Old Northland Warriors

Every generation has its wars. Three of them--World War II (in the 1940s), Korea (in the 1950s) and Vietnam (in the 1960s and 1970s)--are fading from memory. This chronicle recalls the wartime experiences of nine airmen and soldiers, all with roots in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula--also called the Copper Country, a remote and storied place that was the site of North America's first great mining boom. Some were left unscathed; some were wounded; all were men of faith, fortitude and humility. "Are you a hero?" a blinded Vietnam veteran is asked. "I don't use big words I can't spell," he replies. A veteran who served in Korea says, "I was never a hero. I wanted to come back." These stories are about muddy foxholes and ice-cold bombers, the joy of puffing a cigar in Vietnam and having clean dry stockings in the mountains of Italy. In the words of a Korean War machine gunner, "You wouldn't take a million dollars to do it over again." Combining memoir, history, journalism and folklore, this book tells stories that deserve to be remembered. Period photographs from the servicemen and from the author's collection illustrate both the time period and the lives of these nine remarkable men.