pinging some of Homer’s folks to a great article about Unbreakable the author, Laura Hillenbrand (who has CFS as do I), who is the daughter of a survivor of fighting on the Western Front.
She is quoted as being inspired to write Unbreakable in part in the article in part because of her father as follows:
“Her father, Bernard, was a World War II veteran, deeply scarred by the long and brutal trench fighting in Hürtgen Forest.”
“She had always been fascinated by her father’s experience in World War II — dug into foxholes deep in the forest and shelled by mortars through the night, while the trees shattered overhead and his fellow soldiers descended into madness. He remembered opening a can of rations just as the world went black, then awaking in the snow with his hand shredded and blood all around. He was trying to reach a medic when another mortar lofted overhead, and he dove into a ditch for safety, feeling another man jump in after him and the unforgettable vibration of the man’s body exploding as the mortar detonated on his back. Bernard Hillenbrand returned from Europe with a rebuilt hand and scars across his shoulder, but he was never able to discuss the emotional impact of the war, or the year and a half he spent in the hospital coming to terms with his wounds.”
It takes a lot to get me to give the NY Times a click. But this was interesting. Thanks.