Chester's Stories

R. C. Mocek

Description

Chester’s Stories is a historical work recounting the memories of a Chicago native named Chester Mocek as he shared them with his sons and his grandchildren. These stories span segments of time from 1935 to 1945. The book features descriptive tales of Chester’s life as a Civilian Conservation Corps enrollee working in southwestern Oregon during the Great Depression, and the work also acquaints readers with the often harrowing sometimes captivating sagas based upon Corporal Mocek’s World War II service throughout the South Pacific.
The reader will feel a young American’s particular and personal triumphs as he develops an extraordinary will to survive and grow up in the face of very arduous demands that take him throughout America and literally around the world from Boston to San Francisco. He makes brief stops away from his home country in Rio de Janeiro, Suez, Capetown South Africa, and Ceylon, and makes several visits throughout Australia. He does battle in Buna and Milne Bay on Papua, on Mindanao and Luzon in the Philippine Islands, and on other small isles of the East Indies
Chester’s Stories will enhance your understanding of what one twentieth-century man’s economic hardship and military service were like. It will also elevate your appreciation of a time when Americans, unified by a common purpose, pulled together with their allies to make our world a better place.

Sujets

• Historical
• Histoire
• Memorias (Katsuhiro Otomo)
• Memories
• History
• Chester

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 27 juin 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665561099
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

CHESTER’S STORIES
 
 
 
 
 
R. C. MOCEK
 
 
 
 

 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
 
 
© 2022 R. C. Mocek. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse  08/31/2022
 
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6110-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6108-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6109-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910214
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgements
 
 
CCC’s
The War Is on, and Chester Must Get There
Heroism, Poignance, Triumphs, and Thrills
Lost Forever
Saved by the Army Air Corps
One of Many Sleepless Nights
Timely Getaway
“If It Wasn’t for the US Navy, I Wouldn’t Be Here Now.”
The Fair-Haired Boys
Fighting Fire with Fire
The Natives of Papua New Guinea
Australia and the Australians
 
 
Chester Comes Home
 
 
Afterword
Photo Gallery
References
PREFACE

W HEN FIRST I TOLD PEOPLE that I was putting together Chester’s stories from his experiences in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and World War II, some of them offered polite encouragement. Others offered their help. A few said things like: “How would anybody know if any of this were true?” or “You’ll never be able to do all the necessary research.” An honest answer to the less encouraging remarks is yeah, you’re probably right.
But there are a few things that I am very sure about. My dad wasn’t ever known for being a fable teller or boasting and hyperbolizing his accomplishments. He took pride in all that he saw and did as a CCC enrollee and as a soldier. He was blessed with an effervescent personality, which he inherited from his mother, Catherine Lange. She was an amazing woman who immigrated to America from Poland in the late nineteenth century. She faced many more hardships than she ever deserved. Despite being impoverished, having a mentally challenged son, and losing her eldest daughter and first husband to the Spanish influenza, she cheerfully offered her love and kindness to all. The youngest of five, Clezlaw was most dear to her. My dad, like his mother, loved to tell stories about memorable and joyful experiences. Doing so was perhaps their way of putting aside life’s hardships.
When Chester told me stories, he left me in a state of wonder. The storytelling first began during one of our walks with the family dog, Sparky. We would regularly walk Sparky along alleyways behind our home in Chicago, and Chester and I would stargaze.