See also McKendree Long McKendree R. (Mike) Long III is a former soldier with two tours as an advisor to South Vietnamese Army units. His awards and decorations include the Parachutist Badge, the Combat Infantrymans Badge, the Silver Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (Gold and Silver Stars). He holds a BS in Business Administration from Coker College, and minored in US History. After retiring from the Army in 1980, he spent the next twenty-nine years as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch. A Life Member of the National Rifle Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars, he is also a proud member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He now devotes his time to his family, his writing, his guns, and travel. He and his wife had two adult daughters and split their time between Blythewood and Seabrook Island, South Carolina A gun collector with a fascination for the weaponry of the Western Era (1850 1900) Long has handled and fired all of the weapons described in his book. His curiosity about these guns was the genesis of No Good Like It Is. "