Tom Simmons’ nonfiction Forgotten Heroes of WWII acquired by Taylor Trade!!!!!

Tom Simmons’ nonfiction Forgotten Heroes of WWII is acquired by Taylor Trade Publishing!!!!!

Forgotten Heroes of WWII

Tom Simmons

Tom Simmons’ honorable endeavor of bringing to light the men and women who committed heroic deeds with valor and humbleness during World War II, Forgotten Heroes of WWII, has been acquired by Taylor Trade Publishing of the Rowman and Littlefield Group.

To have this book reprinted has been a determined goal of mine since the day Tom sent it to me. My father, William Heyward Collins (1922-1991), and my mother, Hildegard Valeska Schuster Collins (1929-2002), were both survivors of WWII – on opposing sides. I grew up listening to all the horror stories from both points of view. I did not understand my father’s nightmares nor my mother’s fears when I was younger. It is only when I attained the age in which they experienced such anguish and trials (of which I will never know) that I thought on such, and imagined the pain, sacrifice and suffering. My father was US Air Force, I was US Army. My mother grew up in Dettelbach, Germany. I lived there from 1983-87; even slept in my grandmother’s bed, warmed by her own personal feather comforter. So, I touched the tip of the heritage iceberg; empathized minutely. Forgotten Heroes of WWII struck the core of my being. Each personal story made me appreciate my parents so much more. I learned more from these recollections than I did through all my schooling.

The acquisition and publishing of Forgotten Heroes of WWII will only add fuel to my own personal fire of getting this book in every historical curriculum, in every library in the world and, most importantly, into the hands of the contributors of the book and/or their families. They deserve proper adoration and recognition. Even if they say that they only did what had to be done, they will always be my heroes.

William Heyward Collins

Joe (Casanova) Congel and William Collins Boumouth, England WWII just before crossing English Channel on LST

Clockwise- Hildegard Schuster Collins 1st grade, Opa Josef Schuster, Opa Josef and Oma Theresa Schuster, Hildegard and William’s wedding photo 1958, Hildegard 1970 – her first time home since she left in 1958.

Schuster family photos: clockwise- Hildegard 24 yrs.,Hildegard and sister Frieda 1950, Schuster home in Dettelbach 1938, Hildegard and Freida 1938, my mother’s friends, Paula on the left, Hildegard, Inge Eckstein, my mother’s brother, Otto, in France WWII and his grave in France middle picture.

–Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary Agency