Reflecting on Days Gone By: WWII history

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Book Review!!! Grounded Hearts by Jeanne M. Dickson

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grounded Hearts (Waterfall Press, July 2017)

A brave midwife. A wounded pilot. A risky secret.

In the midst of World War II, Ireland has declared herself neutral. Troops found on Irish soil must be reported and interned, no matter which side they are fighting for. When midwife Nan O’Neil finds a wounded young Canadian pilot at her door, she knows she’s taking a huge risk by letting him in. Not only is she a widow living alone, but if caught harboring a combatant, she’ll face imprisonment.

Still, something compels Nan to take in “flyboy” Dutch Whitney, an RAF pilot whose bomber has just crashed over County Clare. While she tends to his wounds and gives him a secret place of refuge, the two begin to form a mutual affection—and an unbreakable bond.

But Nan has another secret, one that has racked her with guilt since her husband’s death and made her question ever loving again. As Nan and Dutch plan his escape, can he help restore her faith?

Learn more and purchase a copy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeanne M. Dickson was born into an Irish American family, the only girl surrounded by four brothers. She credits her mother, her aunts, and her grandmother with her love of storytelling. Perfecting her craft, she attends many writer’s conferences and over the years, she has won and finaled in numerous RWA romance writing awards including the Daphne du Maurier Award, the Maggie Award, The Molly, The Tara, and she was the overall contest winner of Launching A Star. Today she lives in Coastal San Diego with her fabulous husband, her two wonderful girls, and a dozen disobedient rose bushes.

My Thoughts:

This was the first book that I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I really liked reading this WWII era novel from an Ireland stand-point. The characters are well written, the story line fresh and complete. WWII is such a fascinating time in history - and I really enjoyed this story. This book is well researched and when you read you feel like you are there. I hope to read more form this author.

I received Grounded Hearts by Jeanne M. Dickson compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Waterfall Press. -- All opinions are my own.

One grand prize winner will receive:

A copy of Grounded Hearts
A Claddagh bracelet
A Claddagh jewelry box

ENTER: HERE

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Recently, on my way to Atlanta to pick my daughter up from the airport – we stopped off and visited the: Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. It is located in Tuskegee, AL. Now, I love anything that has to do with American History – but these brave men are sometimes lost in history’s translations.

Have you seen the movie Redtails? It came out in 2012 and featured Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker and other phenomenal talent. This movie concentrated on the Tuskegee Airmen. It was nice to see some history brought to life. The description of the movie is: A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard. If you have not seen it, I would highly recommend it.

Why are they important? Because they helped with several successful missions during WWII. Now WWII was a time where there was great racial tension. While the Civil War has been over for almost 100 years, there was still a great racial divide especially in the South.

The start of the Tuskegee Airmen was a result of an experiment. There were several high ranking officers that did not think that African Americans would have the physical or mental capabilities to be able to fly a aircraft. They also thought that they lacked courage.

Well, these men were able to not only prove their worth, but go above and beyond the call of duty.

Here are a few facts that I found on http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_fame/tuskegee_airmen/tuskegee_airmen_facts.aspx

Tuskegee University was awarded the U.S. Army Air Corps contract to help train America's first Black military aviators because it had already invested in the development of an airfield, had a proven civilian pilot training program and its graduates performed highest on flight aptitude exams.
Moton Field is named for Tuskegee University's second President, Dr. Robert R. Moton who served with distinction from 1915-1935. The Airmen were deployed during the presidential administration of Dr. Frederick Douglas Patterson (1935-1953).
The all-Black, 332nd Fighter Group consisted originally of four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, the 301st and the 302nd.
From 1941-1946, some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee.
The Airmen's success in escorting bombers during World War II – having one of the lowest loss records of all the escort fighter groups, and being in constant demand for their services by the allied bomber units.- is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.

Now, that you know a little background on these guys – let’s talk about the visit.

There are two hangars that you can visit when you’re there. I have two little guys that we visited with (age 5 and 3) So I made sure that I asked for the Junior Ranger activity guide. (All National Park sites should have them – fun interactive booklets that help entertain the kids and they can earn Jr. Ranger badges)

There was a nice 20 minute introduction movie if you are unfamiliar with who the Tuskegee were. (Being a history major and nerd, I knew some of their background) I did however find a new hero to look into. The first Native American/African American FEMALE to earn a pilot’s license (stay tuned!) The boys loved some of the war scenes (nothing that was too gruesome)

The exhibit itself is nice- Each station has 3 short videos that include narration from the Men and some of the widows that were a part of WWII. The kids were fascinated by the models, pictures, and the short videos. They were very excited to get their Junior Ranger Pins.