“SOLDIERS’ STORIES” VOL. 2, by the Miller Family, REVIEW

May 1

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Soldiers’ Stories, Vol. II

After reading the Miller Family’s first volume OF SOLDIERS’ STORIES, I was excited to receive Volume # 2.  I was not disappointed.

Not only was I, as usual, proud to see 4 pages of my own Father’s stories in print, but even discovered another member of the 11th Airborne Division represented among the other memoirs.

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Most of my readers tell me that they find the personal stories and letters from my father and other veterans to be their favorite posts.  In this book, readers are privileged to have over 300 pages of such tales.

The many photographs give you a personal perspective, both humorous and educational, of a time that dramatically altered the entire world.  Men and women alike are included in this well constructed journal for the generation we are so quickly losing.

Every branch of service, in each theater of operation, is represented along with the invaluable contributions of the home front military, women, civilians and our British Allies.

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Modern day honoring of those buried in foreign lands and innumerable photos of the people who fought for us and the treasures they left behind.  Even fellow blogger and author, Joy Neal Kidney, has the Wilson Family included.

You can hear in their words the eagerness to serve their country, their laughter and the camaraderie of close unit ties.  You might even feel their pain.

Inspired by the Miller Family’s, SSgt. Myron Miller, of the 83rd Infantry, I can unquestionably recommend both Volume  # 1 and # 2 of SOLDIERS’ STORIES!

For Myra Miller’s blog, click HERE!

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Military Humor –

“I’ve given you th’ best years of my life.”

“What’s your job, steady K.P.?”

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Farewell Salutes – 

Evo Aspreli – New Haven, CT; US Army, WWII

Michael Collins – Washington, D.C.; US Air Force, pilot  /  NASA, Astronaut, MGeneral

111024-N-WD757-029
SAN DIEGO (Oct. 24, 2011) Ceremonial honor guard await to render honors for retired Vice Adm. Paul F. McCarthy. McCarthy (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Carlos M. Vazquez II/Released)

Carl Dalrymple – Jamestown, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII

James Edgar (100) – brn: Pietersburg, So. Afr.; Gordon Highlanders, WWII, ETO & CBI, Intelligence SOE

Philip T. Hoogacker – USA; US Army, Korea, Pfc., Co. D/1/29th Infantry Regiment, KIA (Anui, So. Korea)

George Humphrey – Onslow County, NC; US Army, Medic, 11th Airborne Division

Theodore Q. Jensen – Delta, UT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, radioman, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)

James ‘Sonny’ Melhus – Eau Claire, WI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, HQ Co./506/101st Airborne Division

William H. Melville – Minneapolis, MN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 2nd Lt., pilot, 36th FS/8th FG, KIA (Papua, New Guinea)

Christopher F. Pantos – Richmond, VA; US Army, Kuwait, SSgt., 55th Sustainment Brigade

John Shoemaker – Mont Clare, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, SSgt., 87th Infantry, Purple Heart

Michael Sierra – San Antonio, TX; Texas National Guard / US Army, Vietnam, platoon leader, 327/101st Airborne Division

About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on May 1, 2021, in Book Reviews, Current News, First-hand Accounts, Home Front, Letters home, SMITTY, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 110 Comments.

  1. Thotaramani | October 27, 2021 at 9:04 AM

    God bless you with good health and happiness always wherever you are.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Amit Kumar | May 23, 2021 at 3:10 PM

    It’s really great and I am happy about you are doing well. Nicely!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Lavinia Ross | May 18, 2021 at 11:24 AM

    I’m just catching up here, GP. Thanks for the link to the book! These stories are priceless.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. anotherday2paradise | May 9, 2021 at 4:13 PM

    This book sounds really interesting, GP. You must feel so proud that your father features in it. Their story should be told and never forgotten.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. shoreacres | May 6, 2021 at 10:26 PM

    It was neat to see your father mentioned, and it also made me smile to find Wanda Weaver’s photo. It’s not that I know her or know of her, exactly, but my mother’s name was Wanda, and she also was a Rosie the Riveter. I so enjoy remembering the pride she took in her work, as your Dad surely took in his service.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | May 7, 2021 at 6:04 AM

      I’m glad you liked the review (I’m sure not a pro at doing them). When Dad would finally tell me a story, you could see behind his eyes that he was seeing it happen all over again and editing as he went along.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • shoreacres | May 7, 2021 at 7:41 AM

        That made me smile. It brought to mind occasions when I’d do some on-the-fly editing of my own stories, if I was telling them to my mother: especially about some of my sailing escapades. I’m sure your dad edited a bit to spare you a few of the details.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  8. Curt Mekemson | May 5, 2021 at 2:42 PM

    Had to be exciting to have your father included, G.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  9. Aviationtrails | May 5, 2021 at 1:20 AM

    Books like this are a great read especially when your own father appears in them. There’s also a series called ‘Forgotten voices’ all small comments, notes and little stories form those who were there. Well worth a look too.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  10. Liz Gauffreau | May 4, 2021 at 8:57 PM

    This book looks very good! And how exciting that your dad is featured!!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  11. joynealkidney | May 4, 2021 at 4:49 PM

    Reblogged this on William R. Ablan, pen name of Richard L. Muniz and commented:

    Besides a section on GP Cox’s father, this book includes stories about the Wilson family, their cousin Merrill Goff, Dad and his brother (Warren and Willis Neal), also Francis Love and Clell Hoy of Dexter, Iowa.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  12. Lee Austin | May 4, 2021 at 4:17 PM

    Sounds like a great couple of books.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  13. Dan Antion | May 4, 2021 at 3:52 PM

    I love personal stories. I’m not sure how I missed this post. WordPress seems to indicate that I am still following you, but I did not receive a notification, I also see that I missed another post earlier today 😦

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  14. John W. Howell | May 4, 2021 at 2:48 PM

    I’m glad you reblogged this, GP. I was one who got a “Oops” notice.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  15. jfwknifton | May 4, 2021 at 12:59 PM

    People always want personal stories. They can identify with them and perhaps recognise that we’re not that different from one another after all.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • GP | May 4, 2021 at 1:32 PM

      I tell the readers that the war was seen by millions of eyes and each one has a personal perspective on what they saw. The more we read – the more we understand.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. dovetaleicons | May 4, 2021 at 11:51 AM

    11th AB, 511thPIR, CO.E Rifleman, Luzon invasion, PFC Robert R. Arrowsmith born Dec. 6, 1925 living happily in Livermore CA

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  17. beetleypete | May 4, 2021 at 11:33 AM

    This looks like the very best way to understand the experience of a soldier in wartime, GP. Personal memoirs are so much more convincing than a non-fiction writer’s historical ‘overview’.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  18. OIKOS™-Editorial | May 4, 2021 at 8:54 AM

    Thank you for sharing this information, GP! A well deserved remembrance of your work too. We have for sure also to remember all the soldiers lost their lives far away, and were never buried in their homeland. Michael

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  19. joynealkidney | May 4, 2021 at 7:20 AM

    Thank you for the mention!

    Five brothers served. Only two came home. Working on a story about the first Memorial Day after the war for their grieving parents, who were my grandparents, Clabe and Leora Wilson.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  20. GP | May 4, 2021 at 6:55 AM

    Reblogged this on Pacific Paratrooper and commented:

    Being as this post was hidden to so many, I am reblogging this myself.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  21. deplorablesunite | May 3, 2021 at 11:56 PM

    I am getting theses books

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  23. The June Journal | May 3, 2021 at 10:20 PM

    Love the cover of the book and the personal stories are always very touching. Thanks for the sacrifices from your family!!! We will not have today without these contributions! When I read your post, I was also thinking of the Flying Tigers, The First American Volunteer Group (AVG).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  24. Anne Clare | May 3, 2021 at 6:28 PM

    Well, that’s a must get! Thanks for sharing this, GP.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  25. natuurfreak3 | May 3, 2021 at 6:27 PM

    I think” soldiers stories” will have a lot of people who want to read them

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  26. Int'l Historical Research Associates | May 3, 2021 at 6:10 PM

    It must have been an incredible feeling to see your father’s stories in print! Was the name of the other 11th Airborne member familiar to you?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  27. SJS | May 3, 2021 at 5:21 PM

    Great to see that your dad is featured in this new book, GP. So glad that the account of his service is reaching more people. Thanks for sharing this with us. Steve S

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  28. SCLMRose | May 3, 2021 at 5:02 PM

    It looks like a great book to have on my “To Read” list. Nothing like a first-hand account of what’s going on on the front line.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  29. doesitevenmatter3 | May 3, 2021 at 4:37 PM

    Excellent!
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…This did not show up in my Reader until 2 days after you posted it. Thought you might want to know.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  30. equipsblog | May 3, 2021 at 3:01 PM

    I didn’t get this, just the WP oops on Saturday. I discovered this by going to your blog page and I’m glad I did. Loved the cartoons. Great book review, btw.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    • GP | May 3, 2021 at 3:08 PM

      I wonder why you didn’t get it. I’ve noticed the ‘views’ have been down drastically, but I don’t know how to fix it either.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      • equipsblog | May 3, 2021 at 3:10 PM

        I think that WP’s favorite indoor sport is messing with its users.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
      • disperser | May 3, 2021 at 3:52 PM

        If you did an update to the old post, it wouldn’t send out another notice because it’s not a new post. Even if you deleted the blank post and then used the same title, it still counts as an update because once a post is published, the link is permanent and tied to the title. Meaning, WordPress will see it as an update and not ‘new’, so it won’t send out a notice to subscribers.

        One way would have been to slightly modify the title so that it’s a new post and then it would have sent out a notice for the new post (and you delete the empty post). For instance, you could have added a dash somewhere in the title or a # symbol in front of the number 2.

        Since it’s an update (and it looks like it is since I didn’t receive a new notice from WordPress), the other option is to publish a short new post explaining what happened and linking back to the “fixed” version of this post.

        I’ve had to do that before when I screwed something up. Otherwise, readers who’ve already seen the blank post won’t know to go back and check.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
  32. Jacqui Murray | May 3, 2021 at 10:48 AM

    This sounds wonderful, and I love the cover. Best of luck with this Book 2. I love that it’s sold on Walmart.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  33. MarkD60 | May 3, 2021 at 10:34 AM

    That looks like a book I’d like to read! And Volume 1.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  34. swabby429 | May 3, 2021 at 6:59 AM

    Regarding histories, the personal anecdotes and biographies bring a more poignant point of view. I’m always drawn to this kind of writing.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  35. chpmkr | May 1, 2021 at 6:14 PM

    Your post did not complete the download. Just a heads up. Bill Gindhart chpmkr1@gmail.com

    On Sat, May 1, 2021 at 12:55 Pacific Paratrooper wrote:

    > GP posted: ” ” >

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  36. GP | May 6, 2021 at 2:53 PM

    Thank you, Joy.

    Like

    Reply
  37. GP | May 7, 2021 at 7:34 AM

    Thanks again!!

    Like

    Reply

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