I’ve been trying to distribute a lifetime of old photos to my kids. I ran across this one sent to me by my cousin. I was overjoyed to receive it. Mine had been ruined in a cardboard box in a leaking basement. This is my father with the U.S. Army in Germany after WW II ended in May, 1945. He didn’t get to come home until October, 1945 because the ships were so crowded. I once asked my mother about…
In preparation for a talk on my book Hard Times in the Heartland last weekend at the Kimberling City, Missouri Library, Meet the Author Festival, I needed to find the letters my dad wrote to Mom and I during WW II. I hunted from the attic to the basement. The longer I looked the more frustrated I became. Had I thrown them away by accident when everything was in total disarray when my house received a new update last year? To…
As a writer, much of your time is spent alone without any feedback. I love it when I hear from a reader–especially when they have enjoyed the read. Recently I received this feedback from my WW II book Hard Times in the Heartland: “My dear friend – I could hardly put the book down. I love the discussion questions – they made me ponder as to how I would answer them. “You are such a thoughtful writer. I know your mother…
In reading over my dad’s letters written in May of 1945, 73 years ago, they showed that time proved to be extra-stressful. World War II had just ended with Germany, but not Japan. The battle-weary GIs longed to come home. A different rumor flew at least once a day. Would they be allowed to come home? Would they have to stay in Germany as part of the occupied forces? Would wives and children be allowed to join the GIs if…
I spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s home near Nevada, Mo during the turbulent years of WW II. Dad was first stationed in Fort Leavenworth, then Oregon. He spent a brief time in Waynesville before he shipped out for France, then Germany with the Army’s 70th Division. He arrived on the battlefield just after the Battle of the Bulge, 1944 at age 34. Since Mom held the position of store manager for the Edmiston’s Department Store in Fort…
We became a family again when Mom and I took a train from Kansas City to Albany, Oregon. We started out in a car with a couple of other Army wives, but suffered a blowout near Wichita. With no ration stamps for tires we had to return home and wait for train tickets. Dad was stationed at Camp Adair near Albany. We were able to stay in various apartments in the region in 1943 and into 1944 until Dad received…
My mom and I moved several times during WW II while Dad was in the Army. He’d already served three years in the 30s, but Uncle Sam drafted him soon after I was born in the early 40s. In order to be near him, we moved to Albany, Oregon because he was stationed at Camp Adair with the 70th Division. He trained troops there for the south Pacific. Our next move was to Fort Leonard Wood, near Waynesville, Missouri. After a…
This picture contains three of the people I’ve written about in my historical fiction books. On the left is Sanford Deering the main character of The Late Sooner who went into the Oklahoma Territory in the first land run in 1889. The lady is Nora, The Late Sooner’s Daughter, who came back to Missouri when she was nine. The child is my father, Henry, of Hard Times in the Heartland who served in WW II. The old gentleman on the right is Henry Greenup…
A hundred and sixteen years ago, little boys wore dresses until they were about two years old. Here is a picture of my dad, Henry, at six months. In his lifetime he lived through WW I, the Roaring 20s, The Depression, WW II, the Korean War and The Vietnam War. At age ten, a crop-duster pilot flew into a nearby field near my dad’s small town and said he would take one person for a ride. Everyone chipped in to…
Dad did two hitches in the Army. One from 1934-37. Another one from 1943-45. This picture is from the first taken in Fort Leavenworth, I think. The first time was voluntary. The second mandatory. Do you have many relatives who saw service in WW II? To see my books visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007F5H0H4