Teddy's War — Donald Willerton

To Elias Gunnarson, his dad, Teddy, was part of “the greatest generation,” a man who fought valiantly in World War II, was honorably discharged, married his high school sweetheart, and lived happily ever after. Right? Wrong! The truth, he finds, lies shrouded in an intricately complex web bearing only superficial resemblance to the terrible reality lived by those who battled from the sands of Omaha Beach to the horrors of Dachau. As letters, videos, stories, and memories unfold the true tale of Teddy’s war, Elias learns that the lives of his mother, his father, and his father’s brother, Jake, were not what they seemed, and that dying a hero does not absolve a person from the sins of his past. In Teddy’s War, author Donald Willerton has crafted a heroic story of how one man’s love for his brother immerses them both in the life-changing horrors of World War II. It is a family saga built around the bond between two brothers, an action-filled story of how the war drove them into the darkest corners of humanity, and a philosophical inquiry into the central questions of love and loyalty.