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Of Windmills & War

The War Series: Book 1 

Dad and I got quite a surprise invitation in early 2014 when a reader in England happened to read Of Windmills & War. You won't believe who offered us the invitation! We made that unforgettable trip later that summer. To read more and browse some of our pictures, go HERE. (At the end of the post, click on the "newer post" link to read the next post.)

Dedication

 

Of Windmills & War is dedicated to Glenn Howard Hale ... proud veteran, longsuffering Cubs fan, and faithful father. This one's for you, Dad.

 

And to the men of the 390th Bomb Group (H), Third Division of the Eighth Air Force - for your service, sacrifice, and willingness to stand in the gap for others both at home and around the world. You were so young and yet so brave - truly you were the Greatest Generation, and we will never forget.

 

In 1938, the rumblings of war in distant countries mattered little to Danny McClain. Growing up in Chicago, his world revolved around after-school jobs, a rescued beagle, writing his pen pal in Holland, and most important—the Cubs’ chance to go to the World Series. Then came the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, and Danny’s whole world changed forever. Thrust reluctantly into the war effort, Danny soon found himself in the co-pilot seat of a B-17, stationed in Framlingham, England with the 390th Bomb Group.

 

Anya Versteeg was just a teenager when Hitler’s troops invaded her homeland of Holland in 1940. Forced to grow up much too fast, the feisty preacher’s daughter eagerly immersed herself in the Dutch Resistance. Certain that God had surely turned His back on Holland, she closed her heart and did whatever she had to do to save her country.

 

By 1945, the people of Occupied Holland were starving, but help was finally on the way. Their bomb bays overloaded with food and medicine, Danny’s crew and others in the 390th found sweet redemption as they participated 

in Operation Chowhound’s the massive food drop that brought hope and relief to The Netherlands like manna from heaven. Flying barely above the treetops, Danny knew somewhere below in the battered land of tulips and windmills was a girl named Anya who needed rescuing.

 

And he would move heaven and earth to find her.

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