Rotarian and Veteran Richard Allison spoke on how he uses family correspondence for hobby writing personal military histories.
He primarily uses war letters written home as his writing material.
“As a rule, I estimate only 10 percent or so of what is written in letters will end up in any story. Most of what is written is boring to the point of dreadful!” Allison said.
But when Allison heard of a chronicle written by Pearl Harbor survivor Paul Harkins (pictured), of the sunken California, he knew he’d found a remarkable story. Paul Harkins’ granddaughter shared the recount with Richard, who was able to present Paul’s plight to the club yesterday.
Paul witnessed the aftermath of an explosion which penetrated the main deck and killed 50 US sailors. He and his men narrowly escaped the area, but still managed save a seriously wounded sailor on board, who with their help, would live.
Allison has written three books about similarly remarkable WWII history, all available on Amazon.
He primarily uses war letters written home as his writing material.
“As a rule, I estimate only 10 percent or so of what is written in letters will end up in any story. Most of what is written is boring to the point of dreadful!” Allison said.
But when Allison heard of a chronicle written by Pearl Harbor survivor Paul Harkins (pictured), of the sunken California, he knew he’d found a remarkable story. Paul Harkins’ granddaughter shared the recount with Richard, who was able to present Paul’s plight to the club yesterday.
Paul witnessed the aftermath of an explosion which penetrated the main deck and killed 50 US sailors. He and his men narrowly escaped the area, but still managed save a seriously wounded sailor on board, who with their help, would live.
Allison has written three books about similarly remarkable WWII history, all available on Amazon.