World War II Non-Fiction
In 1943, Lucy Berkey was a young, overworked schoolteacher. She quit her job and enlisted in the Navy WAVES–Women Activated for Voluntary Emergency Service. Over the next two and a half years, she chronicled her story in letters home. Her letters describe her disappointment with teaching, her decision to enlist in military service, her training at Hunter College in New York City, and her assignment as a map artist at the Hydrographic Office in Washington, D.C. Her story of personal and professional transformation is told against the backdrop of the momentous war years. Through Lucy’s letters we understand what it was like to be a young military woman in World War II, receiving the same rank and pay as a man for the first time in history.
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“Reading the author’s work brings an inevitable nostalgia, a longing for white picket fences, Midwestern neighborliness, and Sunday dinners after church. Perhaps more importantly she reminds us of the time letter writing was an art, and love of family wafted from the page like the smell of home-baked bread.”
— Stephen W. Long, Author
“I feel like I know Lucy after reading the book and I really wish I could have met her and thanked her for her service and for making my service a reality.”
— Colonel (retired) Cassie B. Barlow, United States Air Force, Author
“Lucy’s words entrance readers, supplemented by Huntsberger’s insightful footnotes and beneficial added narrative. The post-war stability is a façade. No one, including Lucy, will ever again be the same. The war inexorably changed her life, and through her words, it changes ours as well.”
— Elizabeth Terry, Author
Follow combat medic Richard Berkey’s footsteps as his compelling true story leads you through the WWII battlefields of France and Germany. Hundreds of original sources, including his secret war journal and his letters to and from home, are woven together with historical Army reports. His journals reveal a sober and reflective young man, while his letters home are filled with humor and tenderness. The voices of Richard’s family and friends intertwine with his own, framing a portrait of an American family during the defining event of the twentieth century.
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“The integrity and realism of these true stories expressed so beautifully through letters is better than any made up novel could possibly be. I grew to admire Richard immensely for his honesty, bravery, dedication to duty, simplicity, intelligence, and humility.
— Mary Ann G.
“I felt as if I knew Richard and his family and friends. The letters provided wonderful descriptions of the day-to-day details of serving, from the mundane days of waiting for assignments to the exciting and tragic front line push into Germany right before VE Day. I found myself thinking about Richard during the day, anxious to read the next part.”
— Debora H.
“This was a great read–I found myself having trouble putting it down. It is definitely not your “normal’ WWII book and has a much more personal touch. I loved it!”
— David Z.
“Having experienced fear, wonder, loneliness, and grit alongside him every step of the way, the only issue with Waiting for Peace is that Berkey’s story must end. Yet, his voice, his emotions, and his battle weary boots stay with the reader far beyond his last words.”
— Elizabeth Terry, Author
About the Author
A single sentence from a letter inspired me to tell the stories of ordinary people who lived in extraordinary times.
On Dec. 9, 1941 - two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor - my grandmother wrote to my father,
“Why can’t the poor old earth just learn to exterminate war?”
My father never talked about the war and I never asked. More than thirty years after he passed away, I still have so many questions. I was grateful for the extraordinary opportunity to combine his journals, letters, and photos into Waiting for Peace and two years later combine his sister’s letters into I’ll Be Seeing You. I have come to know my father, my aunt, their siblings, and their parents in a way that would not have been possible otherwise.
Nearly every living person has an ancestor who served in WWII. At book talks, I’ve learned that people are eager to share their own family’s story. Each individual that served, whether they ever talked about their experiences or not, passed down their story in some way. Often children of a deceased serviceperson find their parent’s war letters, journal, or memorabilia. And these children are shocked, just like I was, to learn details about their parent’s experiences. It was humbling and sobering to get to know my 22-year old father during the most intense part of his life. He came back from WWII a changed man.
“Why can’t the poor old earth just learn to exterminate war?”