Overview

Told through the letters he sent home and the replies from family in the small town of Hamlin, New York, this is the true story of Perry Mercer, Jr., whose path from eager Marine recruit to Korean War battlefield casualty unfolds over eight months in 1951. In his early letters, Perry writes with excitement: trading jokes with fellow Marines in bootcamp, exploring Hollywood while on liberty, and clinging to the hope that peace might still be possible. But as the months pass, the tone shifts. His mother's worry is evident, while Perry does his best to remain optimistic. In a letter to a former high school teacher written the day before his death, his own hints of despair slip through as he describes the World War I-style battle tactics he has experienced. The ""peaceful world"" mentioned in the foreword of his 1949 Brockport High School yearbook, an ideal shared by many in the years following World War II, is contrasted by the Forgotten War that would claim his life only twenty-nine months after graduation. Through these letters and images and the story they tell, readers will find themselves gathered close to the Mercer family - experiencing their pride, their worry, and sharing their grief as Perry's story moves toward its heartbreaking end.

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