This is Mine

This collection of Poetry that my Dad wrote begins in 1940 when he was 29 years, old just before he enlisted in the army. The poems that follow are a first hand look at a young man’s heart as he finishes his basic training just a few months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.You might be surprised by what was most important to my Dad if you are expecting scenes from Hollywood’s version of the experiences of GI’ s during the war. Dad’s verses are often painfully honest and raw as he unashamedly shares the stress, humor and homesickness of his daily life. For people who knew my gentle father it is difficult to imagine him as one of the warriors who battled the armies of Hitler through Italy and France. Dad spent many weeks in a field hospital after being wounded by the bomb that sank his landing craft. Yet after all the war, the most important experience to Dad was of one day when he was serving as artillery-man. The big gun was set and ready to fire, when suddenly Dad saw that the coordinates were wrong. His own fellow soldiers were in the gun sights! Because he called out just in time, the gun was not fired and lives were saved. How strange that with all the death and destruction that led to the final victory, Dad best memory was of how he had saved a life!