World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion [Paperback]

Lisa L Spahr (Author), Austin S Camacho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2007

More than 60 years had passed before she found them. Dozens of letters written to her family during WWII-from total strangers-to tell her great-grandmother that her son had been captured and was being held as a POW. How did they know this? Through short-wave radio, POWs were allowed to state their names and hometowns and sometimes relay a short message to their families. Scores of Americans, listening to the German propaganda from so far away, heard her grandfather's information and took it upon themselves to write to her great-grandmother. All of these dear people wanted to give her great-grandmother a measure of comfort to know her son was alive. That was only the beginning of her journey. This book is a dedication to them-the radio heroes of WWII.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Intrigue Publishing (December 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976218178
• ISBN-13: 978-0976218173
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Letter Of Compassion-Radio Heroes, December 3, 2007

By 

Donald A. Nemchick "Veterans Advocate" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion (Paperback)

I read this book with great interest and enjoyed every page. As a Vietnam Era veteran I was enthralled by how compassionate the country was to the families of POWs. Ms. Spahr captured the "Greatest Generation" in this story about her family's history. It amazed me how her grandfather returned to this country and moved on to a productive life in W. Pennsylvania. I hope to see a movie or a Ken Burns type documentary about the radio operators who contacted the families to help this country's morale during the War.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kindle edition comments, April 3, 2009

By 

A. White (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion (Kindle Edition)

Let me separate my comments into two categories: what is written and how the book appears in the Kindle edition.

THE WHAT. Radio Heroes is a one-of-a-kind compilation of radio relay stories linking captured American prisoners to their families at home. I am both amateur radio operator and student of World War II history. As a "ham," I've made many radio relays myself. I know first-hand what it's like to pass along good news from some remote corner of the world to anxious family members. Remember - this was before cell phones, satellite communications, and email. Ms. Spahr's writing is unsophisticated, but I think that style is appropriate. The author could have gotten in the way of the stories, but like the radio, she is the medium, not the message. The idea, the research, the assembly - all well done. My only criticism is the lack of technical information.

THE HOW. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition is poorly done. (I have the Kindle 2.) I don't know much about the conversion process, but the breakdown had to have occurred with Amazon or the publisher or both, but it is not a short-coming of the author. The problems are in the formatting and the images - the words are there, but they often are fragmented, compacted together when spaces are dropped, and, in some cases, missing. Many images appear simply as grey rectangles - no photograph or image scan - just ghostly grey. Other images have something there, but even with magnification, it is impossible to make out content.

BOTTOM LINE. Print edition 4 stars (based on the story) :: Kindle edition 2 stars :: Average 3 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great story!, January 18, 2008

By 

Charles L. Cragin (Raymond, ME USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion (Paperback)

I expect that many people have never heard the heartwarming story of the men and women across America who regularly monitored Nazi short-wave broadcasts to learn the fate of American GIs taken prisoner by the Germans. After sorting the information out from the crackle of atmospherics and man-made interference, these great folks would pass the information on to the loved ones back home. What a great story!
As a life-long amateur radio operator (Ham), veteran, and child of the '40s, I'm glad to learn this fascinating story about the folks who made sure that 'no POW family would go without notice'. Lisa Spahr has added a valuable dimension to the story of the many ways in which Americans contributed to the World War II effort.