I didn’t set out to be a writer, but once I began to write my life changed in some amazing ways.
World War II was a wild and crazy time. Flying B-24 bombers was a crazy business, But over the last ten years or so, I have been recalling and recording stories about it all. The first 5 months of 1945 are continuing to provide one story after another, some of which are to be found on this web site. The rest are published in GRANDFATHER STORIES , MORE GRANDFATHER STORIES, or waiting as I accumulate STILL MORE GRANDFATHER STORIES
I’m having so much fun I never imagined was possible. Sometimes I wake up before dawn with another story buzzing in my head. I am surprised, but I do remember when all this happened. If I lie there a bit I can add more and more to the story, as my mind, unbidden, follows the links.
Hal & Rosie Wilder
Grandfather Stories is available in a spiral-bound black and white original book.
The price of $25.00 + shipping & handling. More info is available on the Bottom Line page.
Once upon a time, in a small town in the center of a wonderful Country, there was a small boy, and it was I. Now I’m an old man. In between that time and now there are many amazing stories.
Cowboy, college boy, soldier boy. I drove a team of horses pulling a wagon, as we laid a new fence line 5 miles long.I drove a 1937 Ford V8 convertible, I flew B-17s and B-24s. Now I sail, and teach basic sailing on the Pacific Ocean. I repeat, it has been quite a life, quite a story, filled with many unexpected turns, and a lot of luck.
During those years I made lots of mistakes. If I present them to you here, you may be able to avoid them for yourself. If you’re going to make mistakes, at least they should be brand new mistakes of your own creation.
And with any luck at all, you are going to make mistakes. If you don’t, you are just not trying. Mistakes occur when we try something new. Without them, there would be no progress.
But I hope you will browse through this site and see what’s here. When I write about the Flak at Munich, it is a real experience I hope you never have. So read what I have written. Live your life and write about it for the benefit of others. It matters not how well you write. Your jewel is what you saw, what you lived.
Each life is unique,
each story is priceless.
To Whom It May Concern:Hal Wilder is a natural-born storyteller. He has an instinctive gift for language that no amount of training, no fancy MFA degrees, can confer upon a writer. Naturally gifted writers like Hal are few and far between in these modern times, when short attention spans rule the day. But Hal is more than a gifted writer. He is one whose type is even more rare these days - one who is concerned with meaning. Hal's stories invite us to reflect on values, character, and human relationship - all without being sanctimonious. He opens up territory we often ignore, then leaves it to us to do the real work of reflection and contemplation. In 25 years of working in the publishing business, I have rarely come across writers who can combine these elements with such pith and verve.Lee NicholEditor, The Essential David Bohm
What do you know about the U.S. during WWII?
1. In 1939 most americans lived in ....
...A] Cities
... B] Small towns and Farms
...C] along the East Coast.
2. In 1939 how many farms had electricity?
...A] 51%
...B] 74%
...C] 11%
3. In 1940 the National Unemployment rate was
... A] 5%
... B] 15%
... C] 25%
4. Hitler started WWII by attacking
...A] England
... B] France
.. C] Poland
5. WWII began on
...A] 9/30/39
... B] 12/7/41
...C] 6/6/44
6. In 1942 the minimum age of the military draft was
...A] 20
... B] 19
... C] 18
7. WWII ended on
...A] December 1941
... B] May 1945
... C] August 1945
