Capturing WWII Stories, One Veteran at a Time
During the early 1940s, Ivan Detwiler attended North Side High School in Fort Wayne. His family, like many, had little money. In September 1943, Detwiler quit school to enlist in the Navy. He was 16 years old. While stationed in Japan in December 1945, Detwiler wired a 50-foot fir tree for lights. “It was the... Continue Reading →
Army vet Mike Blough greets Army vet Fritz Bultemeyer and Air Force vet Dr. Al Brothers. Mrs. Bultemeyer, also an Army vet, looks on. Whew! The book launch for Voices From Vietnam: Stories of War in my hometown of Bluffton Indiana is over! A great group of people showed up at the Wells County Public... Continue Reading →
Only seven days until book launch for my new book, Voices From Vietnam: Stories of War! Dr. Al Brothers flew missions over enemy territory in Vietnam. This is a great opp to bring scout troops, seniors, history lovers to meet vets who served 50+ years ago from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force during one... Continue Reading →
My first book of Vietnam War veteran stories has just released! 'Voices From Vietnam: Stories of War' is available on Amazon. Voices from Vietnam: Stories of War is a compilation of 18 stories from male veterans, including those who fought in the Tet Offensive, served as a tunnel rat, flew a damaged chopper carrying wounded... Continue Reading →
Bill Current served aboard an LST in the Pacific. Today’s story is taken from Book 3 in my World War II Legacies series: We Gave Our Best: American WWII Veterans Tell Their Stories. Note: The books do not have to be read in order. Each of the four books in the series are filled with... Continue Reading →
I met Francis, or ‘Link’ as he preferred to be called, Holmes in his nursing home around 2012. This was early in my interviews with 260 World War II veterans so I don't recall who told me about him. He was happy to tell about his years as a sailor in World War II. I... Continue Reading →
Charlie Conrad served aboard the USS Farquhar during WWII. I met World War II Navy veteran Charlie Conrad several years ago at a patriotic picnic gathering near my home. He had a ball cap with a Navy design on it and so I approached him (as I have done with many veterans) to ask if... Continue Reading →
Seaman Joseph Wojciechowski sits atop a military vehicle while at sea in S. Pacific. He wouldn't survive his mission. In tribute to the day on which we honor the sacrifices of 645,000 American men and women who have lost their lives in service to their country, I’m posting a story from my book, It Was... Continue Reading →
We're into Day 2 of Military Appreciation Week. Each day this week I’m featuring an excerpt of a story I've written from my 10 WWII vet books. Today is Francis Bushong who served in the Navy. After you've read his story, check out other posts on this blog -- it's full of stories of other... Continue Reading →
In honor of Military Appreciation Week, I'm posting daily stories of vets. Today is an excerpt of WWII Navy vet Louis Bowman. His full story is told in my book, We Defended Freedom: Adventures of WWII Veterans. There is a special opportunity at the end of this post -- be sure to read to the... Continue Reading →
Writing of Kayleen Reusser 