James Diehl is the author of World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware, a fascinating and absorbing book that is sure to be a hit. Please be sure to check it out, it is due to release on a most appropriate day, Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009. In the meantime, I want to sincerely thank Mr. Diehl for taking the time to answer a few questions. He came up with some really great answers and I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I did.
Tell us a bit about World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware. What is the story about, who are the characters, etc.?
Heroes is about the experiences of 48 men and two women who have ties to southern Delaware, but it is not at all about the nation’s first state. It’s about their experiences in Europe, in Asia, in Africa and throughout the world as America and its allies fought about Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany during World War II. It’s about the sacrifices they made then so that we may live as we do today in the greatest country in the world. These brave souls risked their lives in defense of our country during a time unlike any other, before or since. They are all heroes, and I’ve been privileged to tell their stories.
How do you come up with the names of your characters? It almost seems as though, as an author, you have the continuous fun of naming children.
Both of my books thus far have been works of non-fiction, so the “characters” have already been named for me. In the case of Heroes, they were named between 80 and 90 years ago, but many of them are definitely characters. Some of their stories, their remembrances, are better than any fiction I could have possibly come up with. That’s what makes Heroes so engaging; the stories are very real and very emotional, told first-hand by men and women who lived through one of the toughest times the world has ever known.
What do you want readers to take away from reading World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware?
I want readers to truly comprehend and grasp the sacrifices the men and women of the 1940s made all those years ago. Every person in my book is a hero, though not of one of them is comfortable with that moniker. To hear their stories and feel the emotion in their voices as they tell them was something I’ll never forget. I only hope I’ve done their stories justice; I feel in my heart that I have.
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