This is my first attempt at writing. I never considered myself a writer, but March 2013, when my sister, Sally, suggested that we get a local author to do a biography on our Dad, I fully agreed. So I started going through some videos of him speaking to the local Wharton Historical Society about the early days in Wharton, Texas. He had always been reluctant to talk much about the war experiences, as I had found many of his generation had been for many years. They tried to block out the bad experiences, and only remember the good times with some guys who they had really gotten close to during some really hard situations. I spoke to a local author several times and began taking notes, and recording conversations with the family, mostly Dad, and I really learned a lot that I either did not know, or had forgotten.

Along the way, I began turning notes into a script, and filling in chapters, and with some encouragement from another author, Don Theye in South Dakota, a book began taking shape. Even now, as this book seems to be finished, it is still missing events and stories that are still coming to light, but I felt that it needed to be printed while Dad can also enjoy it.

Thanks for reading. -Gene McCain