PR for People Monthly May 2015 | Page 24

So I’m reading the local paper and I run across an editorial about the Union soldiers of the Civil War, who are buried on a hill above the banks of the Mississippi River in Hampton, Ill. I had never heard of the writer, but he described his observations and reflections while on a visit there. Then, he proceeded to describe the grave markers with the letters “GAR” or “Grand Army of the Republic” on them and, in effect, gave a very well-thought-out mini-history lesson about their place in time and the soldiers laid to rest under them.

It was a solemn, yet refreshing, piece, as this guy mixed the “old sentiments with new reflections.” I decided to write him to thank him for the “condensed history lesson” I had just taken in. It took me out of the humdrum of the work day, if but only for the moment.

The writer’s name is Marc Wilson, and we’ve since become friends over many years. When I signed my name on my “reply” email, he asked if maybe I knew anybody or anything in connection with a local issue and topic regularly in the news – that being The Hero Street Monument Committee. As it turned out, my dad, Frank, is a member of that committee, and I introduced the two after Marc and I met for breakfast because of our chance email exchange. We connected instantly due to our common passion and interest in all things World War II, and he was on a quest, of sorts, to bring a much deserved story to light. My dad’s contact information, as a member of VFW Post 8890, was invaluable to the cause. Marc, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy who wasn’t exactly a local, was on

the editorial board of The Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa, at the time of our encounter.

I had to ask: Why are you doing this? Why do you care about a bunch of Mexican-American soldiers of yesteryear? He replied simply, “Because it’s a great story, and I’ve no idea where it’s going to take me.” It eventually turned into a book, published by The University of Oklahoma Press.

I was honored to have him send some of the rough early transcripts periodically for me to review. We’d talk and write back and forth, as it was an absolute delight for me to be involved in his project, even if it was only in that small way.

The story is centered upon eight fallen soldiers of Mexican descent, all from one street in Silvis, Ill., who fought and died in World War II and the Korean War. My great-uncle, Claro Soliz, was one of those eight soldiers. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge in and never made it home.

I remember well how moved I was to read Marc’s accounting of my uncle’s last days in the bitter cold of January 1945. I sat at my PC with tears running down my cheeks reading the details of how my uncle and his fellow soldiers fought and died in the miserable cold. It broke my heart to think of a family member having to go through that.

A Chance Happening

Over an Editorial

Turns into a Book

By Joe Soliz