by Edward Anthony (Tony) Zahn (Author)
Tony was an urbane, witty, college-educated Long Island boy whose WWII army career was recorded in 256 letters sent home to his parents as he lived through the experience. They begin with his departure for basic training in October, 1942 and continue until his return home from the Philippines in December, 1945. His first two years of stateside maneuvers were an involuntary adventure, a bit of a lark that had interrupted his life not unpleasantly. But when he lands in a combat zone on the heels of MacArthur, his perspective on life changes forever. This is the story, in his own words, of one individual soldier's complete WWII experience.
TONY'S WAR chronicles here-and-now thoughts, observations, and fears of a war-time soldier. The letters describe in minute detail: basic training, stateside duty at several army camps, the trans-Pacific journey to war, hospital convalescence, and life in a jungle combat zone. There are disturbing secret letters sent to his father's office with revelations not meant for his mother's eyes, journal entries of events that would not have been passed by the censor, and the text is augmented by many of his photographs and drawings.
Take a journey into the heart and soul of a member of the Greatest Generation, a WWII soldier.