Ten Years To Manhood

Book excerpt: This book covers the ten year period from 1940 to 1950 during which author Clarke Church grew from boyhood to young manhood. During these years Mr. Church transitioned through high school, the US Army, and college, and his memory of events is reinforced by quotations from the 106 letters which he wrote to his parents at home. Not only is this a story about one boy's experiences while coming of age, but it positions these experiences against a backdrop of dangerous and exciting times for our country and for the world - the end of the Great Depression, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the ebb and flow of World War II in Europe and the Far East, and the early stages of the Cold War. Though written primarily for his family and descendents yet to come, the author hopes that his manuscript will stimulate pleasant memories of their formative years in other readers as well.