A Search for Truth & a Legacy
Seven and a half years ago I began a journey…to where I did not know…and for how long was even more of a mystery. The catalyst was a simple phone call from my cousin, Rosalind, telling me she had found some decades old letters between her mother and father in which I might be interested. She never knew her father as he died in WW2, merely days before her birth.
Solving the mystery these letters contained led me to; trek across Europe five times, stumble over abandoned WW2 aerodromes in England, dig through musty historical archives on both sides of the Pond and be mesmerized by hundreds of stories told by WW2 veterans initially reticent but later anxious to relive their fear laced service in preserving our freedom. Further, I met scores of writers and historians along with numerous members of the obsessive compulsive “WW2 Family” with whom I would have never become friends without that simple phone call in the spring of 2009.
On this journey I found out a lot more about myself and eventually wrote a book, A Fortress and a Legacy…The Gift of a WW2 Bombardier’s True Story to the Daughter He Never Knew, chronicling the unfolding mystery locked up in those letters for decades. Through this book, I was able to give a wonderful gift to Rosalind and a significant legacy to our family.
In the spring of this year, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (The AJC) asked me to write an article about my journey, and resulting novel, for their much read weekly feature “Personal Journeys” in the Sunday Living and Arts section. I was honored and thrilled to do so. The article, published on-line, can be read at: http://specials.myajc.com/bombardier/ and it was also in the Sunday November 6th print edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Further insight into my book and directions for purchasing an autographed copy…with a personal note if you wish…can be seen at www.AFortressAndALegacy.com