While serving in the Marine Corps, Trevor Reed — promoted to the rank of sergeant by the time he was honorably discharged — was highly respected as a squad leader, earned good ratings and awards for his shooting and martial arts skills, and protected President Obama as a presidential guard.

“Every Marine has a strong sense of mission, but I think it’s fair to say that Marines guarding the president and his family have an extremely strong sense of mission,” Reed explains in his captivating and highly engaging memoir, “Retribution.”

The highlight of Reed’s assignment at Camp David was meeting President Obama. On one occasion, after Obama met all the Marines assigned to protecting him, he lined up to take a group portrait. At the time, Reed was one of the shortest Marines at the base. When they were lined up, Reed was in back, leaning over to try to make sure he would get into the photograph.

Reed notes that “the president turned around and spotted me. ‘I know you can’t see this guy,’ he said, grabbing me by the shoulder and yanking me next to him. And so, in the group photo, the president has his hand on my shoulder like we’re old buddies.”

It also was arranged that each Marine and a family member could have a picture with Obama in the Oval Office. A picture of Obama, Reed, and Reed’s father is one of the many photographs that enrich this book. Early in his narrative, Reed tells us “that photo, by the way, would play an important........

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