Brilliantly illustrated by former Disney Artist， Phil Jones （Tarzan， Mulan， Lilo & Stitch）， and written by an award-winning poet and active-duty Marine， this hardcover children's book will warm the hearts of both young and old as the audience is taken on an imaginative adventure that teaches about the culture & traditions of the Marine Corps。 ------ A note from the author - Major David Dixon: As a Marine and Iraq War veteran， I feel honored to represent the Marine Corps and the traditions that I hold so dear。 I believe that Marines， both active duty and retired， must learn to engage the younger generation and share our proud culture of leadership。 In this spirit I authored Goodnight Marines。 All who read Goodnight Marines will appreciate the patriotism， heartfelt emotions， captivating illustrations， and richness of symbolism。 In this book a young child gazes proudly at a photograph of his father - currently deployed to Afghanistan。 The child's room is adorned with toy tanks， planes， radios， and trucks that he plays with to feel connected to his father。 Then， as the child says goodnight to his dad and all of his military memorabilia， the toys come alive in his vibrant imagination。 Kids， of course， love the quiet protagonist - the child's best friend and stuffed animal Teufel Hunden （Devil Dog）。 Unfortunately， this young boy cannot yet pronounce such a difficult German word， so he has named his friend "Tuffy Hound。" The real spirit of Goodnight Marines culminates on the final page， where the moon shines on the father's picture next to his son - sleeping safely in his room with Tuffy Hound。 I hope my fellow warriors enjoy reading this to their children as much as my wife and I do。 A portion of the proceeds from this book will benefit Tillman Scholars through the Pat Tillman Foundation。