No Ordinary Solider: My Father’s Two Wars

A young man from a gritty Pennsylvania mill town enlists in the Army Air Corps and heads for Hawaii, the “Paradise of the Pacific.” There, he and his buddies defend Oahu while it explodes and burns in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As the war surges, his bomber squadron ships out to primitive Pacific outposts. Amid air raids, stifling heat, and outbreaks of tropical disease, he clings to sanity through the letters he and his wife share, letters saved in an attic for 57 years. His daughter, haunted by her dads terrifying rages decades after his death, delves into the letters for clues to his turmoil. The letters lead her to discover a shocking family secret, not only fulfilling her quest but also revealing a story of war, love, and reconciliation.

Liz Gilmore Williams earned an M.A. in American studies while working as a writer-editor for the federal government. She spent nine years researching and writing No Ordinary Soldier: My Father’s Two Wars. A native of Pennsylvania, she lived for in Mexico in 2010 before moving to South Carolina, where she spends her days interviewing and writing about people who had a front-row seat to history. Find her on Twitter @WWIIletterlover.