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Love, Danny: A WWII bomber disappears over Germany without a trace. A mother’s relentless search for clues about her son, missing in action. A story of heart and heartbreak, told in letters.
“I had the unexpected and profound privilege of opening letters that had been sealed for 75 years along with the doubly-strange experience of being the first person to read letters from my then 13-year-old mother to her older brother.”
-Daniel Joyce
On July 4, 1943, Daniel Kraynik left his home in the Kaisertown neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, to join the Army Air Force. Seventeen months later he and eight other crewmen would be listed as missing in action, after their B-24 bomber disappeared without a trace in heavy clouds over Germany. It would be four more years before the Army was able to even ascertain the crash site. Throughout Dan’s service and for several years thereafter, his mother collected and preserved virtually every letter and every document that related to his war experience and her relentless search for information about the downed plane, as well as the daily life back home in Buffalo – his three younger siblings, the family’s convenience store business, a polio epidemic, a Presidential election and a Buffalo blizzard.
The collection of letters and documents, untouched for over 70 years, tells the story of a WWII airman from the early cadet training to the shattered dream of being a pilot, to his role as tail gunner in a B-24 bomber shot down over Germany, and to missing in action without a cue. And of a mother who never gave up hope.
-Daniel Joyce
On July 4, 1943, Daniel Kraynik left his home in the Kaisertown neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, to join the Army Air Force. Seventeen months later he and eight other crewmen would be listed as missing in action, after their B-24 bomber disappeared without a trace in heavy clouds over Germany. It would be four more years before the Army was able to even ascertain the crash site. Throughout Dan’s service and for several years thereafter, his mother collected and preserved virtually every letter and every document that related to his war experience and her relentless search for information about the downed plane, as well as the daily life back home in Buffalo – his three younger siblings, the family’s convenience store business, a polio epidemic, a Presidential election and a Buffalo blizzard.
The collection of letters and documents, untouched for over 70 years, tells the story of a WWII airman from the early cadet training to the shattered dream of being a pilot, to his role as tail gunner in a B-24 bomber shot down over Germany, and to missing in action without a cue. And of a mother who never gave up hope.
405 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 9, 2023
Letters that remained unopened for years are the basis for this compelling read about WWII. This book delves into what families of service people endured as their loved ones entered and trained in the military. It follows Danny's deployment to Europe and ultimately his status as MIA. Joyce's writing style is conversational. It is full of insights to the emotional toll the stress of war brings to families.
July 25, 2023
Awesome book filled with all sorts of raw human emotion. Couldn’t put it down.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews