Answering Their Country's Call: Marylanders in World War II

"Time will not dim the glory of their deeds." The inscription on Baltimore's recently razed Memorial Stadium reflects the gratitude we all feel toward the 288,000 Maryland men and women who served their country during the Second World War, especially the 6,454 Marylanders who didn't come home. But while their collective contribution to the cause of world freedom will always be remembered, their individual experiences are being forgotten, their tales of wartime still untold. In Answering Their Country's Call, Michael H. Rogers presents the stories of 31 Marylanders, told in their own words, each shedding new light on the large role played by a small state in the great struggle against tyranny.

Among the ordinary citizens thrust into extraordinary circumstances featured in this book are Ensign Calvin S. George, Jr., a Naval Academy graduate who was captured by the Japanese in Manila in 1942 and survived four years of brutal conditions in POW camps and aboard the infamous Japanese "Hell Ships"; Pfc. James A. Kane, a medic in the 92nd Division―the famous "Buffalo Division"―who lost his right leg trying to reach a wounded soldier in Italy and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star; Dorothy E. Steinbas Davis, R.N., who served with the 57th Field Hospital in Europe, which treated wounded soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge; and Baltimore Colts legend Art Donovan, who served in the Marines as an anti-aircraft gunner on the carrier San Jacinto before being transferred to a machine gun crew on Okinawa.

Each of these autobiographical pieces describes remarkable feats of courage; some offer harrowing accounts of combat, while others focus on vital duties carried out just behind the front lines. All provide personal views of World War II that reveal the mundane, unusual, and sometimes bizarre details of life during wartime. This riveting and often moving book pays tribute to all those who answered their country's call.

Michael H. Rogers attended Rutgers University and has worked in ballpark operations for the Baltimore Orioles and the minor-league Bridgeport Bluefish. He currently works for the Maryland State Lottery Agency.