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5 Tips to Write a Better Veteran Story

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Those small details DO matter.

Everyone has a story inside them. Most people die without ever telling those stories. Particularly the traumatic, intense, emotional, unprocessed stories. The stories that they feel no one will ever understand.

As a professional military researcher, countless people have told me when we talk about a project or they hear me teach, ‘My dad/uncle/grandpa….never talked about the war. I heard whispers, rumors, uncovered a secret and have more questions than answers. How could I possibly write a story?’

It is possible to write a story or book even if the veteran never spoke of his or her experience. But you absolutely must do the research first and obtain military records. Then, don’t overlook the small details that will make for a story worth reading and honoring the veteran’s service.

Tip #1: Obtain the military records.

It is so important you do the military research. I cannot stress this enough. It’s not enough to rely on whatever someone has put online and say that’s the story, especially if they don’t list sources. I see this on many websites and in many groups that are writing stories. They use what someone else wrote, whether it is right or wrong, and go with it. For most writers, only online research is done and you never really know if a story is accurate.

Now let’s go a level deeper. You know if someone puts bad/incorrect data on an Ancestry family tree and everyone copies it without thinking – that bad data is now out there not just on one tree but countless trees? The same is happening with military stories. Sites like Fold3 work with other sites like TogetherWeServed, to pull in what was written there – which may not be accurate either. Only once it’s on Fold3 it’s difficult to get anything edited so most people don’t ask or try.

Then when you have people pulling together research or writing stories, that just take what’s there as fact, even if it isn’t, you continue to spread the incorrect data. This happens on many websites. Copy and paste without thinking or verifying. It’s really important to verify rather than spread bad information.

For those who are writing about someone who died in war, getting the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) is vital. I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t obtain this file you are missing out on information that is going to answer at least 75% of your initial research questions and the potential personal and family data, letters, and official documents that are included. To learn more about the IDPFand access, read my article at the WWII Research & Writing Center.

I realize not everyone has taken classes and learned how to research. We don’t know what we don’t know. I realize there are myths that all the records burned or you have to be a relative or immediate next of kin to get records. This really isn’t true today. There are so many options to obtain answers, you just need to educate yourself on how. If you’d like to learn how to research and write the stories, I have a six-webinar program with a private coaching session available called Honoring Our Heroes.

Tip #2: Discover & research the collaterals.

When you research the people who served with your veteran, you may uncover facts that will help your research. You may discover a wealth of information you didn’t know existed. Learn about new records you had not encountered. Find photos and contact info for others searching your veteran or the unit.

About 10 years ago I was working on a book, The Tiger’s Widow,and researched a co-pilot on a bomber that crashed 2 November 1943 in Austria. Fred Davis was the co-pilot. After a search online I found very little on him but when I searched the pilot’s name, I came across a website (that was taken down years later) that had an 800 page book about this mission and every plane and crew that flew. Documents, photos, plane details, death details. Everything. This author had exhausted American, German, and Austrian archives to write this book. He never published because he didn’t have rights to all the photos but he did give me a copy. It helped me expand my research.

Today as I’m writing a book for a client whose father was a Japanese POW for three years, I obtained the Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) for a few of his commanding officers and those in the prison camps with him that died while a prisoners. The details I discovered about how our POWs were treated, what they ate, what camp life and prison life was like, will expand what I can write in the client’s book.

Tip #3: Create a timeline and spreadsheet.

Timeline. Always create a timelime that contains at least three columns of information. Date (of the document you are looking at); Unit/Station (the unit someone was in at that date and where they were in the world if you have it); and Notes with a source.

I document what was on the record I’m looking at in the Notes field and add a footnote with a source so I know exactly where I got the information. Sometimes I make a mistake in creating my notes. Sometimes the record has the error. Sometimes multiple documents give different details and you have to figure out which is correct or most correct. Having a source will save you frustration and time when issues arise. Plus, for those who read your story or look at your research, they will know where you got the information and can seek it out themselves. Your sources may educate someone else on this work.

Spreadsheet. For some projects, particularly book projects, I’ll also create a spreadsheet that has information on the collaterals. My POW sheet has columns for first and last name (for ease of sorting); unit; death date; IDPF (yes or no or N/A or requested); The name of the file/document I got the information from; Notes.

Creating a spreadsheet has helped me better organize all the names I’ve seen in the records, letters, photos, and scrapbook pages the client sent me. Not to mention all the military records I’m using. The spreadsheet allows me to see more clearly who was part of this POW’s experience and when and know exactly where I saw that information.

Tip #4: Use the “small” details & think outside the box.

When I mentioned above that I obtained IDPFs to learn more about the men who served with this veteran and how they died, I was able to learn so much more. Read the snippet below from the IDPF of Ralph B. Praeger.

The above is from a six-page letter that a Thomas Jones wrote to Ralph’s widow after the war. Not every IDPF has letters like this that provide so much personal detail about a person, their experience, or death. It is solid gold.

While Praeger was only in my client’s father’s war experience a brief time, both were in Japanese prisons and camps. The details about food, daily life, and torture was similiar across all prisons and camps. Those details can be used to provide context in a story rather than just write something like, Ralph was aboard hellship xyz and at prison camp #4 from this date to this date. It’s more interesting to read what his life was like. Those details make people think, process, and heal.

Read Ralph’s 143 page IDPF and the entire letter, which begins on page 112.

Tip #5: Take time to process, grieve, integrate, then write some more.

Military research and writing is not easy work. It is emotional and often triggering, even when it isn’t your own family. I often tell my clients to consider taking time to process the information they or I uncover. To allow the information to integrate. To take time to feel all the emotions rising, including grief. Great healing can take place if we allow this, not only for us but our veteran whether they are alive or not. Healing ripples out.

When I wrote my books, Stories of the Lost and The Tiger’s Widow, I shed a lot of tears. Felt an enormous amount of pain and love. I cried so much during all the writing and moreso during The Tiger’s Widow. For me it was cleansing. As I wrote I learned that I never knew you could love someone so much that you had never met in this life. But that’s how I felt about my ancestors who died in war. I also felt the pain of clients and their families as I researched for them and sometimes wrote their stories. Being an empath, this happens often, which requires constant energetic cleansing and self-care.

This work can trigger old traumas, pain, thoughts, feelings, and it may feel overwhelming at times. The pain or grief you feel may be decontextualized, meaning you don’t know why exactly you are so sad or crying but there it is. Just allow it to move through. Sometimes we come to this work exactly to heal ourselves, even if we don’t consciously realize it.

Take all the time you need to process this even if it means walking away from your project for a while. In the end, you will be healthier on all levels and probably write a better story because you will see things from a different perspective once you have taken space.

Regardless of how you research and write, take time to process, I can guarantee you will be a different person at the end. This work changes lives.

Are You Ready to Start a Project? I can help!

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? We are taking new clients and can help you find the answers and tell a deeper story about your family member. Email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time.

© 2024 WWII Research & Writing Center

Steps to Write a Veteran Book

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Writing a book about a veteran or your family history isn’t just about sitting your butt in the chair and letting words spill onto the page. It requires a lot more that may surprise you.

The last few days I’ve been focused on writing a client book about a famous World War II fighter pilot. I first did the research on this veteran, the family provided copies of photos and documents they had and the last two months the writing has commenced.

I’m also been working on another client book but in a different capacity, that of developmental editor. A few years ago I did the research for a client who wanted to write a book about his World War I and World War II aviator grandfather. The client is writing the book and I was developmental editor. Once my colleague did a final edit, I began book layout and will help the client publish the book on Amazon.

Another client just started working with me on her father’s Japanese POW story. This is a story I’ve never written for a client and I have a sense it will be life changing for not only the client and anyone who reads the book, but also me.

As I was writing all weekend, I was reminded that it is not all about sitting my butt in the chair over and over but many other things have to happen to produce a good story or book.

Step 1: Do the research

It’s vital that before we really dive into writing we do the research, especially if you want to publish for public consumption. People will want to know where you got your information.

Step 2: Sit your butt in the chair and write

A story or book cannot be written if you don’t sit down and do the writing.

Step 3: Take breaks & take care of you

Writing is great but did you know that amazing insight, inspiration, and questions can arise when you take a break? Yesterday after spending several hours writing, rewriting, creating questions to ask the client, I decided to leave the house and grab a coffee. I’m currently a Starbucks iced Americano with blonde espresso lover so headed out for a coffee and change of scenery.

The sun was out and the leaves on the trees shimmered as I drove past on my way to the coffee shop. I was reminded I had not been outside enough the last week as the leaves have changed and for my own well-being I needed to get out for a walk with my boyfriend in the afternoon. As I drove, this happened…

Self-care when writing these emotive stories is vital to your well-being. Make sure to get out and enjoy nature and ground your energy. Get to the gym and exercise and release those emotions. Talk to others who can understand or empathize with this work. Also make sure you get enough rest so your mind and body can flow more easily with the emotions that may rise.

Step 4: Listen to the whispers (and have paper and pen on hand!)

As I was driving, my brain was no longer focused on the writing. It was free to roam and check out from that, but yet….. Ideas and questions began to flow from my guides and ancestors. I had to pull over near Starbucks and write down all the things I didn’t yet write in the book. I also had to write all the questions and concerns coming through I had to ask the client.

When our minds are distracted from the writing or we are doing something meditative like folding clothes, washing dishes, walking, or staring at the squirrels play outside, information is more easily able to come through. We need to write what shows up on paper. So keep paper and pen nearby. I’ve often found that the best ideas flow when I’m walking in nature or exercising at the gym. But of course there are those that show up when I drive and don’t have a recorder handy.

Step 5: Sit your butt in the chair and write

When you are finished with your break, go sit in the chair and write if you can while these thoughts and questions are fresh. It will save you a lot of time and frustration later when you can’t remember all that came through.

Even if you write notes, try to at least dump it into your document(s) so you don’t lose all context. Trust me, this will help when you pick the writing up again later.

Do you have any other tips for people writing stories?

Are You Ready to Start a Project? I can help!

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? We are taking new clients and can help you find the answers and tell a deeper story about your family member. Email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time.

© 2024 WWII Research & Writing Center

Now Offering Writing & Publishing Services

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After a few years taking a break from writing and publishing due to burnout, I am once again offering writing and publishing services to clients.

Preserve and honor the remarkable stories of yourself, your ancestors, veterans, and the legacies they’ve left behind. We understand the importance of capturing and sharing these unique narratives that span generations. Our mission is to guide you through the process of unearthing and documenting your family’s rich history, while also providing a supportive environment to explore and heal from generational and war trauma.

Writing Services Include:

Family Storytelling and Memoir

Unlock the hidden chapters of your story or your family’s past as skilled genealogists, military researchers, and storytellers work diligently to piece together the puzzle of your ancestry. Through meticulous research, personal interviews, genealogical tools, and archival exploration, we’ll reveal the untold stories and forgotten details, connecting you to your roots and heritage.

Veteran Chronicles

Pay tribute to the brave men and women who served their country by capturing their invaluable experiences. We specialize in collecting family accounts, photographs, and genealogical and military records to create comprehensive narratives that honor their sacrifices. By sharing their stories, we ensure their bravery and resilience will forever be remembered.

Trauma Integration

Generational and war trauma can have a profound impact on individuals and families. We are here to guide you through the process of identifying, understanding, and healing from these deep wounds. By incorporating trauma-informed approaches into the storytelling process, we strive to create a safe space for exploration, reflection, and growth.

Publishing Services

Once your family story or veteran chronicle is complete, we offer a range of publishing services to help you bring your narratives to life. From editing and design to printing and distribution, our experienced publishing team will assist you at every step. We’ll ensure your family’s stories receive the recognition they deserve.

Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is a comprehensive and collaborative process designed to enhance the overall structure, content, and impact of your manuscript. You can expect a meticulous examination of your manuscript. We will delve deep into the heart of your story, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. We focus on big-picture elements such as plot, character development, pacing, tone, and thematic consistency, ensuring your story resonates with your target audience. We provide valuable insights and suggestions to help you strengthen your manuscript.

Would you like to know more and book a free consult to discuss your project? Click here and let’s get started!

© 2023 WWII Research & Writing Center

Tips for Writing the Normandy Story

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Many people are heading to Normandy to commemorate the D-Day landings right now. Perhaps you are one of those people. Maybe you have a trip planned for another time when it is less crowded and you can more easily take in the sights, sounds, and emotions of the places your family member fought, and possibly died. It’s also possible you have been to Normandy to walk in your soldier’s footsteps and are now preparing to write that story. I have a few tips for you before you start writing, or to assist you as you write.

Never Assume….Get the Facts

The Family Story. Many people start research or a story with the family story they heard about their service member. Those family stories may contain grains of truth, whole truth, or no truth, which is why it is important to do the actual research.

In my family, my grandma told me our Frank Winkler fought with the 29th Division on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He received head wounds and later died of those wounds. Turns out this was almost all incorrect.

Frank Winkler

Frank actually came into the 29th Division 115th Infantry Regiment as a Replacement Soldier on 23 June 1944 north of St. Lo. He was killed by a gunshot wound to the right lobe within 24 hours of being in that unit. He never stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Do you see how family stories may not be 100% accurate?

Assuming the Unit based on death record or discharge paper. A lot of clients have come to me saying they have a unit but could find nothing about it in combat or that their family member was in combat with that unit. The unit they were talking about came off a death file (IDPF) or discharge paper. Some people assume this unit they discover was the only unit and whole truth of the combat story. Most of the time this is incorrect.

Men normally moved through many different units and sometimes a Replacement Depot unit (or two or three or four). The unit they saw combat with may not be on the discharge. They may have seen combat with a couple different units, while being wounded in between and shifted around. Always do the research to find out the true timeline of events for a service member and his/her units.

Write the recollections, gather information and memories, photos, etc. Whether you are talking about Normandy or any other battle and war, gather all the information, memories, emotions, photos, artifacts a family has collected. Each of those things provides clues.

Travel Tips. If you are traveling anywhere your service member served, take a lot of photos to add to the story you will write or have someone else write. Photos of battlefields, signs, monuments, cemeteries, places you stay, people you meet. All of these things add flavor and emotion to the stories you write, which will make people want to read them.

Jennifer Holik, Normandy American Cemetery April 18, 2015 with red journal. First trip to Europe before I began living between Chicago and Amsterdam.

Keep a daily journal of your trip. Every trip I took to Europe, especially when I was living there and traveling, I carried a journal and my fountain pens with me everywhere I went. Always ready to capture my thoughts, some questions, the emotions of what came through, and my encounters with the dead. Keeping a daily journal allows you to add those real time emotions, questions, and ideas about the journey, the service member, and the story. Plus it is easier to look back and know when something happened rather than trying to rely on your memory of an important trip. Be sure to also pick up guidebooks, postcards, brochures, and other things along the way. Also, each evening before bed, write out a summary of your day, noting those important moments and how you felt.

Add yourself to the story. A lot of people write books about their service member and it turns out to be like a biography or sometimes historical fiction. Have you considered writing the story and adding yourself to it? Ask yourself,

  • Why is this service member important to me?
  • Why do I feel called to walk in his/her footsteps?
  • How has this individual impacted or changed my life?
  • What did I learn on this journey?
  • What did I heal on this journey?
  • What did my family member say from beyond the veil as I undertook the entire journey (research, travel, writing, healing)?
  • How can my experiences help others (travel, research, write, heal)?

Ask Family Members for Help. If you travel with family members, or they are helping you research, ask them to write pieces of the story. These might be short memories about the service member if they knew the person. Possibly their travel experience or emotions that arose. Perhaps the peace they received walking in the footsteps.

When I traveled to Europe the first time April-May 2015, I walked in the woods near Bras, Belgium where my cousin and spirit guide, James Privoznik was KIA 11 January 1944 (358th Infantry Regiment 90th Division). My mom told our guides that day, Jennie let go of a lot of baggage in those woods. She really needed to do that.

I will never forget my mom said that and how true it was. James helped me through a lot from 2012-2015 (and beyond) and I carried a lot of grief for our family’s war dead, those who came home damaged in some way, and all the others I had researched by that point. That day was life changing for me.

Have you traveled and written your stories? What other tips would you add? Please comment below!

Are You Ready to Start Writing and Researching?

I would love to help you research and write the stories of your family members from World War I – Vietnam. If you are ready to start a research or writing project, email me at info@wwiirwc.com and let’s set up a free phone consultation. I’m excited to help you bring your family’s military history to life and preserve it for generations.

© 2022 WWII Research & Writing Center

The Healing Power of Stories

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My current title reads, Jennifer Holik spiritual coach and an intuitive healer specializing in inherited & war trauma, & personal & ancestral healing. I am also a military researcher, speaker, and author. This title is accurate but I like to think of myself as a storyteller. I tell the stories of those who can no longer speak. Through those stories, the writing imparts life lessons, and opens space for closure, forgiveness, and heals both the writer and reader.

World War II research leads people down the path to writing the soldier’s story. The story, I feel, is the most important part of the process. Through writing, we learn not only about our soldier, but also ourselves and those we love.

Military research can be compared to a navigating a spider web. We walk backward in time from the edge of the web, along silk threads which follow the research. No matter which thread we walk, they all eventually connect in the middle as a story.

The soldiers, sailors, and Marines I research for the programs and books I write, and my clients, are individuals. The focus is on what happened to an individual, rather than an entire unit, during World War II. This does not mean I only put a timeline of service together for a soldier and call it done. I place the soldier into historical context. Historical context means examining all the other pieces of his story in the time and place he was, as it relates to the larger story of World War II.

I describe the training, theater of war, battles fought, wounds received, and in many cases, how a soldier died and what came next. All of these details create puzzle pieces which are constantly moved within a gigantic frame to create a colorful masterpiece depicting the soldier’s service.

The living and the dead have stories to tell and seek and offer, forgiveness, closure, and healing. The stories pass lessons to the reader. Investigating the life of our soldier has the potential to open up old wounds we thought were healed. Issues we forgot about or safely tucked into a box we stored in the back of a closet for years. The stories also provide the opportunity to create a space for issues and hurts we didn’t realize we had, to be brought from the darkness into the light.

What do I mean by hurts, wounds, and issues on which we seek or need to extend forgiveness, find closure, and heal?

Joseph Holik 1944-1945
  • A happy veteran who held his story close only until it was the right time and place to tell it to family.
  • A child whose father was killed in the war and grew up a war orphan may carry anger toward the father or the enemy or war in general.
  • A soldier who survived the war may carry guilt because his buddies were killed or unrecovered and he survived.
  • Soldiers battling with nightmares and memories, suffering in what appears to be a family or community which does not understand him.
  • A widow who lost the love of her life and had to make new decisions and move on.
  • A soldier carrying anger toward the enemy who treated people as subhuman experiments with an end goal of extermination.
  • A granddaughter raised hearing stories about her crazy grandfather, while not knowing what he suffered in the war and how that contributed to his diagnosis. Not understanding how it affected the entire family. And not seeing until she was an adult, how her life paralleled that of her grandmother in some ways.

These are just a few examples of things our soldiers and families carry, sometimes subconsciously through several generations.

Can you turn back the clock? Redefine the past and uncreate the horrors of war? No. We can however understand the context in which everything occurred. It does not mean we have to like it, just that we must understand, forgive, let go, and heal.

When we allow ourselves to be open to the process of writing, we may also uncover parallels between the lives of our soldier or family members to our own lives. In essence, we find ourselves IN the story. As we write, we learn we are not alone in our experiences, anger, guilt, happiness, loneliness, fear, and love. Sometimes the lessons are not visible until time passes and we read the story again.

Saving the Stories

Now, we cannot write the story without first doing the research. The research begins with writing down everything we know about our soldier’s service. If the soldier is still with us, asking questions and pouring over old documents and photographs and war memorabilia, in important. Through the recording of information in the first part of research process, we are able to then move forward into individual records and unit records to more fully tell the story.

It is important we begin today. Our veterans are fewer every day and their absence leaves behind holes in our collective memories. Holes which cannot be filled entirely because their voices and stories are now gone. There are also holes in our own stories because to more fully understand our lives, we must understand theirs. The question becomes, what can we do in this moment to capture those stories?

We can begin by talking to our veterans, researching their service and the service of those who have already passed. We can collaborate with other researchers and families to share information, therefore allowing a place for more understanding and healing. And, we can share our stories with the next generation. Together, we can preserve the history of these incredible men and women who helped shape the families and world in which we live today.

Are you interested in personal and ancestral lineage healing?

If you are ready to explore ancestral lineage healing using your genealogy and military records, book a private facilitation session and let’s dive into your past.

Can I Help With Your Research & Writing Projects

If you need help with your WWI – Vietnam research projects or writing projects, I am taking new clients. You can email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up a phone call to discuss your projects and what’s possible.

© 2022 WWII Research & Writing Center

Writing Stories of War

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Photographs. Letters. Military documents. Whispered family stories. Artifacts of war. Questions……so many questions and some answers. Your head is spinning and you are unsure where to start writing the stories of your family’s experience in war. Just as researching your soldier or civilian’s war story follows a process, so does the writing.

Step 1: Do Your Homework

We cannot write until we have something to work with. This means we first have to gather our sources and do some research. What else does it mean? If you need help researching the stories of your soldier or civilian, please see Volumes 1 and 2 of my Stories from the World War II Battlefield books on this website.

  • Creating a timeline of service for the soldier or the civilian.
  • Create a research plan.
  • Conducting research surrounding the original story we heard, through civilian and military record sources.
  • Analyzing the information discovered.
  • Documenting every website, book, and document we locate throughout our research.
  • Citing the sources of those resources located, within the writing.

Step 2: Writing Tips

Check the accuracy of the story your family told you.

Compare the family story you heard to the story the research uncovered. Often through the research process, the story changes in big or small ways. Never rule anything out that you hear or find.

The story is as good as the stories and information the writer had at the time of writing.

No story is ever complete. New documents and stories surface all the time. This is why it is important to cite sources. Also be aware as you read memories in letters and stories written years after the war ended. As we age, memories get mixed up. Always check your facts and document everything.

Try not to jump around.

When we write, it is important to avoid jumping around within the story. This confuses the reader, especially if the story is a narrative and it becomes cloudy as to who is speaking.

Watch the military lingo.

Balance the use of abbreviations and acronyms with the spelled-out word. Most people are unfamiliar with military lingo. Consider a glossary at the end of your story or book that contains abbreviations, acronyms, and definitions to words not commonly heard today.

Cite your sources. Sources provide credibility to work and allows others to review your sources and conclusions.

Step 3: Consider the Perspective

Every story we hear or write, is a matter of perspective. The perspective of the person writing a report or story or telling us a story. The view we take as we listen to a story, read letters and diaries, or examine military records, colors how we write our own stories. We must also remember when a soldier tells a story or writes a report about combat, they do so from their perspective of the action.

For example, if two soldiers are in a foxhole in the woods, facing different directions, what they see and experience will be different. If they both wrote accounts of the combat they just experienced, immediately after, you would have two very different accounts. This is because they witnessed, participated in, and felt entirely different things, even in the same overall combat situation.

Have you seen the series Band of Brothers? In one of the last episodes, Dick Winters is typing a report about the action in the woods at Foy. The scenes rotate between Winters typing his report and the battle. That episode really made me think about the conditions under which all our military records were created. For our writing, this means, when we read letters or diaries from the war, or examine military records, particularly battle action reports, we have to consider a few things, even though we will never know the answer.

  • What information was omitted from the report or letter?
  • What information may have been censored?
  • What information was slightly altered during writing?
  • What state of mind was the writer in while he or she wrote the report? How might that have affected the text?
  • What kind of emotions was the writer dealing with when he wrote the report?

Step 4: Writing the Story

Before we begin writing, we should have an idea of how our story will evolve. We accomplish this through the timeline of service we created as we researched our soldier or by building an outline of what we would like our story to look like. There are many ways to outline a story. Some basic suggestions follow.

Writing the Soldier’s Story

Biography

Early service

Service

Big picture/historical context

End of war/life

After the war

Writing the Veteran’s Story

Biography

Early service

Service

Big picture/historical context

Lessons learned

End of war

After the war

Remembering the Fallen

Writing the American Civilian Story

Biography

Life before the war

Life during the war
Lessons learned

Writing the European Civilian Story

Biography

Life before the war

Life during the war – Occupation or Annexation

Propaganda

Battles

Family involvement – soldiers, resistance, forced labor, etc.

The end of the war

Life after the war

Remembering the Fallen

With all these thoughts in mind, are you ready to begin writing? To help you start, I’ve included a few writing prompts from my new books.

Writing Prompts

The following prompts are writing themes focused on the U.S. experience, with one or two prompts from each, to give you an idea of what is possible when writing the stories. My book, Stories from the WWII Battlefield:Writing the Stories of War, contain over 500 writing prompts to help you write your stories of war.

Life on the Home Front Before the War & Life After the War

  1. Describe life before the war. Consider education, jobs, and the roles of men, women and children in your family.
    1. What jobs did your father hold?
    1. Did your mother work outside the house?
    1. Did anyone in your extended family live with you or nearby?
    1. Did the children in the family help with chores in the house or work outside the house to help support the family?

Community Impact

  1. Describe the impact the community where your family lived had on the war effort. How many men and women did they send off to fight and serve?

Women in the War

  1. Did any of your female soldiers join the military or Red Cross during WWII?
    1. Which branch?
    1. What job did she hold?
    1. Where did she train?
    1. Did she serve overseas? Where and when?

Military Service

  1. Was your soldier drafted or did he or she enlist in the military?
  2. Where did he or she train?

Race and Ethnicity

  1. Consider how ethnicity and race affected people during WWII. For example, during World War II in the United States, Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps and African-Americans were segregated in the armed forces. Did this affect your family? How?

V-E and V-J Day

  1. Where were your family members on VE Day and VJ Day? Where was your soldier?
  2. Did you celebrate the end of the war in Europe? The end in Pacific when ended the total war? How?

After The War

  1. What the homecoming like for your soldier? Was there a community parade? A celebration at home or something quiet?
  2. What did your soldier come home to when his or her service ended? Marriage? A job? Family? College? Did he or she enlist to serve again?

Memories of Post-War Generations

  1. What memories do you have of your parents, grandparents, or other family members telling you about the war? What stories did they tell you?

Preserving the Memories

  1. How does your family preserve the memories of those who fought and died or those who lived through the war?

Can I Help With Your Research & Writing Projects

If you need help with your WWI – Vietnam research projects or writing projects, I am taking new clients. You can email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up a phone call to discuss your projects and what’s possible.

© 2022 WWII Research & Writing Center

Do You Need a Developmental Editor?

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Are you writing your military or personal stories and need a fresh set of eyes on your project? A developmental editor might be just what you need!

One of the areas I shine in is seeing what’s missing from your stories. I ask the hard questions about the story, offer suggestions on what’s missing and what is unclear. I have a gift of seeing what others cannot and reading between the lines or seeing through the layers of records, research, stories, and the spiritual. Sometimes in these writing projects, your ancestors come through with messages and suggestions.

If you are ready to quantum leap your writing project, I have openings for new writing clients. Explore all the ways a writing coach and developmental editor can help you on my Writing Coach Services page. If you have questions, reach out to me at info@wwiirw.com and let’s set up a short phone consultation to see if we are a fit to work together.

What people are saying….

If you are involved at all with trying to follow and understand your family’s journey related to loved ones who served in the military, I highly recommend working with Jennifer. Jennifer is passionate about helping people with their journey–whether is it doing research, trying to understand the impact on the family, or putting thoughts and findings to pen and paper. All of the webinars I have participated in have been fun, interesting, and useful. 

For over 20 years I have been trying to learn about my uncle who was MIA in Europe during WWII. At first, I thought my quest was to learn all the facts and details about where he was, what he did, and what happened to him. What I have started doing along the way–and why I appreciate Jennifer so much–is delving into the equally compelling and more important story about the impact of my uncle’s loss on the family. In many cases, I knew things from my own memories and previous conversations with relatives that I had not connected to the war. After going through a Master Class with Jennifer based on the book Reconciliation with War, I was able to connect the dots and get a much better picture of what the collective family had been going through. Jennifer is now helping me edit the draft of a book about my uncle’s story and the impact on the family. I greatly appreciate her insight and expertise. 

Besides being knowledgeable, Jennifer is friendly, warm, and genuine. I enjoy working with her and now consider her a good friend.  

Phil Rosenkrantz

Can I Help With Your Research & Writing Projects

If you need help with your WWI – Vietnam research projects or writing projects, I am taking new clients. You can email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up a phone call to discuss your projects and what’s possible.

© 2022 WWII Research & Writing Center

100 years, Remembering Michael Kokoska

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100 years ago today, my great grand uncle Michael Kokoska, was permanently buried in Bohemian National Cemetery here in Chicago. He was killed in World War I in France in June 1918 and temporarily buried there. You can view some of his military documents under WWI Record Examples.

https://wwiiresearchandwritingcenter.com/our-books/stories-of-the-lost/

I wrote Michael’s story in my book, Stories of the Lost, in 2014. Many of you may have heard his story, in part, at one of my programs around the U.S. or Europe since 2013.

If you have not heard the emotive end to Michael’s story, told by his father, from my book “Stories of the Lost”, I invite you to watch and listen to the video below.

Listening to our ancestors and bearing witness to what they experienced helps not only them heal, but allows us to heal too. Michael showed up at a time in my life I really needed to heal and be able to move forward. Interestingly he has returned as this time, the shift I am moving through is more drastic and intense. He is here to heal, provide lessons, and love.

My Invitation to You

I invite you to sit and listen to your ancestors. What stories and lessons are they trying to pass on? How does this help you heal yourself and your ancestral lineage? Would you like to know more about personal and ancestral healing? Explore this website and also my other sites. Coming soon – a brand new education center to help you learn how to find the deeper answers to your family’s questions, stories, patterns, beliefs, and history for personal and ancestral healing.

Be sure to join the mailing list to stay in touch and receive news and discounts on classes.

© 2021 WWII Research & Writing Center

Questions to Explore Your Family Patterns

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Yesterday I wrote an article called Trauma of Being the ‘Bad Guy’ in War. I invited readers to start looking at the stories, beliefs, and patterns in your ancestral lineage. Today I offer some questions for you to use to start your exploration. These come from my book Stories from the World War II Battlefield: Writing The Stories of War. You can find more than 500 writing prompts in this book, plus story outlines and more! You can find this and all my books on this site.

Journal Prompts for Children of War

This section of the writing prompt book contains 27 questions.

  • What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
  • What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
  • What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
  • What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
  • Was there any neglect or abuse because of the trauma of war? Emotional, mental, spiritual, physical? This question applies not only to children but spouses of those who served.
  • Most men of the right age HAD to go fight. There was no choice. How did this lack of choice affect how they lived the rest of their lives and raised their children, if they survived the war? Did they feel they still had choices after the war?
  • How did your mother and the family cope if the father was in any way disabled (mentally, physically, emotionally) from the war?  
  • How did the family cope if he spent most of his days living in a hospital rather than with the family? How did this impact the lives of his children?

Journal Prompts for Grandchildren of War

This part of the writing book contains 11 writing prompts.

  • What lessons were passed down through the family because of the war?
  • What stories did you hear about your grandfather or grandmother who served in the war?
  • Was there abuse or neglect in your family because of how your parents were raised after the war? How did you cope with it? Did you allow the abuse to continue or did you stop the cycle?
  • What do you wish you could ask your grandparents about their service or life during the war, if they were still alive?

My invitation to you!

Would you like more military research and writing education? I offer short online courses and webinars on my WWII Education website.

Are you ready to begin untangling and looking at your family’s war trauma? Or any other family trauma that has affected your life? If you would like assistance in this, contact me at info@wwiirwc.com to ask how I can help you. I use facilitation packages of 1, 3 or 5 hours to work with clients as we explore their genealogy and military histories, to find the patterns, and do energy healing together.

Are you ready to heal your past to live a fuller, more vibrant life with more possibilities?

© 2021 WWII Research & Writing Center

Does Historical Context Matter Anymore?

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This year has been a roller coaster of emotions and events. With a lot of incorrect information pushed to the masses to keep them asleep, in fear, and not questioning. In some ways, the world has reverted back to the atmosphere of WWII where they ratted on their neighbors and lived in fear because the propaganda at the time was pushed on them to have one point of view. If that point of view was questioned, then the consequences could have been deadly.

On the flip side of this coin we are also seeing a lot of hidden information about people, the past, and events, come to light. As this happens, we are each being called to process it, witness what took place, acknowledge the unintegrated trauma that is contained in our bodies and energy systems, and heal. I have been doing a lot of this since March and honestly, it has changed some of my feelings about the World Wars, the sacrifices made, especially by my those who were killed who have called out to me, and this work I do. It has taken months to integrate some of what I’ve learned and come to a place of personal peace. I thought I understood the historical context of it all, but I discovered there was more to the story that had been kept from the world.

Historical Context & Trauma

As I dive deeper into healing work and trauma work with my military research clients and writing groups, I am aware of the unintegrated trauma that lives within each of them. I also see how they are willing to explore the historical context of the past. In fact, this month I spent the Office Hours for my writing groups doing facilitation on energy and trauma healing. Individually, and as a group, they had reached a point in research and writing that was pushing them beyond the boundaries of where they had been and were being pushed to go deeper. To allow the emotions to surface. To start questioning even more than they had prior. To do the deeper healing work.

I have also observed how many 20-somethings and kids still in school are viewing the world and history. In speaking with one of my kids and observing posts by younger people on social media – it is clear that the concept of historical context has not been taught in school. If it has, then it was a 5 minute discussion. The majority of young people today are offended by anything that doesn’t fit within the narrow view of life they’ve been programmed to believe is real. They believe books and movies and music should be banned because it’s deemed racist – even if it was written decades ago. And they view history through their eyes today – if an event or concept doesn’t fit into what they’ve been programmed and manipulated into believing then it must be a lie or couldn’t have happened or shouldn’t exist. I have to ask, Does Historical Context Matter Anymore?

Ignoring the context of the past does not help heal the past or heal each of us individually. It only prolongs the suffering and pain and slows the change that could take place on the planet and in our lives.

Do We Need Historical Context?

I feel strongly we need to be teaching historical context to every person on the planet. We need to understand why it is important to witness the past through the eyes, rules, laws, culture, society, religion, and education of those times. The world functioned differently then. Values were different. Events took place that had dramatic impact on creating mass trauma for the collective, especially through the two World Wars. And after the war, people were encouraged to forget, shove it away, don’t talk about it. Definitely do not question anything that took place.

We need to be able to drop in and observe what took place in the past without attaching to it. Sometimes that is easier said than done. I spent many years crying, moving through deep emotions and personal trauma that surfaced from my life and from my ancestral lineage, and healing what was there. It was not an easy or fast process and as healing is a spiral, we are never done.

Trauma and healing are also an embodied process, meaning we need to be in our bodies and paying attention to what is happening inside. Through witnessing and observing where in our bodies we feel the pain or numbness or hyperarousal, we can begin to work with it and heal the trauma that resides within. Are we responding or reacting to what is happening outside us in the world or this new information we receive? The answer to that question shows us where we are functioning from in that moment – pain or healing.

We also need to teach historical context in the present and encourage people to look at what truly IS in this moment. Ask….

  • Why do we have this pain or suffering or trauma being created right now?
  • How have I as an individual contributed to the creation of this trauma?
  • How can I as an individual help heal this trauma?

Healing with Historical Context

It has been a blessing for me the last several years, to be of service to clients who requested trauma and grief healing through the military research projects we have done together. One of the biggest factors to start the healing process or identify why a client was feeling a certain way, was to first look at the historical context of what took place that is creating the reaction in the client.

As an example, I had a client who became angry and upset when he read the research report and files because his father was given rights to his oldest brother’s remains and personal effects during World War II.

My first step was to explain the historical context. As the father/male head of the family, he had legal right as next of kin to make those decisions and receive the effects. This explanation opened space for the client to better understand why this took place.

My next step was to learn more about the client’s family and early life during and after the war to identify any other issues that may have created such a strong reaction. I learned quite a lot that gave me context.

Then we were able to do some facilitation and began to clear away old beliefs and feelings that were keeping the client stuck in a pattern of anger over the past. One of the gifts I have is to help clear out old energetic patterns and trauma, to help people heal. One step at a time. However, it began with historical context.

So what do you think? Do we need historical context any more? Should we be teaching this in schools? Should parents step up and take a more active role in planting seeds with their kids about context?

If you would like to work with me to explore and heal your family’s ancestral trauma, grief, and loss, please check out my facilitation packages and details. You can also email me to ask questions.

© 2020 WWII Research & Writing Center