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Local author, Marti Brown, assembled her father’s scrapbooks and over 300 letters sent to family members during World War II and compiled these artifacts into a book entitled From Cornfield to Battlefield: A Young Farmer’s Journey Through World War II. These letters capture her father’s experience as a student at the University of Illinois at the start of the war. On Friday, August 14, Marti presented “A Soldier’s Footsteps Through World War II.” Watch the full video here!

Graduating as a commissioned officer in 1942 just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Lou Briggs taught artillery exercises at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before being assigned a battalion and participating in the European Theater of Operation from July 1944-September 1945. The journey described in the book includes many photos taken by Lou and excerpts from the letters that describe the experience of a young captain during the invasion of Germany, the “Battle of the Bulge,” V-E Day, the occupation of Germany, and V-J Day.

During a recent trip Marti and her sisters retraced the path of their father during his military service in Europe.

This program commemorates the 75th anniversary of V-J (Victory in Japan) Day.

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