During World War II, Will and Dena find their love threatened by her parents’ snobbery and by their separation as Will goes to serve his country. Follow the passion and trials of this determined couple across two continents in Bob Rogers’ new novel “Will and Dena: Love and Life in World War II” (ISBN 9780615310350, Booklocker, 2009).
In the spring of 1943, Hitler and Mussolini are near the apex of their powers. As the world quakes at the Axis powers’ threat, love blossoms when a black lumberjack and amateur baseball player falls in love with a beautiful headstrong woman named Dena. While Dena’s parents are also black, they don’t think Will is good enough for their daughter. Social snobbery will not be the only impediment to Will and Dena’s love. Will seeks to better himself, and he thinks his extraordinary baseball skills could be the answer until the Ku Klux Klan intervenes to keep him from playing.
Forced to flee for his life, Will changes his identity, secretly marries Dena, and then escapes by joining the U.S. Army, only to experience racism there as well. Nevertheless, he becomes friends with fellow black soldiers and together, the group, known as the Four Musketeers by their leader, band against racist American servicemen as well as fighting their German opponents, Hitler’s Wehrmacht, in Italy.
Faced with the racism of the U.S. Army, Will and his fellow soldiers fight the Germans in hopes of receiving their own freedom from the oppressive Jim Crow laws and the segregation of the U.S. Army, believing love and justice can triumph in the end. From North Carolina to Massachusetts, Virginia, Indiana, and finally, Italy’s Tuscany, Will struggles to find a fulfilling life for himself and Dena.
Author Bob Rogers has done considerable research into the role of black soldiers in World War II, as well as drawing upon the experiences of his own family. Yet the love story of Will and Dena soars above the historical details, making the main characters live for the reader beyond what a history lesson can provide. Readers will come to understand the frustration of black soldiers during World War II and the injustices they faced in the U.S. Army as well as appreciate their dedication to changing the situation for themselves and the generations to follow. As author Rogers stated in a recent interview, “Love is all that matters in life. War is mankind’s biggest failure.” Will and Dena embody that statement.
About the Author
Bob Rogers, an IBMer for thirty-three years, is president of Global Medical Data in Charlotte, NC. He is a former army captain, Vietnam War veteran, and a charter member of Baltimore, MD’s 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry Association chapter. Bob is an avid baseball fan and lives in Charlotte.
“Will and Dena: Love and Life in World War II” (ISBN 9780615310350, Booklocker, 2009) can be purchased through local and online bookstores. For more information, visit www.bobrogers.biz. Publicity contact: www.ReaderViews.com. Review copies available upon request.
