This Friday, decorated WWII veteran Robert B. Wiley will talk to us about his memoir, Struggles, Service & Smiles: The Autobiography of a Depression Era Kid. This moving and inspirational story is a chance for us to remember the courage of our parents and grandparents in the face of global war and financial crisis.
Bob Wiley was born in a small town in Colorado just before the U.S. was plunged into the turmoil of the Great Depression. At the age of nine, his father passed away and he moved with his mother to Sioux City, Iowa. He had planned on a career in education, but life had other plans for him. In 1943, after only one year at the Iowa State Teachers College, he was drafted into the army and shipped overseas. He spent the rest of WWII as a B-24 navigator in the Pacific theater. After the war ended, he remained in the military and served as a career officer until his retirement in 1964.
He also married his childhood sweetheart, Maxine, with whom he shared the next 62 years and raised four children. Bob's memoir captures their life together, but it also captures a piece of American history that we can all learn from.
Join the WITS Podcast this Friday to hear more about Bob's story. To order Struggles, Services & Smiles now, visit http://www.bwiley.com/
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