Dogs and Soldiers

Introduction

After reading my father’s journal written about the time he served in World War 11, I became fascinated; not only by his graphic war stories, but by the man I thought I knew. As I read through the pages, I was deeply moved by a tender love story, as he wrote about his courtship with my mother and his struggle to win her for his own.

I learned that he left home for the first time in his young life to become a soldier in the U.S. Army, lonely for the woman who lived and danced in his dreams and homesick for his hometown of Wenona, Md.

His journal took me all around the world and I was able to see places of wonder through the eyes of my father, places he had only read about in books. I could feel the chilly air from the snowcapped mountains in the far west. I could feel the cool mist from the waterfalls as they spilled over the rocks on the island of Maui. I was able to imagine the fine greenery in the lovely paradise islands of Hawaii.

I felt his thrill during his first train ride, his first air flight, and I felt his awe at the massive size of the U.S.S. President Johnson as they sailed under the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. This bridge was an amazing structure to an island boy, whose farthest trip prior to his travels in the service was to Philadelphia, Pa. In other words, he never left his hometown.

I felt his pain and suffering during the physical hardships of war and his anguish as he saw friends and comrades die. I learned things about the war that I had not read in history books, but even more importantly, I learned about my father, the kind of man he was and the soldier he became.

He was a born fighter with a driving force deep within his soul that gave him a will to live and a desire to love.

His undying love for my mother kept him warm in the trenches of Germany. His fear of God gave him hope that he would return home. His strong faith kept him safe on enemy soil. His love for his country kept him fighting in a war to keep America free.

This book is based on a true story as close to the actual encounters as I could determine, that was written for the grandchildren that are and the great grandchildren that will be. May you learn and come to understand the great sacrifice of a soldier and a love between two people that endured separation and conflict. This love is why you are here today. This is your heritage.