A Kid Called Eddie Growing Up In The Depression And War Years

I dreamed about a little boy on a farm. It had apple trees, berries, and dozens of chickens of every color. The little boy carried his slingshot as he walked to school every day and chased rabbits with his dog in the woods. He had a pet goose that followed him wherever he went. His grandpa told him funny stories and called him "Eddie." Everyone gathered on Sundays for chicken dinners and listened to the radio talk about the Great War. It was a beautiful dream, and then I woke up and realized it wasn't a dream. I was that little boy. I am Eddie

Eddie is a true to life biography in every sense. It has not been embellished or altered from the historical record. It is my history and is accurate even to the comments and conversations as nearly as I can recall. Ive always thought that a well developed sense of humor is one of the more valuable things a person can possess along with a keen sense of curiosity. It is a vital attribute to be able to laugh at ones self. People who do not possess that attribute tend to be dry, humorless husks who are not pleasant company. That being said, every effort was made to present the material in this book with a sense of humor, wry at times, tongue-in-cheek at times but always with the goal of making the reader smile or even laugh. All through the book I have tried to contrast the slower pace of life and the freedom that children and young people had during that time period with todays fast paced, controlled life style. Children of the 1930s and 40s seemed to have more imagination than kids do today, not due so much to any genetic differences but out of necessity. Most of the kids I grew up with simply didnt have the toys that abound today and their parents were, by and large, too concerned with jobs either inside or outside of the home to pay much attention to them. As a result their kids were forced to use their own ingenuity to create play situations. The book shows Eddie in a lifelong battle with bullies; those people who enjoy inflicting pain, mentally or physically, on other humans and sometimes on any animal available. That battle runs as a thread throughout the book beginning with a little four year old breaking a large stick over the head of his tormentor in an attempt to stop the incessant bullying. Eddie is a book that portrays the life of a young person born into a family in the Midwest in the early 20th century. Eddie was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1936. He grew up during the war years of World War II and survived a number of moves around the United States along with the normal fistfights and bullies that can be found anywhere and life in general. Eddie is just like any number of kids who grew up in that era but, unlike some, he was independent and fierce in demanding his liberty. The way he handled controversy is interesting and humorous. Eddie was a Libertarian before he ever knew what one was. Readers can readily identify and emphasize with the young boy who tries unsuccessfully to avoid controversy and fights and ultimately has to deal with the dragons that we all have to deal with at sometime in our lives. If there is one overriding theme that trickles throughout the book it is that of freedom, the ability to choose what you wish to do without interference from government, family or friends. I leave it up to the reader to solve the dichotomy that necessarily exists between a person who values, above all, their freedom and the same person who sacrifices that same freedom for a life in the military, perhaps the one career that has less freedom than any other. The author solved that issue easily by virtue of realizing that the ultimate freedom was that attained in the cockpit of an airplane. He has spent his life in pursuing that freedom, warring fiercely against those who would set limits on that particular freedom. Imagination is a wonderful gift to mankind. Used properly it can amuse and enthrall for hours. Used improperly it can curtail thought processes through fear. Kids in the period of this book use their fertile imaginations to transport them to other places, other times, other situations. They played cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, house and dolls with little or no toys other than sticks or whatever came to hand to embellish their imaginative adventurous forays. Television had not been perfected yet and was not available to the masses even as rudimentary as it was then. Kids (and adults) relied on radio for information and adventure. There was always time in the afternoon for a half hour of Tom Mix or the Lone Ranger on the radio. If you have trouble with this concept think of it in terms of the person who reads a book versus the person who sees the movie version of the same story. Eddie is not a hero. He does not come from a privileged family or even one that is moderately well off. He is average in every sense. He is like millions of other middle-class kids who grew up in the Mid-West in the 1900s. He succeeds in spite of the struggles of that time of our history and has fun doing it all. Life was good but hard during those times but people persevered nonetheless; and they enjoyed that life. Things were simpler then and moved at a slower pace. Families were closer. People were trusted. Doors were left unlocked as were cars. Kids were allowed to roam unaccompanied anywhere in their area. Money was dear and valued much more than now. Hobos roamed the United States and were given chores to do by the populace in return for a meal and even sometimes a bed. Today they are called homeless and discarded or shunned as if they are not human beings like the rest of us. Today Eddie would be called a tree-hugger and looked down on because he does not enjoy inflicting pain on animals as in hunting. Eddie hunted when he was young because it was expected of him but didnt really enjoy the kill as he was supposed to do. Instead he would stand over the sad, lifeless body of an otherwise beautiful wild animal and privately grieve about the death of that child of God. Still, he could become a very effective hunter of humans in later life as a Naval Aviator. Eddie is as complicated as any other human. The book attempts to portray a middle-class kid as he grows up in that era. Everything in the book is true to life. The author makes no apologies for anything written about the youngster. It happened as it happened. The reader is free to draw their own conclusions about the kid as he grows into an adult. It is my fervent hope that the book will give you pleasure and reading enjoyment.

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Dirty Eddie’s War is the true account of the war-time experiences of Harry Andrew March, Jr., captured by way of diary entries addressed to his beloved wife, Elsa. Nicknamed “Dirty Eddie” by his comrades, he served as a member of four squadrons operating in the South Pacific, frequently under difficult and perilous conditions. Flying initially from aircraft carriers covering the landings at Guadalcanal in August 1942, he was one of the first pilots in the air over the island and then later based at Henderson Field with the “Cactus Air Force.” When he returned to combat at Bougainville and the “Hot Box” of Rabaul, the exploits of the new Corsair squadron “Fighting Seventeen” became legendary. Disregarding official regulations, March kept an unauthorized diary recording life onboard aircraft carriers, the brutal campaign and primitive living conditions on Guadalcanal, and the shattering loss of close friends and comrades. He captures the intensity of combat operations over Rabaul and the stresses of overwhelming enemy aerial opposition. Lee Cook presents Dirty Eddie’s story through genuine extracts from his diary supplemented with contextual narrative on the war effort. It reveals the personal account of a pilot’s innermost thoughts, both of the action he saw, the effects of his harrowing experiences, and his longing to be reunited with the love of his life back home.