South Dakota Crusader
South Dakota Crusader portrays a principled and accomplished man who spent the first half of his life preparing for national public service.
This book takes an in-depth look at Francis Case’s life and times up to the day before he officially becomes a U. S. congressman. It begins by describing his family background and early years as one of five children born in rural Iowa, where his Methodist-minister father served ten pastorates before accepting a new assignment in South Dakota’s Black Hills.
Next, Francis’s high school, college, Marine Corps service, teaching, and graduate school careers are discussed in detail. The story then turns to his newspaper endeavors in Rapid City, Hot Springs, and Custer; and his involvement as a civic leader and unabashed Black Hills promoter.
Finally, the book recounts his three attempts to be elected to Congress, and the Epilogue contains a summary of his congressional career. As the story unfolds, short updates about his close-knit family are provided.
South Dakota Crusader was a finalist in the SPR Book Awards 2023 contest.
Advising Chiang’s Army
Phil Saunders was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army in 1942. After receiving further training at Fort Benning and serving as a training officer at Camp Wheeler, he was assigned as a combat liaison officer with Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist army in China. He arrived in the China-Burma-India theater in the fall of 1943 and soon discovered the Chinese soldiers were underfed, underpaid, unprepared for combat, and reluctant to engage the Japanese.
Advising Chiang’s Army details Phil’s two years spent in China and describes how the troops he worked with gradually became an effective fighting force, shifted from defensive to offensive combat, and ultimately defeated the enemy. The book also recounts his post-war career in state politics and with the National Labor Relations Board.
Advising Chiang’s Army won a CIPA EVVY Merit Book Award in the Military/Military History category.
Answering the Call
Answering the Call describes Allen Wilson’s World War II service. The book chronicles his college years in ROTC, his stateside assignments before “shipping out” to Algeria, his experiences in combat as a platoon leader and forward observer in Italy, and his post-war duties as a member of the American occupation forces in Austria. His wife Barbara’s life as a young mother on the “home front” is also recounted. Photographs, maps and cartoons accompany the narrative.
Based primarily on letters Allen wrote between 1943 and 1945, military records and histories, and interviews with Barbara and Allen, this book provides an in-depth, personal account of the challenges and triumphs that occurred when a young soldier “answered the call.”
Answering the Call was a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards finalist in the War & Military (Adult Nonfiction) category.