Legacy Initiative 2022-2023

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“Dear Stellie: A Field Surgeon’s World War II Letters—Maj. Pierce W. Powers 4^th Auxiliary Surgical Group”

D-Day. Omaha Beach. Battle of the Bulge. Crossing the Rhine into Germany. VE Day. Waiting to come home. For anyone interested in a first-hand experience of World War II as lived by an Army surgeon. The letters of Maj. Powers to his recent bride, Estelle Brabant, take the reader through the places and experiences that Powers lived from March 1944 to August 1945. We are with Powers as he prepares for the D-Day invasion, as he moves into a "foxhole for two" somewhere in France. We are with him as he works tirelessly, at one point performing 250 surgical cases in a month. We are with him when he tries to find his wife's relatives in Paris. Most of all, we feel the charming love of a dedicated surgeon for his new wife. He wants nothing more than to be with her but gives his best every day to treat the patients brought to him.

PURCHASE BOOKS

You may purchase "Dear Stellie" directly on blurb.com.

Limited quantities of "Dear Stellie" and other Legacy Initiative books are available at the est. 1902 Lockershop or directly through Blurb.com. Earlier anthologies and the Emery and Featherstone biographies may be ordered through Kathryn Lerch and picked up from the US Media Center.

Download the Words of War ANTHOLOGY SERIES Order Form

Alma De Luce

Since 2001, the Legacy Initiative Project has published six anthologies, four travel journals, and three biographical monographs. The latest book about Pierce Powers, MD, was published June 2022, soon to be followed by another monograph containing wartime correspondence written by Alma De Luce, wife of AP Press and Pulitzer Prize recipient, Daniel De Luce. Alma and Dan arrived in England in spring 1939. The next assignment brought them to Budapest, Hungary—so that Dan could be closer to the action. From there Dan traveled to Poland to report on the electrifying events of September 1, 1939. The De Luces always remained close to the action and frequently they were just a step ahead of the German Army. When the Germans invaded Hungary, the couple fled Budapest for Athens. Their stay here was also too brief. When the Germans invaded Greece, the couple fled next to Beirut, Lebanon. Although Alma eventually sailed across the Pacific to the States, Dan backtracked to Yugoslavia where he did “telegraphic reporting of Tito’s partisans in Yugoslavia in 1943”. For this assignment, he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1944. However, Alma’s letters to her friends are just as compelling. Her perceptive and descriptive analysis of locales, people and events are a pleasure to read. She possessed a wry sense of humor and exceptional writing skills—thus her letters are just as captivating as her husband’s press reports. Their wartime adventure story is comparable to the action plots in Herman Wouk’s Winds of War trilogy and the TV series Fortunes of War (1984). Stay tuned!

From Nuremberg to Nuremberg

From Nuremberg to Nuremberg—Oral History account of Ernie Lorch, a German Jew who fled Germany after Kristallnacht and served in Allied Military Intelligence in WWII

Nuremberg-born Ernie Lorch shares his personal eyewitness account of events in Nuremberg on Kristallnacht, his emigration to the United States, and his service in the US Army. Because of his German/English language skills, he was recruited by both US and British military intelligence and served in North Africa, Italy, and France. At the end of the war he was at SHAEF headquarters in Belgium and was able to interview some of the captured German war criminals, including Herman Goering. He finally escorted prisoners to Nuremberg for the Trials. Account also includes military records gathered by PT students at the National Archives 2018, and in Nuremberg in July 2019.

Publication possibly June 2023.

History of Legacy Initiative Project

"Hands on History Through Research and Writing"

A November 1999 New York Times article, "In wartime letters home, the eloquence of common men," was the inspiration for a special history project at Park Tudor School. The Times article was about Washington, D.C. author Andrew Carroll and his efforts to collect and publish original letters written from the front and from home, "letters that had been written in wartime and had survived in attics and at the bottom of drawers, the buried testimony of men and women who had known war too well."

We saw an opportunity to actively engage our students in the study of humanities. As a result, a collaborative initiative was conceived among members of the History and English departments in the Upper School, whereby students have an opportunity for hands-on history, through research and writing. Students work from copies of original primary sources. They have the opportunity to develop history research skills, learn how to select and organize diverse materials for the publication of an anthology, and use their English skills to document and edit primary materials. Four hardcover anthologies have been published to date.

Thus, this is an appeal for copies (not originals!) of family-held, unpublished documents from any of the wars in which Americans fought - from the Revolution to Afghanistan. This may include letters, diaries, photos, maps or drawings. Documents in a foreign language are also encouraged.

Since 2002, the Legacy Initiative has partnered with the Veteran History Project and Senator Richard Lugar's office in Indiana. The Veteran History Project is a part of the Library of Congress' effort to document veterans' oral histories. Our students will be available to assist in completing oral histories on site at Park Tudor and at local libraries. Completed oral histories will be submitted to the Library of Congress. The Legacy Initiative will also select the best oral histories for possible inclusion in our next published anthology. We also encourage veterans to share with our project their photographs and other wartime documents.

Our anthology will help preserve the legacy and heritage of these wartime writers, and we would also like to help those donating documents with preservation guidance.

PDF Legacy Initiative Project Brochure

Kathryn W. Lerch
Legacy Initiative Director
klerch@parktudor.org

Mission

To engage students actively in the study of history
To develop critical thinking and writing skills in the humanities
To generate an awareness of self-sacrifice through "Duty, Honor and Country"

Goals of the Legacy Initiative

To build a connection between generations
To build a connection with the community
To locate and help preserve original letters and documents
To share oral and written histories with the community
To value responsibility, ethics and citizenship

What We Offer Interviewees

An opportunity to share their story through a digital recording (in person or by phone, if long-distance) or through a video filmed at Park Tudor School
A transcript of the interview
A digital recording (CD with audio files or DVD) of the interview, if requested
Scanning and archiving of photos, letters, diaries, etc. onto CDs
For interviewees whose stories are published in our anthology Words of War, a copy of the book and recognition at book signing events

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