A Thousand Letters Home: The WWII Correspondence of Aarol W. "Bud" Irish (SIGNED COPY)

U.S.A.: ATLH Publications, 2011. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Minor edge and corner wear; lightly scuffed and scratched; spine is lightly creased; some light shelf wear; overall a very crisp and clean SIGNED FIRST EDITION! Inscribed by the author on the half-title page! Pictorial wrapper with white and green lettering. 565 very clean unmarked and uncreased historical and informative pages nicely enhanced by black and white photographs and illustrations! "On May 26, 2006, one month and one day after her Dad's death, Teresa Irish raised the lid on the Army trunk that had resided in the family home her entire life. There, nestled in row after row, were her Dad's nearly 1,000 handwritten letters from World War II. Carefully tucked away and visited only by him over the course of six decades, the letters were postmarked from November, 1942 to December, 1945. In the top left corner of each envelope was the signature of the sender, Aarol W. "Bud" Irish. The fragile and yellowed pages were addressed to Bud's parents and to the sweetheart who would later become his wife, Elaine Marie Corbat. From lonesome, moonlit nights listening to the Hit Parade; to the foxholes and front lines of Germany where Bud would earn the Silver Star, the Purple Heart and the Bronze star; to correspondence from the heartbroken Mothers whose sons had died by his side, "A Thousand Letters Home" is a moving and historic story of life and loss, hope and perseverance, unwavering faith, and true love. At every opportunity, Bud poured out his thoughts and feelings in these letters home. As the reader turns the pages, the transition from boy to man is apparent in the passing of the weeks, months, and years. Unable or perhaps reluctant to recount what they had experienced, many veterans chose to spare their loved ones the detailed atrocities of war - these would be their own personal burdens to bear for the remainder of their lives. Bud foreshadowed this in a letter to his parents on February 4th, 1945: "...Heaven knows they [soldiers] don't want anything more on earth than to get it over and go back to their loved ones...We don't want anything extra when we get home, but just want to find everything as we left it and forget everything that's happened or we've seen over here..." This book is for the children, grandchildren and future descendants of WWII veterans. This book is for all Americans...lest we forget..........." (SIGNED FIRST EDITION).