A Soldier's Service Book - My Father's Life During WWII

by Barbara Benke

After my father passed away on June 25, 2009, my mother handed to me two plastic bags, full of mostly aerogram letters he had written home during his service in World War II to his mother, stepfather, and his brother (who was a Lieutenant in the Army). Over the next six months, I read all of the letters, some of which begin in August, 1941 when he enlisted, right up until he was discharged in January, 1946. Although he initially enlisted with the Army, he was, over the course of the war, assigned not only to the Army, but the Air Force and the Navy. He was stationed (after his initial placement at Camp Borden), in Kingston, Ontario, Pictou and Halifax, Nova Scotia and then on to England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. From Great Britain, the Corps travelled by ship through the Suez Canal to Egypt, Gibraltar, Malta, Arabia, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Manila, Guam, and finally as the war ended he came home through Pearl Harbour and British Columbia. Growing up, and even as an adult, I was unaware that my father had travelled to most of these places. In every family there are stories that are unknown, untold, seldom heard and over time are forgotten. While reading through all of his correspondence, I could not help but feel that there was an interesting story and an important one to share with my family. I did not want to see that story lost so I decided to undertake making this book a reality. My hope with this book is to share, through my father's correspondence and other documents and details handed down to me, a vignette of his life at a time of great personal discovery and also a time of historic and national significance. Military service and travel are both strong catalysts for changing a person. The effect is even more pronounced when the two are joined together in a wartime environment. What follows in this book provides a picture, a snapshot if you will, of that period and of a young man coming to terms with his relationship with his mother and of his discovery of the woman who became the love of his life.

446 pages, Hardcover

First published July 20, 2012