Recommendation

[Jesse]

A new book about World War II - the story of a man's capture at the Battle of the Bulge, imprisonment in a Nazi POW camp, and liberation by General Patton.
My Grandfather's War: A Young Man's Lessons from the Greatest Generation

[Mary]

Hi,
writing about the Battle of the Bulge myself. Where was your grandfather?

[Jesse]

Hey Mary,

Glad to hear that you've got an interest in the Battle of the Bulge. He was with the 106th Division, on the northern part of the Allied line.

What specifically are you writing about?

Jesse

Mary wrote: "Hi,
writing about the Battle of the Bulge myself. Where was your grandfather?"

[Mary]

I am writing a picture book for children. I know, sounds like a strange topic for kids. But my focus is on a Christmas letter...the mail to soldiers was held up for months because they were quickly and constantly changing locations on the front. My soldier is at Bostogne. My father-in-law also fought in the battle, and I am in the process of figuring out where he was. He died ten years ago.

[Jesse]

Mary wrote: "I am writing a picture book for children. I know, sounds like a strange topic for kids. But my focus is on a Christmas letter...the mail to soldiers was held up for months because they were quickly..."

That's a really neat idea about the Christmas letter - I used some of those letters in my book. They were still writing him letters from home for several months after he was captured. Fortunately, he never saw any of them, since they were all about how nice it was out in California and probably would have driven him crazy to hear about them in a POW camp!

Jesse Cozean

[Fernando]

My dad fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He said it was so cold they had to go deep into a mine to keep warm.

[John]

Sounds as though this may be a good book. I had an uncle whom lost a leg as a result of the "Battle of the Buldge". He never talked about it.

After his death my cousin asked me to interpet his discharge papers that she had found in a box of other military stuff (including some photos and things of my grandfather from WWI).

This sent me on a wild trek to trace his steps from his enlistment to arriving back home after his discharge. His unit 38th Cav of the 104th Cavalry trained seven monthes in England for D-Day. He arrived on Omaha on 12 June and fought through the Hedgrows, St. Lo, and up through Belgium into Germany for the "Battle" then "the Rhineland".

It took me almost a year to trace his steps.