The final print proof changes for Berkshire Heroes in WWII- With Courage and Honor are near completion with an anticipated publishing date in late August.

The book chronicles the harrowing stories of twenty-eight men and women who departed from the idyllic rolling hills of Berkshire County to participate in the world’s most lethal and cataclysmic War. Most, who seldom traveled more than fifty miles from home, were now engaged in battles from Africa to Sicily, over the Himalayas, and across vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean.

They found themselves in some of the War’s most violent battles, including Normandy, the Bulge, Okinawa, and Peleliu. These heroes, many highly decorated, represent a breadth of military expertise: readers will meet the PT boat radioman who trained the future President Kennedy, a paratrooper who was wounded and became a POW, a combat nurse,
bombardiers, artillerymen, and a tail gunner, to mention just a few.

With tremendous support from relatives and friends, this book includes never-before-seen documents, family correspondence, and 140 vintage pictures. Most memorable was spending time with surviving Army veteran Cheeso Massaconi, who spellbound me with tales of the battle for Iwo Jima.

It was an honor to record the sacrifices of these silent heroes, now mostly gone, who once lived among us in the Berkshires. Their stories are a testimony to the uncommon valor of ordinary men and women responding to their country’s call with courage and honor.