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A Fortress and a Legacy: The Gift of a WWII Bombardier's True Story to the Daughter He Never Knew
A Fortress and a Legacy combines stunning historical accuracy with the pathos of a family torn by war. An exchange of letters between Knoxville native and B-17 bombardier Bud Perrin and his bride, a former Miss America contestant, gives this story heart and soul.
474 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 30, 2017
A Fortress and a Legacy
For all of you who have a stack of letters in your family, and have always imagined that you would write a rich story that had been revealed through those hand-written lines, this is the book that will inspire you to follow through. That is exactly what J. Ross Greene has done in A Fortress and a Legacy. Through such a collection the reader gets to know the author’s uncle, Ross W. “Bud” Perrin Jr., a handsome young man who won the heart of Thelma McGhee, a Knoxville, Tennessee beauty queen. Greene has supplied dialogue in the book so that the reader can view it as a historical novel. In the earlier chapters this narrative device can seem a bit contrived, but it allows the author to provide the factual backdrop for the involvement of the United States in World War II. However, the quoted words Greene included from an impressive stash of more than 1,000 letters exchanged between this beautiful duo, along with the well-researched historical background framing the story within that correspondence, provides the strength and backbone of this book. Found within its chapters, one reads of a pleasing and fresh love story. The couple’s early marriage unfolded predictably until the scudding clouds of a world war darkened their conventional life in a Southern city. The reader feels every tender moment of the pair’s limited time together as this young airman heads inexorably to battle.
Although one can surmise even from the book’s sub-title that this story will not have a happy ending, for a time the reader imagines that “Bud” Perrin will fly his 35 missions as a bombardier or navigator and make it home to see a newborn baby girl. That is the power of Greene’s story-telling. One feels Thelma’s guarded optimism for her husband’s possible survival as she receives the “Missing in Action” news, and hopes beyond hope that soon the mother-to-be will hear of her young husband’s safe return. That’s not how it turns out. Nevertheless, the narrative is of a life given in a patriotic and courageous fashion. It is a life cut short at the very apex of what would have been a bright and happy future. In this vivid snapshot of one couple the reader sees up close and personal the sacrifices required of a war that from 1941-1945 took in direct combat 291,557 American lives.
Beneath the story’s overlay of sweet correspondence is Greene’s meticulous scholarship, especially as it relates to Perrin’s 8th Air Force 381st Bomb Group. No detail is spared; it is a tutorial in the training of a B-17 navigator/bombardier. One experiences the anxiety of a young airman studying for demanding written exams; the pressure of firing artillery rounds quickly enough to pass a training requirement; the adrenalin rush of crews synchronizing watches on the runway during the countdown for a first bombing mission over enemy territory, the mixed feelings of Perrin as a run is canceled minutes before take-off due to the calculus of weather; the exactitude of instruction for strategic raids over Germany; the statistics of wins and losses; the boredom of no-fly days; the challenge of warming a barracks in the cold dampness of an English winter. All of this is conveyed with impressive and compelling specificity.
Greene’s determination to follow through and discover exactly how it was that his Uncle Bud lost his life, including finding the German village where the B-17 was downed, is fascinating and well told. One feels the peaceful sense of closure that this nephew of a fallen airman must have experienced after having seen the story through to the end. The author clearly provided Perrin’s daughter, Rosiland, the priceless gift of these letters, fully described and placed in an accurate historical framework. But, in addition, as she read, she must have also understood the healing implicit in her uncle’s interactions with local German citizens at the place where her father’s plane went down. Perhaps that ending demonstrated to her, as well as to the general reader, that time can in fact heal deep wounds.
For all of you who have a stack of letters in your family, and have always imagined that you would write a rich story that had been revealed through those hand-written lines, this is the book that will inspire you to follow through. That is exactly what J. Ross Greene has done in A Fortress and a Legacy. Through such a collection the reader gets to know the author’s uncle, Ross W. “Bud” Perrin Jr., a handsome young man who won the heart of Thelma McGhee, a Knoxville, Tennessee beauty queen. Greene has supplied dialogue in the book so that the reader can view it as a historical novel. In the earlier chapters this narrative device can seem a bit contrived, but it allows the author to provide the factual backdrop for the involvement of the United States in World War II. However, the quoted words Greene included from an impressive stash of more than 1,000 letters exchanged between this beautiful duo, along with the well-researched historical background framing the story within that correspondence, provides the strength and backbone of this book. Found within its chapters, one reads of a pleasing and fresh love story. The couple’s early marriage unfolded predictably until the scudding clouds of a world war darkened their conventional life in a Southern city. The reader feels every tender moment of the pair’s limited time together as this young airman heads inexorably to battle.
Although one can surmise even from the book’s sub-title that this story will not have a happy ending, for a time the reader imagines that “Bud” Perrin will fly his 35 missions as a bombardier or navigator and make it home to see a newborn baby girl. That is the power of Greene’s story-telling. One feels Thelma’s guarded optimism for her husband’s possible survival as she receives the “Missing in Action” news, and hopes beyond hope that soon the mother-to-be will hear of her young husband’s safe return. That’s not how it turns out. Nevertheless, the narrative is of a life given in a patriotic and courageous fashion. It is a life cut short at the very apex of what would have been a bright and happy future. In this vivid snapshot of one couple the reader sees up close and personal the sacrifices required of a war that from 1941-1945 took in direct combat 291,557 American lives.
Beneath the story’s overlay of sweet correspondence is Greene’s meticulous scholarship, especially as it relates to Perrin’s 8th Air Force 381st Bomb Group. No detail is spared; it is a tutorial in the training of a B-17 navigator/bombardier. One experiences the anxiety of a young airman studying for demanding written exams; the pressure of firing artillery rounds quickly enough to pass a training requirement; the adrenalin rush of crews synchronizing watches on the runway during the countdown for a first bombing mission over enemy territory, the mixed feelings of Perrin as a run is canceled minutes before take-off due to the calculus of weather; the exactitude of instruction for strategic raids over Germany; the statistics of wins and losses; the boredom of no-fly days; the challenge of warming a barracks in the cold dampness of an English winter. All of this is conveyed with impressive and compelling specificity.
Greene’s determination to follow through and discover exactly how it was that his Uncle Bud lost his life, including finding the German village where the B-17 was downed, is fascinating and well told. One feels the peaceful sense of closure that this nephew of a fallen airman must have experienced after having seen the story through to the end. The author clearly provided Perrin’s daughter, Rosiland, the priceless gift of these letters, fully described and placed in an accurate historical framework. But, in addition, as she read, she must have also understood the healing implicit in her uncle’s interactions with local German citizens at the place where her father’s plane went down. Perhaps that ending demonstrated to her, as well as to the general reader, that time can in fact heal deep wounds.
July 17, 2016
When a writer can touch your heart and stir your soul you have to ask yourself why and how. Simply, I find that the language lover in me was captivated by straightforward clarity paired with the truly powerful resonance of the author's style. The storyteller in me was captivated, focused and engaged. The educator in me found American and world history on every page as the very best of the best teachers might deliver it. The daughter in me saw a father sacrificing everything for God, country and family, teaching respect, honor, commitment, duty, bravery, service and so much more. The lover in me read the letters, felt the longing, and prayed for fiction to take over where the reality of this true tale became so tragic. I am thankful for the story of this American hero, for the letters he and his family wrote and held on to and for his nephew who wove it so perfectly all together.
October 10, 2015
Very moving
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The historical details were great (I'm very interested in WW 2 history) and it was a sweet love story. If I have any criticism, it's that Bud seems almost too good to be true, but that is also understandable. I had trouble putting it down.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The historical details were great (I'm very interested in WW 2 history) and it was a sweet love story. If I have any criticism, it's that Bud seems almost too good to be true, but that is also understandable. I had trouble putting it down.
July 8, 2018
I was fortunate enough to meet the author when we were both flying in a WWII flying fortress. I am in awe of the amount of research that he did for this book over a number of years, and how he told the personal story of his uncle, a young bombardier, and his aunt amidst so much historical detail. Even though I knew the outcome ahead of time, I found myself wishing against hope that it might be different. And I appreciate his persistence in finding out what actually happened to his uncle when his plane went down over Neckarau-Mannheim, Germany. In his personal and detailed account of what it meant to fly in the Mighty Eighth Army Air Force during WWII, and of the sacrifice made by those men and their families, Ross Greene has given us a true legacy.
May 3, 2019
A Fortress and a Legacy
This is not a book written by a historian about WWII, this is a book written with love and respect for a family by someone who loves and respects a great man who went to fight for his country. This author and his family has given everyone who reads this novel a great gift and while it is about a time in America History that need not to be forgotten, and the history lessons here are detailed and great, there is so much love and family that I found it hard to put down.
This is not a book written by a historian about WWII, this is a book written with love and respect for a family by someone who loves and respects a great man who went to fight for his country. This author and his family has given everyone who reads this novel a great gift and while it is about a time in America History that need not to be forgotten, and the history lessons here are detailed and great, there is so much love and family that I found it hard to put down.
October 24, 2017
Wonderful love story and history lesson
This story kept me engaged and took me back to a simpler time. The timeline the author chose regarding telling the story of the two individuals love story and ending with the author's own story of how and why he wrote the book added a nice twist.
This story kept me engaged and took me back to a simpler time. The timeline the author chose regarding telling the story of the two individuals love story and ending with the author's own story of how and why he wrote the book added a nice twist.
March 23, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and the wonderful story.
June 1, 2017
This was a good book with a great story.
June 1, 2017
Great story, great read, I would recommend this to everyone
June 1, 2017
This was such a great story! I loved the reading of this book!
June 1, 2017
I found this book through a friend and I couldn't put it down. Every emotion I have came out reading this wonderful story!
June 1, 2017
Great book with a truly wonderful story. Don't miss this one.
June 1, 2017
This is one of the best books I have read this year. The story was so moving and you just can't help but get drawn into their lives.. Great find!!!!
June 1, 2017
I just loved reading this book. I am going to share this in all my reading groups.
June 1, 2017
Someone introduced me to this great book and I would tell everyone that this is such a great story you can't help but love it!
June 16, 2017
This book was a very wonderful to read. It had just a great story and told very well.
June 16, 2017
I truly enjoyed reading this book. The story was just amazing. I would recommend this highly.
June 16, 2017
Every so often you get a story that just touches you. This was one. I laughed, I cried, I was in pain. Wonderful book!!!!
June 16, 2017
I am very glad I had the chance to read this book. I would recommend it to anyone. You won't regret it.
March 22, 2017
I feel lucky to have found this book. Such a great story and great people. You will not be disappointed reading this wonderful novel.
March 22, 2017
I read this book with one idea in mind and when I finished I was happily surprised and how I felt after. Just a great read!
March 22, 2017
The story is really a heart warming tale of love. I enjoyed how the story played itself out and I was hard pressed to put it down. I promise you will love it. Thanks for a great book!
March 23, 2017
This was a fun book to read. Such a heart warming story.
March 23, 2017
I loved reading this book. I love the history behind it. It is well written!
March 22, 2017
You will love this book if you love reading a great story. Truly a heart warming story of love and separation. Just a wonderful story.
March 22, 2017
Just a great book to read. As a writer Mr. Greene actually sucks you in and puts you right in the story.
March 22, 2017
You come across great stories so infrequent these days it is just a joy to find a great one. A Fortress and A Legacy: The Gift of a WWII Bombardier's True Story to the Daughter He Never Knew... is just a truly wonderful story!!!!
March 23, 2017
This was a fun and interesting book. I like the way the story unfolds. It has some heart breaking moments but some fun and happy times as well.
March 22, 2017
I just loved reading this great book. What a inspirational story and just nice piece of history.
March 1, 2017
Reading Fortress is like watching some of the TV seasons/episodes that draw you into just one more episode. I found myself reading just one more chapter! This book is especially meaningful to those of us who grew up in Knoxville in the 40's and 50's, went to school with J. Ross Greene, have continued to keep the friendships through the decades, and were aware of his intent and determination to write this book. Reading about those inquisitive students, close families, couples in love combined with desires of young men to serve our country in war stirred so many fond, but also sad, treasured memories. A loving couple's future snuffed out like a burning candle is surreal and so difficult to accept the stark finality. Ross' legacy to his beloved Uncle Bud and his cousin, Rosalind, is written with passion and unselfish devotion. The imagery of every detail is realistic and exact to the core and chronology of historical and human events has captured reader's hearts and stirred every emotion. Masterfully piecing together the puzzle, tying up multiple threads, perseverance in exhausting every global research tool in seeking truth, bringing closure, leaving no stone unturned, no document unread, as tragic as the chain of events unfolded, Ross' mission was accomplished. Thank you, Ross, for signing my book and as you said “Freedom is certainly not free; it comes at a great price."
Your friend,
Cindy Prince Lacy
Your friend,
Cindy Prince Lacy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews