The letters in the box survived mostly intact for 70 years. They revealed the story of one young man, no different than millions of others, who traveled thousands of miles from home, risking his life to help re-establish peace and stability in the world.
The book details my father's ability to remain close to his family during the most tumultuous time in modern history, World War II. It is an insight into a man I knew to be very perceptive, but private and quiet, who seldom spoke about the war.
This is the wartime journey of Robert 'Bob' Glover who enlisted into the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday, a few months after D-Day. The story is his, written in his own words, in hundreds of letters to his family during 1944, 1945, and 1946.
Bob's letters are literally a '6-feet above the ground' view of World War II, not a historian's sterile look in the rear view mirror. This is a soldier's unique perspective on the war, the issues affecting his morale, and the activities to rebuild Europe following the war during the 'Army of the Occupation' period.
Most of all, this is a story of one young man's efforts to stay connected to his family, and in the process, to imagine and value life's goals.
The letters sat untouched in the box for many years. As I read them for the first time... I heard my dad's voice, a man known for his simple and straightforward philosophy of life, whisper, 'better late than never'.
