As I looked at Gordon Lippman’s service record, I began to ask, “Why would a young man from mid-America go fight someone else’s war? Where does America get such gallant men who fought alongside Gordon? Who are these brave warriors? How did they accomplish their objectives? What were these conflicts all about?”
These were questions that came up over and over again and I’ve attempted to answer them in the book entitled, “Honor Through Sacrifice: The Story of one of America’s Greatest Military Leaders“.
I found that in asking these questions and researching history, interviewing Gordon’s contemporaries and corroborating all this information would help me to better understand the answers. I’ve compiled a fascinating storyline that tracks one man’s life from his humble beginnings in the high plains of South Dakota through the armed conflicts in Europe and Korea, including where he served at the Pentagon before strapping on his combat gear to walk back into battle as his nation called on him yet one more time. He left a legacy that is noteworthy and a story that you’ll want to read!
While putting together Gordon’s story, I wanted to make sure I would write a meaningful manuscript that would be interesting, factual and a good read. So, I enlisted members of my family to proof read the work and give me honest feedback. What I got was exactly that. Copy-editing and developmental editing took place on a grand scale. They came back with spelling and grammatical corrections. They told me where my text was hard to read, and where I didn’t include enough details about Gordon, as well as what they liked about the text. In some cases, I learned that I needed to drill more into military details, so I included After Action Reports of the battles he was engaged in as well as historical perspectives, and eye witness accounts of his valor in combat.
Together with family members, we added color to the storyline with their personal experiences about Gordon, as well as input from his fellow veterans. Some of this came from the family who knew and loved him, some of it came from reading published books that mentioned Gordon and the exploits of his combat teams, and some of it came directly from the guys who were there on the front line with him.
Working with my Editor, David Smale, who helped me craft a much better story arc, and along with my publisher, Köehler Books, we’re excited to target publication of this book later in the year.
In the meantime, I’ll use this blog to share nuggets from the book along with additional information about my writing process and more projects I have in the pipeline. As I continue to develop my writing skills, another cluster of stories is starting to crystalize in my head. God willing, I will continue to write.
So as Paul Harvey might say, “stay tuned for the rest of the story.”