Some of you may enjoy backstories as much as I do.

The first time I realized this was when I first read Roots by Alex Hailey. My favorite part was at the end where Hailey told how he researched the details for his astounding historical novel.

What Leora Never Knew is my journey of research into what happened to the three sons my grandparents lost during WWII. I’d worked through most of it during the 1990s, so everything was done by mail. I was amazed at the details my grandparents, and the surviving siblings, never learned about. Some are especially compelling.

After introducing the family, I told Dale Wilson’s story first since his plane was shot down in late 1943. Danny Wilson went MIA in early 1945, and Junior’s death was later the same year. That much sets the stage for the specific details of the research.

Next, I completed Junior’s entire story with what I learned decades later, including the AAF Report of Major Accident, Air Force Inspection and Safety Center at Norton AFB, CA (which my grandparents were never sent). I also corresponded with the man who, as a young pilot himself, had accompanied Junior’s casket to Iowa from their Air Force base in Texas.

The next section is about Danny’s loss, including the most poignant documents, especially with how his remains were located in a small village in the Alps, and the care with which his they were first buried, then reburied twice more. These incredible details were from the National Archives and other military records. I was able to share these with Danny Wilson’s surviving siblings. My grandparents never knew these details. I located Harry Wold, Danny Wilson’s best friend, and he and his wife stopped in Iowa to visit Mom and me. Harry brought his photo album and lots of memories.

Danny Wilson’s two sisters, both widowed farm women in their late seventies, traveled to France to see where he is buried today. My husband and I were their support crew. I share that story in the book.

Dale Wilson’s documents are last, including one last reexamination of records from 1951. I located Curtis Swan, who had returned letters sent to Dale, marked “Missing.” He sent photos of the base in New Guinea and also sketched a map for me. There was an attempt to locate the lost B-25 with the six crewmen, in 2005, which ended tragically. Their remains have never been found.

Endorsers

New York Times bestselling author Marcus Brotherton graciously provided a blurb for the cover.

John Busbee, long-time host of The Culture Buzz and gracious interviewer, wrote an endorsement for the book.

Steve Snyder, author of Shot Down: The True Story of Pilot Howard Snyder and the Crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth (his father’s incredible WWII story) wrote one as well.

So did Barbara von der Osten, who with her father Robert (a WWII veteran), wrote LST 388: A World War II Journal. This book not only included her father’s story, but the story of the ship he served on.

Radio personality Maxwell Schaeffer, whose father was a B-17 tail gunner during the war, also endorsed the book.

So did Lee Habeeb, founder and host of Our American Stories, talk radio executive, and Newsweek essayist. His mother lost her older brother during the war.

Review by Luanne Castle

who was reduced . . . to tears in a doctor’s waiting room

“Joy Neal Kidney has documented an American saga of hard work, dedication, patriotism, and above all, sacrifice with her four Leora Books. I have reviewed Leora’s Dexter Stories, Leora’s Letters, and Leora’s Early Years previously. These first three volumes tell the Wilson family history and the tragedy of losing three sons to WWII through the mother, Leora’s, perspective. The fourth book in the series, What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers, describes Kidney’s own search for more answers about her uncles’ military careers.

“The book contains heartbreaking information, such as Leora receiving news of Dale being MIA on her birthday. Dale’s sister Doris was pregnant and had only told Dale in a letter. But the letter was returned to her, “marked ‘Missing in Action.’” Kidney puts together information and shares it in an easy-to-read style. For instance, the Wilsons received three notes from radio operators that Dale had been taken POW of the Japanese, but this was never confirmed. The information included personal identity info that was not on their ID tags. Where would the Japanese have gotten this information if they didn’t have Dale?

“I love that Kidney included images of documentation and letters. The visuals help to connect the reader to these difficult days that her family went through. A poignant section is when Kidney realizes that Dale had a diary and how it was separated from his other belongings. I could tell you more, but why don’t you just read the book? You might want to read the other three before you get to this one or if you want to get right to this one, consider at least reading Leora’s Letters, the first book, the one where I learned that all three men had died during the war, a book that reduced me to tears in a doctor’s waiting room.”

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Luanne Castle’s new brutally honest hybrid flash memoir, Scrap: Salvaging a Family, explores the stain of childhood fear and anxiety on the adult spirit and the experience of reconciling with an aging or dying parent. A daughter has grown up in a household with an angry and abusive father. He keeps the secret of his own biological father’s identity from his daughter for decades. Can this family be salvaged?

The book has earned a starred Kirkus review and is a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Please get acquainted with Luanne’s website Poetry and Other Words (and cats!).