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Walking the War in My Father's Boots: One Soldiers's Memories: World War II
By Steven E. Danish, Greene Publications, Inc., Island Park, N.Y. 197 pages, soft cover, $14.95
With a quiet resignation to duty, 16 million American men and women in the early 1940s served in the U.S. Armed Services with a unity of purpose that saved their homeland, spawned the baby boom and gave way to the prosperous decade of the 1950s. The "boomers," for the most part, grew up with Ozzie and Harriet, rock 'n' roll and maybe a chapter or two in the history books about World War II. In all likelihood, if Dad was one of the 1.75 million veterans who saw combat, he probably talked little about it.
It took decades for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to come to terms with their experiences - and for their children to grow to maturity to truly comprehend their sacrifice, as portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" or TV journalist Tom Brokaw's new book, "The Greatest Generation." Now one CWA member has chronicled his father's account of participation in the great global conflict. He is Steven E. Danish of CWA Local 1108, a former steward, retired on disability in 1995. His first novel, "One Soldier's Memories: World War II," is the story of Pfc. Jacob "Jack" Danish, as told in the first person, father to son.
The author's own foreword sets the stage perfectly:
"My father was a hard-working man, an average guy. Over 50 years ago he was a soldier in the Army, a private first class in the 1285th Engineer Combat Battalion. He fought in the European theater and served his country a total of three years, one month and six days. Armed with faith, determination and a bit of luck, he survived the insanity."
The ensuing pages retell Jack Danish's journey through basic training, his landing on the beaches of France, participation in the Battle of the Bulge, and return to the States to start a family after the surrender of Germany. It's a story filled with action, humor, sweetness and sometimes horrible, haunting images.
Danish's unit received a Presidential Citation for building bridges across the Rhine, which made possible the Allied advance on Berlin, and the private soldier was awarded several decorations. Returning home to resume civilian life, Jack Danish gazed upon the Statue of Liberty with a deepened sense of pride: He was an American.
(To order an autographed copy of "One Soldier's Memory," send check or money order for $14.95 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling, payable to D. Danish, to Steven Danish, 182 Lindbergh Ave., Oceanside, N.Y. 11572-5508.)
With a quiet resignation to duty, 16 million American men and women in the early 1940s served in the U.S. Armed Services with a unity of purpose that saved their homeland, spawned the baby boom and gave way to the prosperous decade of the 1950s. The "boomers," for the most part, grew up with Ozzie and Harriet, rock 'n' roll and maybe a chapter or two in the history books about World War II. In all likelihood, if Dad was one of the 1.75 million veterans who saw combat, he probably talked little about it.
It took decades for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to come to terms with their experiences - and for their children to grow to maturity to truly comprehend their sacrifice, as portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" or TV journalist Tom Brokaw's new book, "The Greatest Generation." Now one CWA member has chronicled his father's account of participation in the great global conflict. He is Steven E. Danish of CWA Local 1108, a former steward, retired on disability in 1995. His first novel, "One Soldier's Memories: World War II," is the story of Pfc. Jacob "Jack" Danish, as told in the first person, father to son.
The author's own foreword sets the stage perfectly:
"My father was a hard-working man, an average guy. Over 50 years ago he was a soldier in the Army, a private first class in the 1285th Engineer Combat Battalion. He fought in the European theater and served his country a total of three years, one month and six days. Armed with faith, determination and a bit of luck, he survived the insanity."
The ensuing pages retell Jack Danish's journey through basic training, his landing on the beaches of France, participation in the Battle of the Bulge, and return to the States to start a family after the surrender of Germany. It's a story filled with action, humor, sweetness and sometimes horrible, haunting images.
Danish's unit received a Presidential Citation for building bridges across the Rhine, which made possible the Allied advance on Berlin, and the private soldier was awarded several decorations. Returning home to resume civilian life, Jack Danish gazed upon the Statue of Liberty with a deepened sense of pride: He was an American.
(To order an autographed copy of "One Soldier's Memory," send check or money order for $14.95 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling, payable to D. Danish, to Steven Danish, 182 Lindbergh Ave., Oceanside, N.Y. 11572-5508.)