Safely Rest

By David P. Colley

Book Overview

From 1945 to 1950, the United States returned 178,000 dead American servicemen back home and reburied another 80,000 in overseas cemeteries at their families' request. Never before had a nation returned so many of its fallen warriors from distant battlefields. But another 78,000 servicemen were missing in action, their bodies never to be found, their families never to know the peace of closure. Safely Rest recalls this virtually forgotten episode of WWII through the recollections of the survivors and the letters and histories of the dead themselves. It tells of those who struggled to absorb their loss and rebuild their lives-and of those who would never be able to move on. Most memorably, it tells of Lt. Jesse D. Red Franks, Jr.--first reported missing, then dead, then alive-and of his extraordinarily devoted father, who gave up everything to work as a missionary in war-torn Europe for years until he discovered what truly happened to his son. If World War II was the Great Crusade, then its dead are the true heroes of the war. And this is their story.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425205142
• ISBN13: 9780425205143
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

a father's obsession

This book revolves around a devoted father's obsession to find answers to his son's MIA turned to KIA status on a bombing mission to Polesti in WW 2. Intertwined in the story is a backdrop of Graves Registration duties during the war and the subsequent decisions made as to missing persons. Another major story line is the father's on going written battles with the War Department as to the final classification to his son's status and finding his remains. Not a happy story.

Primarily follows one family

I bought this book expecting, from the information on the front cover, to read a lot about the retreival of soldier's remains, transporting those remains, and their reinternment. Unfortunately, over 2/3rds of the book follows one father's quest to find his son's remains. The story of Dr. Frank's search for his son is somewhat fascinating, and many readers may find it of interest. If you purchase the book knowing that it deals primarily with one soldier, then it is a good read, but don't buy the book if you are expecting a lot of details on the graves registration service and their work.

Sad, But Necessary Story

This is a very different kind of WWII story. Author David Colley tells us why these men were part of "The Greatest Generation." These heroes left their homes and families, some willing, some not, to go off and fight a war to save the world from two enemies dedicated to the destruction of everything that these men believed in. However, Colley also shows us that there were other members of "The Greatest Generation." The fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children, and fiancées of those who were killed during the war, for as he shows, these were the people who were left to carry and to rebuild shattered lives. He does this very poignantly by citing many examples including the one used throughout the book, the story of Red Franks, an airman who was killed during the first raid over Ploesti. This is a book that had to be written and one that has to be read by anyone interested in WWII. I highly recommend it.