,
Vince Hennessy sets the bar for the rest of his team and his determination,
dedication and skill makes Sarah Stevens heart hitch.
In the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs both Adam Hauptman (Mercy's
neighbor) and David Christensen are savaged by a werewolf when serving in Korea.
Each man handles his transformation differently, but their military training
shapes their values, morals and ethics. John Jakes took a long look at
brotherhood when he introduced readers to George Hazard and Orry Main. One from
Pennsylvania and the other from South Carolina, these two men had very little in
common when West Point bonded them in a friendship that would survive a divisive
war tearing their country apart.
The soldier is powerful as the romantic lead. He's got all the great qualities
of loyalty, honor and fidelity. But he's also a man who will go where others
fear to tread. Loving him can be hard because he may not come back. Women who
love soldiers should never try to compete with their love of country.
The Soldier in Film and Television
"Michael Biehn ROCKS! He was great in Navy
Seals, The Rock and Aliens too!
Check him out in my Hot
guys with Guns Blog!" The Path to
Freedom author Lisa Pietsch said. Michael Biehn's turn as Kyle Reese in
1984's The Terminator granted him
iconic status. He was a soldier from the future who came back to save the woman
who would give birth to their rebellion. (Hot Guys with Guns is a weekly blog
on the Sapphire Blue
Bombshells).
In the mid-80s, Jeff Kober and Brian Wimmer would bring to life Staff Sgt. Evan
"Dodger" Winslow, U.S.M.C and Cpl. Boonie Lanier, U.S.M.C. on China Beach. Dodger enlisted time and time
again, despite the wearing down of his humanity because he didn't want to leave
anyone behind. We mourned with the KC when Boonie died during the course of the
war in Vietnam.
Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox in Transformers is serving with his men in a desert location,
longing to be home with his wife and baby daughter (whom he's never met). Leroy
Jethro Gibbs (he fits both the lawgiver and soldier archetype) as a senior NCIS
special agent and former Gunnery Sergeant and marine sniper. Major General Jack
O'Neill (Kurt Russell, Richard Dean Anderson) is an Air Force special forces
operative who led the first mission through the Stargate and so many more,
almost too many to enumerate.
Toy Soldiers
From a time when children are young and can play with toy soldiers to when they
grow up to be our sons, brothers, fathers and husbands serving their country:
the soldier remains one of the most steadfast and powerful archetypes in
romantic literature.
Even soldiers, it turns out, enjoy a romantic happy ending, and just check out
Operation
Happy Ending for one such great story about romance writers supporting real
soldiers.
Who is your favorite soldier romantic hero?
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