World War II broke out two weeks before my eighth birthday. My family had lived through the Great Depression. The turmoil created by the warmongers of Japan and Germany had simmered through most of the thirties and boiled over on December 7, 1941.

Three of my oldest brothers had joined Troop F, 124th Cavalry Regiment that was called into federal service in November 1940. Three other older brothers and a little sister remained with Mamma and Daddy on the farm. If you haven’t been doing the math, that’s seven sons and a daughter making me the seventh son.

All of my brothers served our country during wartime and five of them fought our various enemies through all our wars since. What did I do? Little, but at the expense of Uncle Sam I had a paid excursion to Germany in the mid-fifties. What did I sacrifice? Nothing, but I did receive a G.I. scholarship that made it possible to earn a P.h.D in education and have a career as a public school superintendent.

Three of the brothers’ sons served in the military. Two of them were in or close to combat. My son served two years in Germany in the early eighties.

Considering the ongoing service given and sacrifices made by the brothers and their sons, I finally realized that I might find some redemption by telling their stories. As a person who spent his professional life as an educator, I developed a habit of trying to help others improve their lives. Therefore, on a nobler vein, I sincerely believe that reading the book can add substance to readers’ lives.

When I speak of my brothers’ service and sacrifice, it is nothing mundane.

From the five combatants, two were killed in action, one was severely wounded and two others had close calls. Collectively, three were awarded medals for gallantry at every level from valor to intrepidity, including the Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, two Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Air Medal with six oak leaves.

The book contains stories of courage, duty, love, war, achievement, bad behavior, recklessness, with touches on humor, tenacity, prejudice, perseverance, joy, fun, family relations, goodness, religion, sin, dignity of work and other bits of life. Through it all, I relished my role in the local notoriety of Roy’s Boys.
I hope that you gain something substantive from reading the book.

Bill Knight