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WWII: A Legacy of Letters
by Clinton Frederick
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Zonicom Press, LLC (2006-09-05)
ISBN: 0977849309
EAN: 9780977849307
Dewy Decimal #: 940
Hardcover: 444 pages
SKU: 08070142
Condition: Like New Like New
Comments: Hardcover. Like new cover and text. Like new dust jacket with very minor shelfwear. Near Fine condition. Beautiful book.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Many times we hear family members, ask "What did Dad do in the war?" Clinton Frederick was able put together his father's military service, in part by reading the letters his father, Captain George F. Frederick, mailed home - letters that had long been hidden in a trunk. Clinton researched historical documents and books, talked to veterans, and visited reunions where some may have known his father. He then added the war time historical events, to give a great overview of the first battles in the South Pacific during World War II. He took this treasure trove of information and makes this one very endearing voyage of emotions. Through these letters, Clinton pieces together a picture of the key battles in the Pacific during WWII. The letters show an insight that only a Veteran of that era would have experienced. Ironically Captain Frederick, a glider pilot by training, was eventually assigned to General Douglas McArthur's maneuvers and intelligence staff, and many times he was out in front of the First Cavalry Division Troopers as they battled for islands in the South Pacific. It is great coverage of what goes on in a higher staff level and at the same time retains the deeds and personal life of Captain Frederick. The long-hidden correspondence helps him capture the human side of war experienced in battle, and the anxiety of his family waiting for his return from the South Pacific. If you read this book, perhaps it will show you a way to let your families know what you did, when and where. They want to know! The author does a professional job of writing and putting this book all together. Readers will find it fascinating and emotionally riveting. It is a very powerful story.
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Customer Reviews
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A memorable tribute to a fallen hero
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-01-19
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a son's loving tribute to a father he never met. Captain George Frederick was killed in combat during the Admiralty Island campaign of World War II.
Captain Frederick wrote dozens of letters home during the war. Almost 60 years later, his son, Clinton Frederick, discovered the soiled, yellowed letters safely stored away in trunks. The bundles of letters had been left undisturbed in Clinton's grandparents' attic along with two Japanese rifles and a razor-sharp samurai sword.
I imagine that Captain Frederick's grieving parents were careful to save the treasured letters yet also could not bear to read them again. The book consists of those letters interlaced with the history of the Admiralty Island campaign.
Through the miraculous discovery of the letters, the author got to know his father. He felt his father's pride of accomplishment, his frustrations, and his love of travel. Through the letters, son Clinton could sense his father's inner feelings.
I recommend the book, because as I read it, I felt the love of a son for his father and the son's longing for their lost relationship.
The book is a tribute to a generation of young men who went off to fight a war they never wanted and especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in that war. I share Clinton Frederick's admiration for those men.
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World War II: A legacy of Letters
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-09-27
Clinton Frederick's "A Legacy of Letters" is an outstanding, detailed portrait of the home front and the battlefront as he follows his father, George, to War in the Pacific through George's letters home and extensive research into the war in New Guinea and Admiralty Islands. Frederick has done a masterful job of combining the human aspects of George's trials in getting trained, how family life was in America at that time, and later the details of battle in a hostile jungle campaign that was meant to be a "Holding Action" until Germany was defeated. We see out forces having to use whatever equipment and planes they had on hand and develop close coordination with all the services involved to succeed as their war seemed to be run on a shoestring. A very informative book on the less glamorous battles fought in the Pacific and the men fighting and dying in a so-called "Holding Action". I found it thoroughly enjoyable, informative reading with an ending that will touch your heart.
CAPT Larry W. Starr
CEC, USNR-Ret
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A Woman's Point of View
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-04-10
I'm not really into WWII stories, but I grew up in the town where Clinton's family resides, so I was interested in the book. I found it to be a very well written combination of history and personality. Not only was Capt. Frederick a remarkable man, his wife was, and is, an amazing woman. Clinton appears to have gotten to know his father in a very personal and moving way. A great read for everybody!
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More than Letters - Truly a Legacy!
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-04-04
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Author Clinton Frederick writes about his father who was killed in WWII just four months after his own birth. In this sentimental and emotionally touching book "World War II: A Legacy of Letters - One Soldier's Journey" he takes readers on a journey of discovery not only his father but about the war, the era and the attitudes of that time and place in our history. He not only shares long lost letters that his father wrote, but he adds information that he researched about his dad's unit and what was going on in the war around the time of those letters home.
The author remembered that his father had old war souvenirs in the attic at his childhood home and in his adult years he comes back to rediscover them. He also finds a truck load of old letters that his father wrote home. He took this treasure trove of information and makes this one very endearing voyage of emotions. He finally gets a good look at understanding his dad and learns more about him then he ever knew. In the process of putting the book together he finds members of his dad's old unit and even finds out about his parent's best man at their wedding. He uses the letters, many conversations along with hours of researched data from government files, lots of help from strangers and family to compile a multitude of information about what his dad did in the war. It is a moving reading experience and one that will explore many parts of your own heart and soul.
Frederick does a masterful and skillful job of placing the letters into the flow of the book along with recaps of events and comments. The end deals with the death notices and the funeral of his father. It all works to paint this portrait of the real man his father was. This son truly honors his father's history and delivers a fine tribute to him. I believe that the author finally makes all those personal emotional connections between himself and his father as well. I think there was healing taking place just through the writing of the book.
The book has lots of facts, old photos, and information related to his father's war experiences; a great personal look at World War II. The author does a professional job of the writing and putting this book all together. It is well worth buying and reading it. Readers will find it fascinating and emotionally riveting at times. I enjoyed it very much.
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WWII A Legacy of Letters
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-04-02
I have read this book twice and found it nearly impossible to to put down until finished. It is accurate WWII history and a very moving love story; I loved this nonfiction story in a novel form. I am familiar with many of the locations and people in the story which made it even more enjoyable for me. I laughed and cried during the unfolding of this story. I purchased copies of this book for my Grandchildren who are or will be studying WWII. A wonderful well written book that I have recommended to many people.
Colleen Dundee
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