The eye-catching cover girl for American Spirit’s March/April issue might surprise you — it’s a young Martha Washington! Is this really what the very first first lady looked like in her 20s?

Although it’s impossible to know for sure, the painting is a very educated guess at what Martha looked like as a young woman. Michael Deas painted the portrait based on a computer-generated image created by forensic anthropologists at Louisiana State University’s FACES (Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services) Lab.

Starting with the bone structure from a miniature painted of Martha in middle age, anthropologists used age regression techniques to simulate how she would have looked decades earlier. The cover story in the magazine’s Women’s History Month edition examines her vital role of morale booster at Valley Forge and other Revolutionary War encampments.

If you’re behind on your American Spirit homework, here’s a quick recap of the latest three issues of the magazine Hammock publishes for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The nation commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 anniversary with solemnity and remembrance, and American Spirit paid tribute with unique stories of the sites identified with the New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., tragedies. The cover of September/October 2011 issue spotlighted St. Paul’s Chapel, a pre-Revolutionary War church in the shadows of Lower Manhattan skyscrapers. Many readers know of it as a place of healing and the epicenter for volunteers following the attack on the World Trade Centers, but few know that it functioned as a symbol of recovery as far back as 1776.

Holidays in the 18th century meant days of cooking, baking, roasting and stewing for the lavish feasts ahead. Tarts, candied orange peel and a frosted cake are a few of the holiday dessert dishes you might have been served by a well-off 18th-century hostess. Today, those early American feasts have been recreated in many historic homes and museums—from Philadelphia to Charleston. But just like the desserts on our November/December 2011 cover, they can’t be eaten.

Helping Wounded Warriors heal is a major concern of our client The Marine Corps League.

Recently, an article in Semper Fi, the League’s member magazine we assist them in publishing, reported on post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. These often invisible wounds are what many call the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a wide-ranging interview with Semper Fi, the magazine of the Marine Corps League, General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, discusses what’s next for Leathernecks as the Corps begins replacing equipment worn out from two wars, preparing for future military and humanitarian missions, and recruiting new Marines while downsizing from more than 202,000 to around 187,000.

Those last two items are the most important, General Amos told writer Otto Kreisher, because the Corps must keep faith with those who have served in it.

Hammock provides content marketing services, which includes publishing print and digital magazines customized to meet our clients’ objectives. We study those objectives and work to ensure each issue of a client’s publication meets their specific goals. We accomplish this with expert writing about topics of interest to our clients’ target audience—and compelling design that brings to vivid life our writers’ stories. In the last month, these stories have included everything from historic re-enactors to the U.S. Marine Corps special ops and from the latest in pharmaceutical innovations to how health-care reform will affect supply chain managers. No matter the topic, our storytelling is tailored to the interests and passions of our clients’ customers and members. But we don’t just tell you that’s what we do—we’re always eager to show you. View our latest work for some of the publications we publish for our clients, including American Spirit, Semper Fi, The Source and Pharmaceutical Commerce.

The November-December issue of Semper Fi, The Magazine of the Marine Corps League, celebrates the 235th birthday of the Corps’ founding, as tradition has it, in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia on 10 November 1775. The cover shows a Marine Corps color guard participating in a Sunset Parade at the Marine Barracks at 8th and I in Washington, DC.
If you know a Marine, bid him or her happy birthday!
The Marine Corps starts its 236th year with a new Commandant, General James Amos, who assumed command on 22 October. We present excerpts from his testimony before Congress in this issue.
Marine Corps Special Ops comprise an elite group of warriors chosen from among America’s elite armed service. Relatively new to the SpecOps segment of our military, the Marines have quickly reached the upper echelon of this select group.
In September, the Marine Corps League put on its 30th annual Modern Day Marine Expo, a gathering of Marines and defense industry suppliers held at Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA. Held under looming budget cuts and a drawdown in size, the Expo was the largest yet, with more than 8,500 visitors and 500 exhibits.
The Marine Corps Commandant’s annual birthday message is below. To view it, go here.

There are history buffs, and then there are re-enactors. Obsessive about getting every historical detail just right, these dedicated men and women volunteer their time and money to re-enact important events in our nation’s history. Whether it’s a Revolutionary War skirmish or a War of 1812 battle, the re-enactors in the November/December issue of American Spirit, which we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, serve as examples of how rewarding this hobby can be.
The DAR Magazine National Chairman, Pamela Marshall, and her family have been dedicated Civil War re-enactors for 15 years. “Our oldest sons took this hobby to a new level and became U.S. Army Artillery Officers,” she says. “One served in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq.”
Ms. Marshall’s sons are two of the brave military service members American Spirit salutes this Veterans Day for sacrificing so much for our freedom and the cause of liberty around the world.

Although a deluge of rain on the last day of the 30th Annual Modern Day Marine Expo threatened to close the show early, Marines, vendors and attendees gutted out the rough weather to bring the event to a record-breaking close.
The first exposition was held in one tent in Tucson, AZ, on 18 August 1981. More than 8,500 attendees perused over 500 exhibits at this year’s Expo, held 28–30 September aboard MCB Quantico.
The most sought-after visitors were the Marines whose lives and fighting capabilities depend on the equipment displayed at the show. From socks to computer servers, the Marines gave the suppliers incisive critiques on what works, what doesn’t and what they need.
This year’s Expo took place under the shadow of looming defense spending cuts and reductions in manpower, exacerbated by a renewed debate over whether America needs a Marine Corps.
Present at the opening on 28 September was Lieutenant General George J. Flynn, Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, who was “on his way to Capitol Hill to save the Marine Corps,” from extensive budget cuts, said Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ronald Coleman, MCL Exposition Coordinator, during his introduction.
Lieutenant General Flynn recalled that the late Lieutenant General Victor “Brute” Krulak wrote that “the United States does not need a Marine Corps … the United States wants a Marine Corps.” The Marine Corps, he added, “will continue to be ready when the nation is least ready … it will remain naval in character and will be truly expeditionary” in protecting America and her interests.
Innovation was a key theme of the show. Lieutenant General Flynn noted that much of the Corps’ success in battle has been due to equipment first seen at the Expos. “You can never get the future 100 percent right, but you can’t afford to get it 100 percent wrong,” he reminded the crowd.

The September-October issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, highlights two extremes of military might: the stealthy, lethal sniper and the massive force of tanks, amtracks and other armored vehicles.
Today’s Marine Corps snipers carry on a lengthy military tradition – that of the solitary elite marksman patiently stalking his quarry often behind enemy lines. Today’s Devil Dog snipers usually work in small teams, and may spend as much time gathering intel on shadowy terrorists as getting into place for a lethal shot.
Marine Corps armor also bears a proud tradition, one that made its legendary battles in the Pacific in WWII unforgettable as amphibious vehicles and tanks fought their way ashore. Today’s tankers operate the mighty M1A1 Abrams; the Corps has upgraded and refitted its old amphibian assault vehicles to meet modern needs as a stopgap for the next generation of amphibs.
Also in this issue of Semper Fi which we produce for the Marine Corps League is a look back 60 years to another famous Marine flag raising, this one above the US Ambassador’s residence in Seoul, South Korea. And we report on the 87th National MCL Convention, held this past August in Greensboro, NC.

Traditionally known for their ability to do much with little and to improvise, the United States Marine Corps is nevertheless going on a diet. During it time as a “second land army” In Iraq, the Corps “got heavy” as its leaders express it, relying on massively mine-resistant vehicles to protect its warriors, who also strapped on personal armor and other gear often weighing 90 pounds or more.
All this extra mass required correspondingly greater amounts of fuel and electricity to run. Now, eying a return to its seafaring roots, the Corps is slimming down. From battlefield to base barracks, the Corps is particularly interested in curbing its appetite for fuel and power. The July-August issue of Semper Fi, the magazine of the Marine Corps League, examines how the Marines plan to get back into fighting trim.
Some of that new equipment was on display at the recent Marine South Military Expo aboard Camp Lejeune, NC. Sponsored by the Marine Corps League the Expos showcase the finest gear available to the military in the world.
Elsewhere in this issue, we meet a Marine veteran who did a tour in Korea during that “Forgotten War,” leading a squad of airplane mechanics who kept Marine aviators in the air around the clock. Flight mechanics had to go up with pilots to check out repairs, leading to some hair-raising moments – and a very personal commitment to do it right – first time, every time.
Semper Fi also remembers the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, who used their native language to transmit unbreakable messages during the bloody battles with the Japanese on remote Pacific Islands. With only a few left, they are pursuing a new goal: To build a museum and veterans center honoring their legacy.
The new issue also coincides with the League’s 87th National Convention in August in Greensboro, NC, and the magazines salutes retiring National Commandant Jim Laskey.
The issue also reports on progress toward a cherished League objective — redesignating the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. Though approved by the House and with most of the Senate signed on as cosponsors, the effort still faces potentially stiff opposition when debate starts sometime this summer.