Daniel J. Quinley

“When we arrived at the 381st Bomb Group at Ridgewell we were advised that the casualty rate was 25%. We were the first replacements for the group in July of 1943. On our very first mission we lost our squadron commander. We didn’t see how we’d survive to see our families again.” The 8th Air Force in WWII suffered more than 47,000 combat casualties; more than 26,000 dead. The losses were astounding. Yet, each and every mission these airmen suited up, climbed into their aircraft, and did what needed to be done. They fought fear and death every day, so that we, and others, could live in a free world. This is the story of just a very few of them; one in particular.

Cecil and Margaret met on a blind date to the California State Fair in 1936. A life of love, devotion, and faith followed for 78 years. Interrupted by World War II, their faith would be tested. Cecil joined the Army Air Corps in 1942, receiving his commission as a 2nd lieutenant and assignment as a B-17 bomber copilot. On October 8th, 1943, he was shot down over Bremen, Germany, and became a prisoner of war. At the same time, back home, the FBI listed him as a draft evader. Margaret immersed herself in her religious faith to cope with their separation and her husband’s captivity; while also trying to clear his good name with the draft board. Cecil was confined to Stalag Luft III, of “The Great Escape” fame. When the Russian Army closed in, the camp was evacuated. The prisoners were forced into a death march in January 1945, the coldest German winter in years. Cecil and his compound were the first to tread through the ice and snow to make a path for the thousands that followed. He was taken to Stalag VIIA, near Moosburg, where near starvation awaited the more than 100,000 prisoners there. Later, the camp was liberated by U.S. Army infantry and tanks after a short pitched battle with the German SS.

Cecil survived a burst appendix without treatment and was shipped back to the United States. He and Margaret enjoyed a second honeymoon while waiting for reassignment. Before he could be reassigned, the war in the Pacific ends. Before the war and throughout their separation they wrote constantly to each other. Written using a combination epistolary, memoir, and creative non-fiction format, Forever features those letters, as well as others. They provide an insight into an eternal love affair that gained strength through faith. They record first hand witness to many historical events and places, both before the war, and during. The people are real, the events are real, the locations are real, the stress is real, the combat is real, and the letters are real. Local readers and historians are sure to recognize many of these. It is an enjoyable and emotional ride through a tumultuous time in our history that you are sure to enjoy.