Lucky Stars and Gold Bars: A World War II Odyssey - Softcover

Sladek, Karen

3.17

6 ratings by Goodreads

9780972192583: Lucky Stars and Gold Bars: A World War II Odyssey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0972192581 ISBN 13: 9780972192583

Publisher: Penlyric Press, 2004

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A heartwarming family saga set at the time America emerged from the Great Depression and into the throes of World War II. Told through a soldier's 400 letters to his parents from thirty-five states, five continents, and three theaters of war, this history reads like a novel. Original.

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From the Publisher:

LUCKY STARS AND GOLD BARS—based on one soldier's 400 letters home from 35 states, 5 continents, and 3 theaters of war during WWII—is history that reads like a novel. Using real people, real places, and real events as a vehicle for providing an overview of the war years within the context of the times, it is of human interest to the general adult audience and of historical significance to history scholars.

From the Author:

WRITING THIS BOOK was a labor of love, triggered by the discovery of a cardboard box on a closet shelf in the home of my parents. Inside were hundreds of old envelopes bearing strange imprints—censor stamps, APO numbers, patriotic symbols. Some bore three-cent stamps, others had FREE inscribed at the upper corner. I was astonished to learn they were letters written by my father while serving in the Army Air Corps during WWII.

I am pleased to make this historical trove available to the public. Time colors the past as each succeeding generation becomes further removed from the context of the WWII era. Memories of events at Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway, North Africa, Anzio, Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Hiroshima are etched in the hearts and minds of "the Greatest Generation." Their children and grandchildren, however, mainly perceive of the WWII era as portrayed in movies and novels. My father's letters allow readers to compare and contrast the actual wartime experiences of one American soldier with the mythical constructs espoused by pop-historians and imaginative screenwriters.

For me, WWII is no longer just a topic in a history book; it has affected me emotionally. I admire the American people who made sacrifices on the home front. Most of all, I respect the men and women who served in the armed forces, patriots who risked their lives and postponed personal ambitions while putting down tyranny.

Like the majority of GIs who served in WWII, my father never fired a shot at the enemy. Fewer than 20% of the US military were combat "trigger pullers." Wartime perils such as accidents and disease claimed more lives than battlefield wounds. Soldiers and sailors lived or died as chance and circumstance ground out their fate.

In King Lear, Shakespeare postulated the advantage of having the stars in a favorable alignment when undertaking an enterprise of great import. All the stars in the heavens were in the right alignment for my father during those perilous years.

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