Courtesies of the Heart

by Kenneth Breaux

Book Overview

On 11 September 1944, US Army Air Corps Lt William Lewis departed for a combat mission over Germany. Sometime during that mission, he vanished and was presumed dead. His disappearance remained a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412011655
• ISBN13: 9781412011655
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Bill Lewis' Long Journey Home

"Courtesies of the Heart" The history of war is frequently presented on a massive scale involving the clash of great powers, the destruction of staggering numbers of people with feats of glory and heroism to punctuate the bloody accounting that constitutes a war's record. Within this swirl of events are many small, intricate stories about individual lives and families that rarely are told outside of the family circle. In "Courtesies of the Heart" we learn of one of these small stories of heroism and sacrifice in a powerful and memorable way. It is a story of World War II (WWII), a fallen pilot, his daughter and the remarkable "ad hoc coalition," to use the author's phrase, of individuals who helped to achieve a homecoming almost sixty years after he had been reported as Missing in Action (MIA). In WWII's aftermath the vanquished turned to rebuilding their cities and lives and responding to occupation. For the victors it was a time of homecoming and reunion, at least for those whose loved ones returned. Yet, as the troops returned home, there were many American families missing from those waiting at the gangplank or on the tarmac. These were the families and loved ones of the 78,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and others who at war's end were still MIA. If the average family in 1940 included some 3.1 persons, then at least a quarter of a million American's had no homecoming. Beyond the immediate family there was an extended family of relatives, girlfriends and for many of the missing the families they had started just as the war swept them up and into its maw. This population now surges to well over a million Americans for whom war's end brought no closure. These were the families who had received the yellow telegram, opened no doubt with great anxiety that invariably began, "The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret..." These telegrams announcing that someone was missing in action offered the assurance that as new information became available it would be sent on to the family. Though some of the missing did finally return, they were the exception. For most the next message was to advise these families that their loved one had been determined, for administrative purposes, to be non-recoverable and thus legally dead. Yet this message was too abstract in its finality. There was no body, or remains, and in many cases personal effects were only those few items left behind before battle. These artifacts would come to have iconic power for grieving families with little to hold to, less to hope for. America's desire for normalcy and prosperity engaged the entire nation and with it the MIA families of WWII. They too, to the extent possible, returned to normal lives. Sweethearts would find new beaus and wives would marry again and parents would accept their grief as simply a new but lasting element in their lives. And the decades would begin to roll by. Yet, now over a half century later the desire to bring the mi

Peace-The Purest Courtesy

WW II has never ended for the thousands of families whose loved ones are Missing in Action, Never Recovered. The losses of that generation linger into this century. In COURTESIES OF THE HEART one family can not only end the War but experience the Peace brought about by a meaningful search described with compassion, respect, and awe by author Kenneth Breaux. His dedication and tenacity investigating through time, records, and history connects people across the European theatre to trace the loss of William M.Cross,Jr. a young fighter pilot engaged in the Ruhland Mission, Sept 11, 1944. It becomes their mission to return this father to the daughter who never knew him. This book details events and military actions with the author's military perspective, and appreciates those people who devotedly persevered to recover Lt. Cross. It communicates sincere sentiments for the strength of human caring. Most of all, it expresses honor for all heroes of World War II and their sense of duty at all costs.

Magnificent book on a touching story !

This book reads very easily and contains lots of useful information for all those having interest in the airwar during WW2. The very touching story grabbed me from page 1 and I didn't stop reading it until the last page !