CAPTAIN MALLON: DOUGHBOY HERO

Of course, when I wrote the story of George Mallon, I knew the market niche would be mainly military and ex-military. After all, Mallon was Minnesota's Medal of Honor recipient from World War One, One of Pershing's One Hundred Heroes and the first to be buried in the newly-established (in 1939) Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

However, I was not prepared for the very distinct delineation of who was interested in the story and who was not. Veterans, young and old, grab the book and jump into it. Others seem puzzled as to what the book might be about. Mallon's story is one of Irish immigration, the Kansas frontier, the Spanish American War, the Philippines War, boxing, intense labor struggles, bitter political battles, veteran activities between the world wars and much more.

We already commemorated the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entering the war. But the summer and fall of 2018 represents the 100th anniversary of the increasing involvement of Americans in the fighting and in the saving of lives.

An understanding of our nation's World War One experience is essential to understanding geopolitics prior to World War Two and American isolationism. High schools cover far too much material far to quickly for students to grasp the colossal events that created our modern dilemmas.

In any case, I will continue to write and publish more books on WW1 ambulance drivers & nurses, on Marines in Belleau Wood & at Soissons & Blanc Mont, on daring pilots in their Spads, on sailors enduring German torpedo attacks, and on the many heroic men of the U.S. Army, who distinguished themselves in so many assaults on German fortified positions.

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