The Mill Town Boys

Historical fiction based on actual history taken from ships’ logs, service records, and naval records, The Mill Town Boys traces three brothers from a Massachusetts mill town who enlisted in the navy and fought in World War II. These three brothers entered the service for different reasons- one enters the navy during the depression, one enlists after Pearl Harbor, the third is sought out by the government in 1942. The war takes them from Italy to Iwo Jima, from Alaska to Guadalcanal. Between the three of them they were in nineteen separate engagements or campaigns, Pearl Harbor, Doolittle’s Raid, invasions of Italy and Pacific Islands, and great naval battles.
They also had parents, wives, siblings, and shipmates. Parents and siblings suffered; wives worried. Relationships changed. Not all their shipmates made it. The boys realized what was really valuable to them and why.
The brothers were not heroes recognized with medals for gallantry but were all shot at many times and still did their jobs like so many others who answered the call. Their bravery was understated but real. They were what so many of the men and women who served in World War II really were, regular people who rose up to meet and overcome great challenges under incredibly difficult circumstances. These men were among the millions who fought, but to people then, and to a great many of us now, were anonymous except to their families, not because they were unworthy of mention, but because there were so many of them. They did great things in the toughest of times and asked for very little in return.