Remembering the Good War: Minnesota's Greatest Generation

By Thomas Saylor

Book Overview

World War II was the defining event for a generation of Americans. Remembering the Good War tells the stories of over one hundred Minnesotans--ordinary people who rose to duty at an extraordinary moment in our past. Here soldiers and sailors, housewives and farmers, "Rosies" and "Joes" tell what it was like to be swept up in history.

Betty Wall Strofus of Faribault recalls how she discovered a love for flying and joined the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) program to serve stateside during the war. Lyle Pasket of St. Paul marvels that he was only seventeen when his cruiser, the USS Indianapolis, was torpedoed en route to the Philippines. After three days without food or drink in shark-infested waters, he was one of only 317 sailors rescued. Paratrooper Frank Soboleski of International Falls recounts how he depended on north woods hunting skills to keep himself alive during battle in the Netherlands. Schoolteacher Vivian Linn McMorrow remembers with quiet intensity the brief time she shared with her husband Ralph Gland, who was killed in France during the second year of their marriage.

From the shock of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the excitement of recruits leaving the farm for the first time to the horrors of the battlefields of Europe, Africa, and the Pacific, Remembering the Good War pays homage to the generation of Minnesotans who were forever transformed by World War II. Their voices--honest, emotional, and resolute--remind us of a time of sacrifice and courage.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873515250
• ISBN13: 9780873515252
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent stories!

This book is great because it moves beyond the usual "war story" things about combat and big military maneuvers and shared not only stories of combat veterans, but the WWII experiences of wartime nurses or family members back home or even one woman who was living in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. Well-written and a great read! I picked up this book after reading his other book about POWs in WWII (Long Hard Road: American POWs During WWII). I TOTALLY recommend that book!

top notch oral history--brings World War Two to life

With so many books on World War Two on the market, this one sets itself apart by the vivid recollections of men and women who lived through the 1941-45 years. Some were in uniform, and others were on the Home Front, but no matter who they were their experiences come to life in this book. The chapter on combat experiences is especially good, and the final chapter, where those interviewed have a chance to reflect back on what it all meant, is also strong. The subtitle may be 'Minnesota's Greatest Generation,' but these oral histories help tell everyone's stories. The numerous period photos give readers a chance to 'meet' the speakers.