How I appreciate this recent review of Leora’s Letters from Phil Rosenkrantz, the author of Letters from Uncle Dave: The 73-year Journey to Find a Missing-in-Action World War II Paratrooper.

“It is rare to have such a compelling collection of letters as well as the actual context and memories that surrounded them during the war. I wish I could give it six stars. I was able to put myself in the shoes of the family members and imagine what they were going through. It helped me understand what my family went through during the war. I also had an uncle who was missing in action and another uncle who was rescued when his ship was sunk in the Pacific*.

“It is one thing to understand World War II history from a statistical standpoint such as battle details and casualty figures. It is another thing to understand what happened to one family and then multiply that by the loss of thousands of families who experienced similar grief and loss.

“The book is well written. The author does a great job of laying out the family’s thoughts and emotions. Almost everyone living now was affected by World War II in some way–directly or indirectly. I know from experiences that the effects of World War II influenced many family for decades. It is helpful for everyone to understand this aspect of the last century and this book will help you do that.”

*The ship Dr. Rosenkrantz mentioned was the USS Chicago (CA-29), which Delbert and Donald Wilson served on during the 1930s.

My review of Dr. Rosenkrantz’s book.

Letters from Uncle Dave was endorsed by Steve Snyder, author of Shot Down: The True Story of Pilot Howard Snyder and the Crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth. My review of Shot Down.