I have
a confession to make. I’ve traded in my fiction writing stripes for a foray
into the world of non-fiction. This project is a labor of love. Two years ago,
I met Ed, at that time 94 years old. He captivated me with his stories of
fighting in Europe in World War II, being captured by the Germans and being
liberated by the Russians.
For
Liberty is
the biography of a frontline soldier, fighting the Germans in World War II.
Extraordinary are his experiences leading up to joining the army, his “kill or
be killed” decisions in combat, the struggle to survive in a prisoner of war
camp and the opportunity to meet Russians behind their lines at the time the
Cold War was starting. On the night of New Years Eve 1944, Ed undertook the
assignment of being a forward observer, only to be bombarded by the last German
initiative on the Western Front, Operation North Wind. Throughout his life he
continued to be a forward observer, connecting his experiences in the past with
the unfolding future. His was not an easy life, struggling through the
Depression years, losing 40% of his body weight while a prisoner, suffering
what we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder, losing custody of his first
son, but bouncing back from his traumas to have a successful second marriage
and to run a profitable small business. His life was full of dichotomies: His
early education at an anarchist school set the stage for his inquiring mind; even
without completing college, he developed a wealth of knowledge about history
though his avid reading; although he hated Germans, he became the greatest
chicken thief in all of Europe to support four German refugees; and throughout
his life, in spite of the stress and trauma, he retained an impish sense of
humor.
This book is under contract and will be
published in the next two months.
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