Spickard resident Jack Dolan still remembers that face: a man who had been shot by a sniper and was laying face up, across the path being crossed by Dolan and members of his Marine batallion. “A handsome fellow,” Dolan recalls.
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Spickard resident Jack Dolan still remembers that face: a man who had been shot by a sniper and was laying face up, across the path being crossed by Dolan and members of his Marine batallion. “A handsome fellow,” Dolan recalls.
He remembers how everyone around him walked past or over the dead soldier and wondering if those individuals were so scared that they didn’t have time to pull the man off the road and cover him.
“I will never forget that face,” he said.
And so begins the story of Dolan and his involvement in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, which is chronicled in a book set to be released later this month. The book, “A Handsome Guy,” was written by his nephew, Phil Dolan, a 1959 graduate of Trenton High School and a military veteran himself, having served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. Phil, who now lives in Lee’s Summit, is the son of Jack’s brother, Francis, and Ethel Pearl Dolan.
Having always been interested in the war stories his uncle had told through the year, Phil decided about four years ago to begin recording those tales as a way to preserve them for future generations. As a part of those interviews, Phil hooked up with Frank Moody, another veteran who provided other information that is also included in the book. The stories Phil gleaned from Jack and Frank were originally to be sent to New Orleans, LA to be included in the archives at the World War II Museum. Instead, on the suggestion of Jack’s sons, Gary and Terry, Phil decided to turn his recordings into a book.
“I hadn’t really thought about that,” Phil said, noting that he had a limited writing background going into the project. “As I was working on this, Gary and Terry, both independently of each other, suggested that we turn this into a book.”
That, he said, put the idea into his mind and he began asking more questions.
It was during this time that Phil learned Jack was missing some medals he should have received for his service in World War II. Because he knew the procedures needed to obtain those honors, Phil made some contacts and was able to secure five medals for his uncle.
As Phil began actual writing of the story, he found himself returning to his uncle for additional information.
“There was just so much there,” he said.
And so much that Jack didn’t remember in regard to timelines and actual locations. In his research, Phil was able to uncover telephone records from the 2nd Batallion, the unit in which Jack served. Those records gave a nearly day-to-day account of what went on during Jack’s time in Okinawa and, as a result, Phil was able to pinpoint nearly every place his uncle had been .
“That helped Jack to know where things happened,” Phil said, noting that he was able to track the actual events leading up to and including the battle.
It took Phil nearly a year to write the book and another two years to actually get it published.
“I found an agent, who kept the book for a year to try to sell it, but he never could,” Phil said. “When I took it back, I was able to find a publisher who would accept the work without me having an agent.”
Publish America took a chance on Dolan’s book, which is scheduled to be released publicly for purchase on Sept. 21. After signing the contract for the book, Phil said he was contacted by seven other publishers eager to turn the manuscript into a book.
“My agent had a lot of publishers who wouldn’t touch the book because it was a war story and there were already too many,” Phil said. “But I know there’s never enough. All the World War II buffs and veterans out there. It’s an easy sell.”
Phil said the most interesting part of his interviews with Jack involved the living conditions of the soldiers. The book ends with a story told by Jack’s friend, Frank Moody, in which Moody tells of spending the night with 80 dead bodies.
“I want people to understand what these guys went through,” Phil said. “The things they saw, the impossible living conditions. It’s important we understand and remember.”
The book can be purchased at any of the on-line book dealers.