Sgt Lemal (kneeling, far right) and crew - July 28, 1945 |
"They're called the 'Greatest Generation,' because theirs was the greatest of sacrifice..."
Never was there to be a Generation for whom so much was asked, Americans who laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of enduring freedom from whence their Country was born; a generation who selflessly endured the unspeakable horrors of an unimaginable war, willingly sacrificing the innocence of their youth and laying down over 416 thousand of their lives for the cause of liberty and freedom. Theirs was a Generation who gave all for their Country, 16½ million Americans offering their lives in defense of all that was - and for all that was still, yet to be; with unwavering determination to see through a better tomorrow free from the burdens of yesterday for generations still to come. Sacrificing their all for what America was, and all for what America was still yet to become, they righteously fought for the principled ideas and future of a Nation free and prosperous as only American's would dare to dream......they simply were, the Greatest Generation. |
Now nearly 70 years after the end of the Second World War, we as a Nation find ourselves glimpsing the last somber reflections of the life and times of a people who so valiantly fought and dared to dream; as the final chapter begins to slowly close upon the Greatest of our Generations, now fading into that solemn twilight of mortality for which they had endured and fought so long to witness the dawn of. The stories and experiences of fighting for that new dawn in America slowly fading with the men who fought bravely so; nuances of a war and greater cause destine to fade in time within the memories of a Nation, of a people so indebted to the legacy they leave us behind. But there was to emerge a story from within the final throes of that twilight, a lost verse in the final chapter of the Greatest Generation - a story long cast in shadow that seemed to be lost for all of time's eternity, were it not for a greater destiny in which lead it forth from the dying light. A moment of fate in that greater destiny realized through the selfless act of a younger generation trying to repay a debt to the Greatest Generation, determined to preserve the memories and legacy of a people who gave so much, and yet asked for so little. |
Upon a fateful discovery of 150 "lost" letters from WWII, he would begin a quest to return them back into the hands of the Veteran who wrote them so long ago, a nearly 70 year odyssey back from the depths of the unknown. It was to be a storied journey eclipsing decades and generations alike, whose words of sacrifice written long ago taught he of a younger generation the enduring spirit of being an American, and the price for those freedoms so taken for granted today. The experiences in the letters were to be a lost lesson in the morality and spirit of the American people and dreams of yesteryear, in a time when generations of today need be reminded of that morality and spirit of a people who dared to fight for their dreams of a Country and self in the coming dawn of a new day. Perhaps, it was to be destiny's fate - a lost testament of but nine simple words, despite all that was endured to finally reach the dawn in which to write them, mattering not: "I am alive, and that is all that matters." |
Perhaps, it was destiny's fate all along...
Spanning one man's entire service in the Army Air Force during the Second World War; from training to combat and all the difficult areas in between, "For Mother and Country" is the vivid account of the daily life and struggles of Sgt David J. Lemal, a B-29 Tail Gunner fighting to survive in what was to be one of the greatest aerial sagas the world would ever see. It is a story of sacrifice and unwavering determination in the face of constant setbacks and delays born of the chaos of war, with duty to Country held high above all else in what was this her most perilous time of need. From "Hell in Del Rio" to the flak filled skies above Japan, the daily costs and struggles of his war were all reflected through the prism of his Mother's eyes in the very letters he wrote home during the course of the war - letters that were written while history was being made, and while history was still yet, to be made. The 150 letters forming the context of "Mother and Country" provide an unprecedented look at the war as it happened - presenting not a story, but rather an experience of the Second World War. It is a literary experience that paints a startling portrait of the life and times, that's simply not found in the books of today. History, that's not in the "history books." |
Adding gravity and dimension to the letters throughout the experience, is the even greater story of the Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" and the men of the 20th Air Force - the "B-29ers" who waged a relentless aerial bombing campaign against a merciless and suicidal enemy determined to prevail against overwhelming odds at any cost. "For Mother and Country" embarks upon the parallel paths of both Sgt David J. Lemal, and the B-29 through it's development and early missions until the two stories finally merge in the bloody skies over the Empire of Japan. It is a journey of both man and machine coming of age in what was to become the most destructive and effective bombing campaign in the annals of world history. |
Encompassing the entire war, "For Mother and Country" is the saga of but one man among the thousands of men and B-29's of the 20th Air Force in their deadly struggle to achieve total and absolute victory over the Empire of Japan, told with unprecedented insight and authority. |
"For Mother and Country" is written not as a definitive history, but rather as one man's definitive experience of the Second World War. A final testament to what a generation of yesterday sacrificed for the generations of today; it is a story not of why, but of how. |
This was Sgt Lemal's war for "Mother and Country." This, was a B-29er's war... |
Copyright © Trevor McIntyre, 2011. All rights reserved.