I'm editing Sgt. Dunn Novel #21, Against All Enemies

Happy summer!

I'm working on edit #3 (of 6) starting today. You can follow my progress to the upper left of this blog.

I'll share the book description in a few days.

Happy Father's Day!

 Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Hope you're having a great day!

D-Day: Remembering those who fought in Normandy to destroy the Nazis

6 June 1944

The crucial day of WWII. The successful amphibious invasion, the largest in history, turned the tide of the war in Europe.

Allied losses were more than 10,000 casualties, 4,414 of which were killed. In total, that day 156,000 soldiers were in action plus 195,700 sailors.

Ike with "the boys"

Heading ashore

Advancing

Memorial Day 2025 - Remember and Honor

26 May 2025

Today we remember and honor those who died serving our country.

Arlington National Cemetery

Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe)

On this day in 1945, the Nazi state of Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. The war in Europe had finally ended after 2,076 terrifiying days (5 years and 8 months). With millions dead, the war was the deadliest in history.

The war ended 336 days after D-Day. The success of the Allied invasion led directly to the defeat of the Nazis.

There are many celebrations of this 80th anniversary. Please consider spending some time watching some of them. 

If you know a WWII veteran, please consider thanking them. Of the more than 16 million Americans who served, only 66,000 are still alive.

Regarded as the Greatest Generation, they will simply say they did what had to be done.

Our thanks to all of  you!

My personal connection to WWII includes my mom, Olga, and two of her brothers, Amos and Hugo. She served in the Coast Guard, Amos served as tank destroyer commander in Germany, and Hugo fought the Nazis in North Africa as an infantryman.

Olga - my mom (1920 - 1991)

Amos (1918 - 2011)

Hugo (1905 - 1987)

Celebrations in three cities on VE Day

Times Square New York City

London

Paris

Working on Sgt. Dunn Novel #21.

I've been working on the next Sgt. Dunn Novel, Against All Enemies, which is the second book in the Korean War, taking place in early 1951. The title comes from the oath officers in the U.S. take when they are commissioned.

I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

World War II

WWII started on Sept. 1, 1939 and didn't end until September 2, 1945. That's 2,193 days. There are millions of stories of courage, strength, and resiliency. That's worth studying and remembering!

VE Day and VJ Celebrations. Imagine what that felt like.

VJ Day - New York City

VE Day - London (London Churchill waving)

VE Day - Paris

Writing insight to the Sgt. Dunn Novels

I've used the Google Earth app on my laptop for all 20 of the published Sgt. Dunn Novels, and the one in progress. Nineteen were in WWII and two are in the Korean War. I use yellow pins for Dunn's and Saunders' locations, and red for the Germans. I can view users' uploaded photos to get a nice look around the area.

The app has excellent tools including a measuring stick that gives distance and compass direction, a path drawer that I use to measure distance not in a straight line, and others.

Researching and writing about the Korean War

With the newest Sgt. Dunn novel, New Enemies, we've moved from World War II into the Korean War, just five years later. The idea to continue Tom Dunn's story was a natural progression and my wife and I started discussing it years ago. My initial research was accomplished by reading Sir Max Hastings’ excellent book, The Korean War, not once, but twice starting in summer 2020.

Like many Americans, I had a negative impression of the Korean War because we didn’t win the war. In my younger days, the war wasn’t even called a war, but was burdened with the ludicrous label of “Police Action.” What an insult to all those who served there and those who died saving South Korea from communism.

Reading Hastings’ book opened my eyes to the reality of the war. In short, South Korea exists solely because we intervened. We being the United Nations. In 1950, the North Koreans had pushed our forces all the way back to a small area around Pusan (now Busan). The Eighth Army held the perimeter. Soon after, General Douglas MacArthur devised an ingenious plan to cut off the North Korean Army supply lines and men by invading farther north at Inchon, South Korea, on the west coast, west-southwest of Seoul, the capital. This action was an enormous success and eventually led to our forces pushing the North Koreans all the way north to the Yalu River, which bordered China. 

Things seemed to be going extremely well and perhaps the confidence that accompanies success turned into arrogance. Whatever the cause, no one believed China would enter the war, despite the fact the UN forces were sitting on their border. However this oversight of intelligence occurred, it was a devastating error.

On 25 October 1950, Chinese forces counterattacked and soon overwhelmed American forces began what would become the longest retreat in U.S. Army history, all the way back into South Korea. By about the end of December 1951, we stabilized the front and stopped retreating.

In January, Dunn arrives in South Korea and our story picks up there. The other book I used for research was written by a former Ranger, Col. Robert W. Black, Rangers in Korea. This gave me a deep insight into the training of the new Ranger companies in Georgia, and their missions in Korea.

I’ve started writing the next Korean War novel with our hero Dunn and his new cast of characters. It picks up a few days after New Enemies.

Here’s the map of the situation about when Dunn arrives, from the West Point history department digital center atlases.