A young US Army lieutenant, from a long and distinguished family line of soldiers, stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany, faces court martial charges of murder and of being involved in a black marketing operation that reach the higher echelons of the Division command. Rather than trusting his fate to a military lawyer, the family reaches across the sea to the United States, and retains the services of former Army officer turned civilian attorney “Colt” Donaldson. With links to unsolved murders in Vietnam and Korea, as well as insights into the CIA, the White House, and the inner workings of the officer corps, Colt must battle command influence and the subtleties of military justice, as well as a gang of ruthless criminals to refute the burden of proof that the Government has established, and fight the Code to secure his client’s freedom.

This prequel to Fernandez’s successful Café Con Leche takes the reader back to 1867, on the cold, dark, jagged Cantabrian coast of northern Spain, where young Paco Iglesias dreams of sunny tropical islands.  His call to military service thrills him with possibilities.  His father, having lost his father and one son in an African campaign, spirits Paco off to the Caribbean.   

In Cuba Paco’s path to success in sugar cane is strewn with duplicity and treachery from several characters: Uncle Eugenio, the high-living sugar entrepreneur who takes in the young man; Eugenio’s kind and stunningly beautiful wife, Magdalena, who sours the lives of those she loves; the slave Lydia, Magdalena’s mulatta half-sister, who uses Paco; Marta, Paco’s childhood sweetheart, who comes to him blemished.  These characters, along with dozens of African slaves, live out their lives on a sugar cane plantation in the asphyxiating atmosphere of slavery.  Through this thicket of cane, deceit, and blazing sun, Paco must hack his way. 

My youngest son Greg drew this for me when he was 14 years old.

When asked why he hadn’t shown the top of the soldier’s head he replied, “Dad doesn’t want to remember some things he’s seen.”

My only salvation has been my family and my ability to put those feelings into words.  In some small way I hope it helps you also.

Dave Jones / Infantry soldier / 11Bravo40

My youngest son Greg drew this for me when he was 14 years old.

When asked why he hadn’t shown the top of the soldier’s head he replied, “Dad doesn’t want to remember some things he’s seen.”

My only salvation has been my family and my ability to put those feelings into words.  In some small way I hope it helps you also.

Dave Jones / Infantry soldier / 11Bravo40

During World War II, America placed its faith in the young lads who had just finished with high school.   Experienced military commanders and career soldiers were ready, but “the troops” were made up of those young men who held other hopes for their futures.  Duty called and they bravely met that call.  Many, like Marvin W. Coffee, came from  small towns and probably most had never been but a few miles from their homes.  As we look back we can take a closer look how our war was won by these quickly trained young folks.

How would one expect that a 21 year old fellow from the small farming community of Salem, Ohio would be the pilot of a B-17 and lead his crew on twenty seven combat missions?  The farthest he had been from his northeaster Ohio town was a trip to Chicago when he won a rural electrification award. Would this young pilot’s parents ever imagine that his experience driving a tractor on their small farm would provide him with the knowledge that allowed him and his crew to get their downed plane out of the war torn ground of Belgium and back to their home base in Nuthampstead, England?

This story is not an unusual story but it is one that was lived by many of our young men who served their country in that perilous war.  We are thankful for their service and for their willingness to share some of their experience.

“Life is one battle after another,” Heddy heard more than once from her dad.  In 1943, when The Gift of Peace takes place, this statement was very true.  Soldiers fought battles in World War II, while loved ones fought many battles of their own back on the home front.  Heddy learns through secondhand sources, such as The Elwood Call-Leader, news reels, and radio, the tragedy of combat; she learns through experience the everyday battles of growing up in time of war and wonders if she will ever experience the gift of peace.

War and peace are timeless and universal themes, but how we deal with them, especially as children, is unique.  The Gift of Peace portrays two children, Heddy and Ritchie, experiencing battles as they grow up in Indiana during World War II, specifically 1943. 

The United States, still healing from WWII, found itself with all its military branches involved in a new war called the Korean War. It was labeled by the Pentagon as a “police action.” Most of the fighting men and women were veterans of WWII, however, a call to arms ignited a new generation of men and women to volunteer for the military.

This story reflects the emotion and decision of a young high school senior and his friends who find themselves deciding should they  enlist or continue on with their educations. The young boy decides to enlist in the air force, but not until he has had his last summer vacation on the Jersey shore, where he spent all his vacations with his family. He honestly believes this may be his last summer. He recruits his best friend and convinces him they need to go down to the shore and find summer jobs on the boardwalks or resort hotels. On a weekend in May, they con another friend, one with a car, to take them to Point Pleasant, where they would begin their search. They find an opportunity at an old hotel in Bay Head, where they lie about their age and convince the hotel owner they can perform the duties of his two required bellhops for the coming season. They are hired and become the season’s new bellhops for the Grenville Hotel. It’s the summer of 1951.

Join Tim and Bobby for the most exciting summer of their lives, full of adventure, romance, and even heartbreak. In these few short weeks of summer, they find themselves in a variety of adult situations they had never dreamed of, like the hotel owner who created and maintained a harem of married women who came each year for more than fun in the sun offers to share his fantasies. The boys also get caught up in a murder investigation of one of the guests, and they witness the affairs of married couples who come annually to exchange their partners. One very attractive and wealthy lady who had her own private suite each summer attempts to seduce and adopt Tim and take him home to West Palm Beach. Tim sadly falls in love with a young lady already spoken for, while Bobby faces his first encounter with a young girl looking for love. The summer comes to an end and has changed the lives of these two young boys who became young men during the summer of 1951.

The United States, still healing from WWII, found itself with all its military branches involved in a new war called the Korean War. It was labeled by the Pentagon as a “police action.” Most of the fighting men and women were veterans of WWII, however, a call to arms ignited a new generation of men and women to volunteer for the military.

This story reflects the emotion and decision of a young high school senior and his friends who find themselves deciding should they  enlist or continue on with their educations. The young boy decides to enlist in the air force, but not until he has had his last summer vacation on the Jersey shore, where he spent all his vacations with his family. He honestly believes this may be his last summer. He recruits his best friend and convinces him they need to go down to the shore and find summer jobs on the boardwalks or resort hotels. On a weekend in May, they con another friend, one with a car, to take them to Point Pleasant, where they would begin their search. They find an opportunity at an old hotel in Bay Head, where they lie about their age and convince the hotel owner they can perform the duties of his two required bellhops for the coming season. They are hired and become the season’s new bellhops for the Grenville Hotel. It’s the summer of 1951.

Join Tim and Bobby for the most exciting summer of their lives, full of adventure, romance, and even heartbreak. In these few short weeks of summer, they find themselves in a variety of adult situations they had never dreamed of, like the hotel owner who created and maintained a harem of married women who came each year for more than fun in the sun offers to share his fantasies. The boys also get caught up in a murder investigation of one of the guests, and they witness the affairs of married couples who come annually to exchange their partners. One very attractive and wealthy lady who had her own private suite each summer attempts to seduce and adopt Tim and take him home to West Palm Beach. Tim sadly falls in love with a young lady already spoken for, while Bobby faces his first encounter with a young girl looking for love. The summer comes to an end and has changed the lives of these two young boys who became young men during the summer of 1951.