MWSA Review
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Christmas Whistles, by Bonnie Bartel Latino
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MWSA Review
Missing review
Author's Synopsis
This short story of around 1,400 words was written especially for those who have lost someone they deeply loved--especially during the month of December when it's difficult to generate JOY like everyone expects. It is a profoundly sad--but uplifting--true story.
CHRISTMAS WHISTLES won the Military Writers Society of America's 2011 William E. Mayer Award for Literary or Artistic Excellence.
Events detailed in the story also became the catalyst for the award-winning novel, YOUR GIFT TO ME by Bonnie Latino and Bob Vale.
Chitose Road, by Bob Ruehrdanz
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MWSA Review
Interesting look into a forgotten slice of history.
Robert Ruehrdanz’ novel, Chitose Road is hard to characterize. It’s historical fiction; but it’s also a love story. The book reads a lot like a memoir, and it certainly exudes authenticity based on the author’s past experiences in the Army and in Japan. The book takes place almost entirely in Japan in the early 1950s – during and after the Korean War. The novel’s main character, James Q. “Jim” Truax, is drawn into a crazy world of espionage, intelligence… all of which is leavened with Army incompetence, mishaps, bad weather, vindictive officers and Japanese culture.
Shortly after joining the Army in 1953, Truax is thrust into the arcane world of the Army Security Agency (precursor to the National Security Agency or “NSA”). Nothing goes as planned (as is often the case in the US military): his records are lost, he doesn’t get paid, and he fails to receive proper training… the list goes on and on. All the while, Truax attempts to cope with the curveballs life throws his way. He falls in love with his Japanese hosts, their habits, and the country’s beautiful scenery. The reader – like many of US personnel stationed there over the years – will be enthralled to learn about Japan and its people.
The book flows smoothly due to Ruehrdanz’ writing style and the book’s large text make it quite easy to read.
Reviewed by: John Cathcart (2011)
Author's Synopsis
Chitose Road is about a strange cast of Americans stationed on the Island of Hokkaido in the 1950s involving espionage, romance, and crowded living conditions, as they learned how to interact with the Japanese culture during and after the Korean War.
Eddie & Bingo, by Katherine and Kathleen Taylor
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MWSA Review
Eddie and Bingo are the kind of heroes children will love and parents will want to be part of their family's life. This book is wonderful for many reasons and one of the most profound is the sense of normalcy the authors give to basic human kindness. There are no super-heroes, only young American sailors who lived a challenging chapter in American history with kindness and a sense of duty to even the smallest of "friends". Bingo is more than a puppy; he is a means for profound values to find expression in the unlikely setting of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Fleet of 1951. "Eddie and Bingo" is a story that will become a treasure for its simple but profound lessons in history and its glimpse into compassion among military personnel.
Reviewed by: Carmen Stenholm (2011)
Author's Synopsis
Eddie and his buddies embark upon the journey of their lives aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. As they cruise the Pacific Ocean they learn how important teamwork and friendships really are. Then something happens aboard ship that changes their lives and sets them off on a new course they hadn't counted on! Join Eddie and the rest of the crew to find out what happens next...
The Untold Experiences by C. Gilbert Lowery
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MWSA Review
This is a recounting of how C. Gilbert Lowery, a US Navy Hospital Corpsman, was assigned to a US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Patrol Team during covert missions in Korea. Pyonggang Airfield, Kaesong, Sariwon & more.
A formal & well told slice of military life out beyond the DMZ with plenty of technical, material & topographic details, & few philosophical detours or
anachronistic Monday morning quarterbacking. A look into other areas less known that those in the military perform regularly then and now. An engaging, gentlemanly read about brothers of a forgotten war.
Reviewed by: Dave Brown (2011)
Author's Synopsis
The Untold Experiences of a Navy Corpsman: A US Navy Hospital Corpsman with a US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Patrol Team in the 1950's on covert Korean missions.
War Remains by Jeffrey Miller
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MWSA Review
War Remains by Jeffrey Miller is an excellent read. Never having been a history buff due to teachers and professors who made it less than enjoyable for me, I am truly grateful for authors like Mr. Miller who can take me through the Korean War days in a way that attaches it to people and emotions and the reality of how it affected families.
When I think about the title War Remains I asked myself as I was reading it, just what the author had in mind. The title can certainly have multiple meanings. The obvious seems to be that many of our military were left behind in Korea and families were told they were MIA and unless their remains were to be found and identified, that would continue to be their classification. From my research, it appears that we have MIA status for approximately 10,000 of our military. One fifth of those are from Vietnam, and the other four-fifths from the Korean War. Have I ever once given thought about the family members that have been affected in this way? I’m ashamed to say that I don’t think so. War Remainshas touched me in a very special way.
This book led me to research what has been happening for these families. Hence, to me, the title can also mean that this war remains in the hearts of the survivors. Jeffrey Miller’s book will open the hearts and the eyes of those who have lived their lives unaffected by the Korean War. I thank him for that gift. It should also prove as a source of hope for families still waiting to have closure.
Mr. Miller begins his book with the discovery of a footlocker in an attic. This footlocker then finds its way to the son of Sgt. First Class Robert (Bobby) Francis Washkowiak, Ronnie Washkowiak. It contains many letters from Bobby to his wife, Mary, and their infant son, Ronnie. When Bobby heads off to war, it is his small beloved family that keeps him going through his time in Korea. The book uses his many letters, which are then read by Ronnie, and his son, Michael to take us to the time and place when Bobby is writing the letters to his beloved wife. In this way, we see the side of war from the Korean War happenings which the author does a superb job of writing, telling readers about what the GIs in Korea were facing and about the many battles and the fact that the Korean War is called a “forgotten war.” Then we move back to present day, when Bobby’s family is always wondering what happened to their father, grandfather, and husband. Just how long should a young woman with a young son hold out hope for her loved one to return? How long should one wait to accept that your husband has probably been killed? Mr. Miller does a superb job of transitioning back and forth between time frames.
Mr. Miller has very successfully written a story that shines light onto what many American families have experienced. It is a beautiful love story, shown through the many letters from Bobby to Mary. It is a war story, in that we see the Korean War up close and personal, through Bobby and his GI buddies. We see our military heroes returning to the States never knowing what happened to buddies that they had gotten close to during their service to our country. It is not always easy reading when you encounter the Chinese in the rice paddies in the deep of night. But it is encouraging to know that some families have received closure when DNA has been matched to the remains of their loved one.
I highly recommend War Remains to readers…this book has touched me deeply and is sticking with me both in my mind and my heart days after completing it. War Remains is a very impressive first novel for Jeffrey Miller.
Reviewed by: Joyce Gilmour (2011)
Author's Synopsis
Robert "Bobby" Washkowiak battles his way through the bitter first winter of the Korean War, longing for home, his wife, and newborn son. Fifty years later, his son and grandson come across his wartime letters and together, they try to find out what really happened to him on one of the battlefields of that "forgotten war."
Truman and MacArthur by Don Farinacci
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MWSA Review
One of the Best Books on Truman & MacArthur. The younger American generation has little clue as to what actually happened in the Korean War--it is truly a lost history. Author Donald Farinacci puts together a largely unknown and misunderstood part of that era with his revealing book about the relationship between two of the giants of that period of our history--President Truman and General MacArthur.
There are still many historians that feel General Macarthur was right. The debate still rages on because of the present day world problems with both China and North Korea. Farinacci chronicles past events and brings them alive. He skillfully documents events while weaving in brilliant his narratives.
"Truman and MacArthur: Adversaries for a Common Cause" is one of the best books I have ever read on this subject matter. If you were only going to read one book about the Korean War and the politics of this time period, then this would be the book that you must read first to gain a better understanding of what happened and why.
I highly recommend this book for those interested in history, politics and war. It is informative and actually entertaining. I would rank this book right up there as one of the top 25 books ever written on that time of our history.
Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2010)
Author's Synopsis
The author's purpose in writing this book was to tell a story of events which occurred during a brief but momentous period in American history, involving two extraordinary men, President Harry S. Truman and General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur. The story tells of their interaction during a time of grave national crisis, how they veered badly off course and ultimately collided head-on. It was a collision which both altered the course of history and irreparably changed their personal destinies.
What is related here is first and foremost a human story, but one that plays out against the panorama of the Korean War--a nasty, brutish and fearsome slice of hell where what was at stake was nothing less than the determination of whether the Communist Sino-Soviet alliance would gain dominion by force over large regions of the continent of Asia or be contained and held in check by a coalition of United Nations Forces led by the United States.
As the drama unfolded during a critical period of approximately ten months in 1950 and 1951, the all-pervasive tension holding the principal players in its grip was the ever-present threat of nuclear war looming over all of humankind.
Other larger-than-life personalities also emerge in this epic tale and are interspersed with the two main characters. They include Eighth Army Commander Matthew B. Ridgway, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall, South Korean President Syngman Rhee, NATO Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ambassador Averell Harriman, Army General Walton W. Walker, Marine General O.P. Smith, Army Chief of Staff J. Lawton Collins, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley, and Marine Colonel "Chesty" Puller. Every one of them played an integral role in the drama and some of them such as Ridgway, Acheson, Marshall and Eisenhower actually changed the course of history. But, the overarching giants of this tale are Truman and MacArthur. Their saga of 1950-1951 underscores the fact that no matter what the magnitude of events, history is still primarily a collection of stories about people.
This is one of those stories--one that is part of the larger framework of the forty-five year-long Cold War, but one that is surpassed in importance by none other in that singularly perilous epoch of world history.
French Letters: Engaged in War by Jack Woodville London
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MWSA Review
A small Texas town medic's eye view of the largest confluence of military personnel & materiel in history.
Engaged In War, the second book in the French Letters series, is a hundred pages longer & filled with well-wrought dramatic episodes of relationships, hard-kept secrets & revenge, as if surviving combat & the war wasn't enough.
Will Hastings, an officer doctor, is about to step out of a landing craft into the maw of Omaha Beach. After a clash with his commanding officer back in England, not only is he ordered to make contact with the forward triage centers, he must take the place of any wounded medic until relieved. As Will follows the tsunami of war inland, he stumbles through the French countryside in search of his brother & finds, instead, a bullet bearing his name, & true love.
A more absorbing read than Virginia's War, perhaps because of the vaster landscape, Jack Woodville London's story plotting & evocative reconstruction of the life & times of the various people gets better with each book.
With this trilogy, the author set out to honor his father, a member of the often-silent Greatest Generation & their experiences in the ETO. He has a sure touch when it comes to revitalizing the small stories & furtive gestures of a long gone society. Perhaps it was because so many returned to the Home Front only to find it on fire with change & torn apart by gossip, that it fell short of the idealized clichés that had kept our hapless heroes going through thick & thin so they could get home, pack away their uniforms & their dreadful memories & simply get on with their hard-won lives.
Reviewed by: Dave Brown (2011)
Author's Synopsis
French Letters: Engaged in War is the second book in the French Letters Trilogy. The companion to French Letters: Virginia's War, it is the story of Will Hastings, an army doctor caught up in the D-Day landings in Normandy and the drive to capture St. Lo, France. Isolated from Virginia Sullivan and the events taking place at home, Will faces the demands of combat surgery under fire and the losses of his brother, his friends, and his connection to home. Historically accurate and precise and covering events from exactly the same time frame as the events in the first volume, Engaged in War is a novel of the will to survive when war, distance, loss, and the uncertainty of the future separate a couple far beyond the breaking point.
Gated Grief by Leila Levinson
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MWSA Review
Gated Grief by Leila Levinson is a well written, gripping and important book about the horror of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, and how the liberation of the camps by American GIs impacted their lives and the lives of their families. Gated Grief is a cautionary tale of the evil in men’s hearts and the evil they may do through their government officials.
Gated Grief is at heart a quest by the author to exorcise the demons of her past by seeking understanding of the parents who had caused her to be the way she was. The book operates on many levels, which the author skillfully integrates into the story of her mother’s mental instability and her father’s remoteness, which never allowed him to exhibit the affection that Leila so obviously craved, or to deal with his wife’s problems. Then, there is the Holocaust, a horrific evil inflicted by Nazi Germany on the Jewish people. One of the revelations in the book is that the concentration camps were widely dispersed throughout Germany; the German people had to know of the horrors within the camps as the ash from crematoriums covered the trees and the stench of death permeated the area.
This then, is Leila’s personal quest to uncover the source of her father’s remoteness, initiated by finding pictures in his personal effects of the horrors he found when he entered the gates of hell. As a physician he treated the walking dead who were so far gone they were beyond his powers of healing. The sights of what he saw and experienced scarred him for life. Leila interviewed others who had witnessed what her father witnessed, and found that they also could only deal with the horror by burying it deep within their psyches. And so the silent suffering of the GIs was transferred to their families.
Leila’s quest led her, as a Jew, to make an uncomfortable visit to Germany. And of course the German people must live with their shame, not only for plunging the world into war, but for the enslavement and murder of perhaps six million people. At the end of the book Leila uncovers her father’s special horror. The reader will be shocked along with her, and hope that that her experience allows her to finally move on from her past. The things of which she writes should never be forgotten.
Reviewed by: Weymouth Symmes (2011)
Author's Synopsis
After the death of her father, a World War II Army doctor, Leila Levinson discovered a concealed box of shocking photos he had taken of victims of a Nazi slave-labor camp. "A foot emerged from the chaos of countless bodies, a leg. Grotesquely frozen faces. My fingers turned the photo over: Nordhausen, Germany, April 12, 1945."
Intuiting that the photos might be clues to her father’s cold silence and detachment, his intolerance of grief or sadness, she became a detective, finding and interviewing dozens of World War II veterans who also liberated Nazi concentration camps. Veteran after veteran demonstrated ongoing pain and shock. “My mind froze.” “I was never the same.”
Still traumatized by the unimaginable horrors they found, most of the veterans have spoken very little of what they witnessed, not even to their spouses or, as decades passed, to their adult children and grandchildren. “No words could convey the horror.”
As many liberators opened up to Levinson, their recalling long suppressed memories created closure for them as well as for her. Gated Grief weaves their eyewitness accounts with Levinson’s own story to portray the trauma that has followed the veterans and shaped their children’s emotional lives. Gated Grief, which includes dozens of her father’s and other veterans’ never-before-seen photos, concludes with the author’s journeying to Nordhausen in a necessary attempt to reconcile her own life.
Out of the Mist: Memories of War by Michael “Moon” Mullins
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MWSA Review
MWSA 2011 Founder's Award
People wonder why I select certain books for "The MWSA Founder's Award" each year - there seems to be so little in common with the selections at first glance. But it is not just the book that I select - but also the character of the authors themselves. Their tales go beyond the self and express universal themes - and in some way, give inspiration and HOPE to the readers.
This year's award winning book took the author out of his personal comfort zone a little - beyond simple prose and humor - as he introduced readers to a line-up of heroes from American wars - some had actual medals to show for that effort - some just had their lives and survived. However, all were truly heroic and the author found ways to share that humanity with an inner glimpse of these real people.
The author also followed my personal writer's rule Number One – “Always end the book, or movie, by giving the reader/viewer HOPE!” There is nothing worse then reading a book full of sad stories and leaving a reader depressed after reading it. This writer heeded my advice and was successful in that effort.
The book title OUT OF THE MIST: MEMORIES OF WAR is not a tale of just one man and one memoir - but it is a collection of souls - each with their own story to tell. Each story reflects personally on that man's experiences but most lead us to those universal questions for all mankind at large. The bigger questions of life and its meaning - why we are here and why we survived and others did not? How do we put back our lives after war? How do we honor our own memories and those of our fallen friends?
MWSA member and author Michael Mullins wrote a book that is more about the inner voyage of the heart and spirit then so much on wartime events. There is plenty of the war stuff - but Mullins connects it all together with his own emotional energy; thus, he elevates the individual stories to another level. It is like they are all truly connected at the highest universal level of mankind. It is like all the experiences exploded from one soul source and one mind and yet are so very different in nature - as day is to darkness. Yet - there is also a dark side to these tales as well - and the author wanders through that valley with you so you do not get lost.
It is my honor to give this year's MWSA Founder's Award to Michael Mullins - I wish I were there to give this to him in person. But know that my heart is truly there with all of you.
Bill McDonald
MWSA Founder
Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2010)
Author's Synopsis
Michael D. "Moon" Mullins with his usual flair has found a perfect way to bring life to the stories of America's Warriors. His lyrical way with words has opened a window into the past that is closing much too quickly. Out of the Mist, Memories of War touches the soul and brings the reader to a deep understanding of the sacrifices made by those ready to stand in the breach. - D. H. Brown, Award-winning author of Honor Defended, Board member of Military Writers Society of America, Vietnam Veteran.