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Finding Granddad's War
A fascinating, intimate and honest portrayal of the men of The Greatest Generation.
To discover the grandfather he never knew, Jeff Badger interviewed 32 elderly Army-engineer veterans from his granddad's unit, including his four best buddies.
Their firsthand accounts were nothing like what he'd read in the popular histories. There were stories of war, but there were also stories of the painful, the funny and the breaking into a brothel in France, drinking wine and chasing girls in Holland, robbing a bank. The author then went to Holland, France and Germany and interviewed the civilians who befriended them during the war.
Finding Granddad's War weaves a rare and intimate portrait of The Greatest Generation -- warts and all -- as the GIs wanted their stories to be told.
In Part II the author gives instructions on researching your own family member's war story.
To discover the grandfather he never knew, Jeff Badger interviewed 32 elderly Army-engineer veterans from his granddad's unit, including his four best buddies.
Their firsthand accounts were nothing like what he'd read in the popular histories. There were stories of war, but there were also stories of the painful, the funny and the breaking into a brothel in France, drinking wine and chasing girls in Holland, robbing a bank. The author then went to Holland, France and Germany and interviewed the civilians who befriended them during the war.
Finding Granddad's War weaves a rare and intimate portrait of The Greatest Generation -- warts and all -- as the GIs wanted their stories to be told.
In Part II the author gives instructions on researching your own family member's war story.
321 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 6, 2019
Full disclosure, Jeff Badger is my nephew (by marriage) and Leo was the father-in-law I never met. That said, this is a terrific book about Jeff's search for a vital piece of his family history. I read this some time ago, before Goodreads and just realized, as I perused my bookshelves, I needed to get it on the record. On a personal note, Finding Granddad's War also gave me insight into the man I never got to know.
May 22, 2009
This was a wonderful book. I love history and life stories. Family History is my passion, so I loved how he also taught us how to find those who were in the war.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews