Böcker av Victor Cleary

From 1939 to 1945, the farming community of Clarksburg, Ohio sent 222 of its sons and daughters to war: 1 in every 5 of its residents. From Somewhere in France is a one-of-a-kind collection of letters written by these men and women, stitched together chronologically and grouped into common themes shared with family and friends. The work includes nearly 200 letters from 70 individuals taking readers on parallel journeys through training, to combat and back home to Ohio. Experience first person accounts of camp life in the states; bombing missions over Europe; battlefield operations from Normandy to Okinawa; letters from POW camps; an eyewitness account of the retaking of Corregidor, and personal reactions to the Holocaust and the atomic destruction of Hiroshima. You have read in-depth histories of large units and entire armies during the war, as well as countless individual autobiographies of wartime tales. Now, experience the war from the unique perspective of one village.

The Complete Clarksburg Ohio World War II Guide is one of the country's most thorough case studies analyzing one village's involvement during WWII. Research, letters, a veteran index, and over 80 photographs highlight the service of 222 veterans from Clarksburg who served our country and details a number of experiences from training to battle.Clarksburg sent one-in-five of its residents to war when the national average was one-in-eight, and an astounding 45%% of Clarksburg's infantrymen and just over one-third of its aerial crewmembers, were either killed or wounded. Even more noteworthy was the high number of aircraft crashes suffered by Clarksburg's heavy bomber crews.Even though Clarksburg had its share of decorated soldiers, a majority of the village's veterans filled common roles. They were common men called upon every day to face uncommon responsibilities and a significant number found themselves in positions of authority and in a place to perform heroically in some of the war's fiercest battles.