I have read several of these books now about the Wilson family thanks to Joy Neal Kidney’s painstaking research and archiving of the family’s documents and letters. The last one I read told of the impact of WWII and this book takes that a stage further.
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Five of Leora’s sons went off to fight in the war. Two of them joined the navy and the other three became pilots.
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Tragedy struck all three airmen. Dale’s plane went down near Wewak, New Guinea, and his parents received a Missing In Action telegram. Daniel was shot down in [Austria] and buried there originally, and Claiborne Junior crash landed near Nordheim [Texas] and was buried in the local cemetery [Perry, Iowa].
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The author points out that they’d visit the three graves and leave flowers on them, but she didn’t like to ask any questions in case she upset the older relatives. It therefore came as a shock when she discovered that only one boy was actually buried there.
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The book is an account of the digging for information that Joy Neal Kidney did to find out all she could about the three boys. Some of it was heart-rending. Dale’s plane ditched in the sea but there were radio broadcasts that said he’d been captured by the Japanese. This was really unsettling for the family.
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The research involved contacting the people who had worked with the men who gave their accounts and who often kept in touch through the years. The author also contacted the military authorities and was allowed access to a considerable body of information.
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As with all the books, what comes across are the strong bonds within the family. They wrote to each other often and the letters are affectionate, newsy and humorous. There are some lovely photographs too, and the boys were certainly a handsome bunch of young men.
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This is a moving and informative account and it’s reassuring to know that people keep the monuments and stories going to remember all the brave men who fought for their country.
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What Leora Never Knew is my journey of research into what happened to the three Wilson brothers who lost their lives during WWII.
How wonderful, Joy!
Thank you, Annette. It was a wonderful surprise!
Isn’t that fantastic, Joy! You are gaining international success.
You bet, GP! It was a welcome surprise!
Congratulations on the well-deserved wonderful review! Sharing.
Thank you, Liz.
You’re welcome, Joy.
Congratulations on this much deserved great review, Joy! It’s wonderful that someone in a different country thought so highly of your book.
I’m thankful they know about Grandma Leora’s compelling story! Thank you, Tim.
Congrats, Joy.
Thanks, Rich! I rarely check that one since it doesn’t even have 20 ratings after a year, so this was such a welcome surprise!
Congratulations on the wonderful review, Joy! Well deserved!
Thank you, Lauren. It is such a delightful surprise!
Now this is getting exciting! Hopefully some smart producer will make a documentary of your family’s story. Not a movie! They put too much smut in movies. Congratulations, Joy! 🙂
Wouldn’t that be fun! Thank you, Nancy.