This book is likely 25 years old or more, written by a man who got kicked out of Marine boot camp, and had to wear a pink suit of some sort in front of his former class of recruits. That was one of his low points. I saw an interview of him on television after he had made good in life. It is his story of redemption.
Well… I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for, but there is a book called “Up From Nowhere” by Walter Oleksy. It’s the first in a series called Tom Delos and the Guardians, about a Chicago teen who’s on probabtion for minor thefts. After his best friend is killed, Tom forms a gang (The Guardians) to help keep himself and other teens out of trouble. Other titles in the series are: One-Way Trip, Easy Way Out, and The Final Act. I have no idea if the books are autobiographical at all, or if the author was kicked out of boot camp, but the books are stories of redemption. From the front cover of Up From Nowhere: “Once you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere else to go but up.”
It is not the Olesky book. I heard the pink suit man on the radio maybe 30 years ago now. I’ve been looking for the book and the string of posts here give me hope I may yet find it.