Pacific Wrecks
Pacific Wrecks    
  Missing In Action (MIA) Prisoners Of War (POW) Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)  
Chronology Locations Aircraft Ships Submit Info How You Can Help Donate
 
Pacific World War II Reviews  
Order Book
by William Sabel
Purdue University Press  1998
Hardcover
320 pages
Index, photos
ISBN 1557531315
Cover Price: $16.95
Language: English

Order now at amazon.com
Order now at amazon.com

Return to
Book Reviews
Main Menu


Seeds of Hope
An Engineer's WWII Letters

William Sabel was twenty-five years old, single, and living on a poultry farm in Marshall County, Indiana, when he was drafted into military service in April 1941. He expected to serve one year - then came the attack on Pearl Harbor, and all hope of even a short furlough, let alone discharge, was over. Through five years' worth of letters to his parents, we follow Sabel through basic training, officer candidate school, and finally three years of service in the South Pacific with the Army Corps of Engineers, assigned to the 350th Engineer Service Regiment.

Sabel's letters offer an unexpected view of World War II - not of heroics and battle, but of war's tedium, discomfort, and inefficiency. Bored but never boring, Sabel is as frank in his criticism of those in command as he is in affectionately scolding his mother for sending such perishables as strawberries and chocolate to the tropics. Throughout his service overseas, whether he is involved in logging operations or construction, Sabel, with his passion for farming, sows seeds of hope - hope for the present and hope for the future.

Interview with author and veteran William Sable

Review by  Justin Taylan  

Return to Book Reviews | Add a review or submit for review

Last Updated
September 21, 2023


  Discussion Forum Daily Updates Reviews Museums Interviews & Oral Histories  
 
Pacific Wrecks Inc. All rights reserved.
Donate Now Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram