Book Recommendation: Their Burden to Bear
Gloria is the star of Listen For the
Chickadees, my new book releasing next month. She’s not exactly a new character
for me. In the epilogue of my World War One book The Storm Breaks Forth, she’s
named as the baby daughter of main characters Peter and Maren Bloch.
Peter received the Medal of Honor during the fighting in
France and joined other Medal of Honor recipients in marching in the procession
taking the Unknown Soldier to Arlington. I did a lot of research for that short
epilogue. The process of selecting the Unknown is fascinating.
The U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps teams in France exhumed
four bodies from four major American battle cemeteries (Aisne-Marne,
Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, Somme). The bodies were placed in identical caskets
to ensure anonymity. A decorated WWI veteran, Sergeant Edward F. Younger,
walked around the caskets and placed a spray of white roses on one, selecting
it as the Unknown Soldier.
Heather Tabers has written a
novel, Their Burden to Bear, about the eight body bearers. Philip
is one of them. He’s had a difficult life which haunts him. Since he is single,
Elsie is appointed to be his escort during the festivities surrounding the
laying to rest of the Unknown. She’s also had trauma in her life. She’s raising
her deceased sister’s son with no help from her father.
Through blackmail, murder, and devious deceit, Philip is
Elsie champion and she refuses to let him push her away. A remarkable story.
I asked Heather a few questions:
Did you always have an interest in World War I? What is
the attraction over WWII?
No, to be honest, I never thought much about WWI at all. I
noticed many readers mentioning an oversaturation of books about WWII and I
thought, "Why not write a book about WWI?" I love the Roaring 20's
and had thought about writing during that time period, but when I began
researching WWI, I found so many interesting story ideas.
Did you wonder about the Unknown, whether he was an
upstanding young father or a scoundrel who joined the army to escape arrest?
In my heart and mind, the Unknown will always be some
woman's little boy, called off to fight in a war. To imagine him as anything
else feels unsympathetic to the thousands of women who never got to hug their
sons again.
Did your husband read your book?
He did! And he loved it. I printed off every chapter the
moment I finished it and he read them right away. He was instrumental in
helping me get inside Phillip's head.
