Dennis G Smith

War Is Hell, A Love Story Dennis G Smith

Harvey Meyer was raised on a farm in Iowa during the depression. At 17, he enlisted in the Navy prior to the start of WWII. When he left home, he left behind a large group of well-wishers, his family, friends, neighbors, school pals, and his childhood sweetheart, Ginny. After training, he sailed off to Hawaii with a group of other young sailors and soldiers. Imagine their elation when they learned they were going to Hawaii. Harvey, and a few other Seaman from Culinary School had orders placing them on the battleship USS Arizona as "stew burners" (cooks). A year later, just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Harvey came home to the farm carrying papers that said he had a medical discharge. When asked what happened, Harvey wouldn't tell. Back then, his choice to not respond might have been called battle fatigue or shell shock. Today it's PTSD. Now, in 2019, Charles Sunderman is majoring in History at a state university and decides to tackle a term paper assignment with a story about a WWII veteran. He discovers Harvey Meyer living in a nursing home in his hometown in Iowa. Nearly 97 years old, and 78 years after Pearl Harbor, Harvey still hasn't told anyone what happened to him back then. In fact, he's gone through almost all of his adult life without any meaningful conversations. Not with his folks, his pals, or even his former sweetheart Ginny. Quiet as a church mouse, people said. Charles faces the challenge of getting Harvey to talk and what he learns from this veteran is not only an interesting story, but one that Harvey requires him to swear to secrecy.