Author Visit

Local author Rebecca Daniels will discuss her new book, "Keeping the Lights On For Ike..."

Author Presentation at the Carnegie Library

Rebecca Daniels author of Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You're Not Allowed to Write about the War, will be discussing her book at the Carnegie Library in Turners Falls on Thursday May 2nd 6:30-7:30.

During the war in Europe in the 1940s, it took an average of six support soldiers to make the work of four combat soldiers possible. Rebecca Daniels has written a memoir based on her father’s letters to his wife about the complex and unique experiences of these support soldiers. Her book is based on personal correspondence, that creates a picture of the day-to-day realities of an individual soldier told in his own words [as much as he could tell under the wartime rules of censorship, that is] as well as giving insight into what it was actually like to be an American soldier during WWII. It explores the experiences of a non-combat Army utilities engineer working in a combat zone during the war in Europe and takes the protagonist from basic training through various overseas assignments—in this case to England, North Africa, and Italy as a support soldier under Eisenhower and his successors at Allied Force Headquarters. It also includes some reflections about his life after returning to Oregon when the war was over.

The soldier involved is Captain Harold Alec Daniels [OSU, Class of 1939, ROTC] and most of the letters were written to his wife, Mary Daniels [attended U of O in the late 1930s]. They are the author's parents, and she inherited the letter collection, photos, and all other primary source materials after her mother’s death in 2006.

About the Author:

Rebecca Daniels has been a university professor for many years who has also simultaneously had a vital creative career in the theatre. Throughout her career, her work has always been a mix of performance, teaching, and her own writing.

After her retirement in the summer of 2015, she was finally able to focus all her energies on this book.

Please join us for this interesting presentation. Light refreshments will be supplied by the Friends of the Montague Public Libraries.