They Called Him Marvin by Roger Stark
Duty called. He answered. She, with child, was left behind.
He did not come home.
Sixty-seven of their love letters help tell their story. In the final pages of this tragedy, love does conquer all.
About the author
I am, by my own admission, a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget and the stories be lost.
Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with my friend Marvin, I learned the tragic story his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan just months before the end of the war.
Bill Clinton has famously said: "They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay. They gave us our world. And those simple sounds of freedom we hear today are their voices speaking to us across the years."
Such a man was Marv’s father. A father he never knew. The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled me to ask if I could write the story. The result being “They Called Him Marvin.”
My life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. I pray that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.
My career as an addiction counselor (CDP) lead me to write “The Waterfall Concept; A Blueprint for Addiction Recovery," and co-author "Reclaiming Your Addicted Brain."
After my counseling retirement, I decided I wanted to learn more about the craft of writing and started attending classes at Portland Oregon’s Attic Institute. What I learned is that there are an amazing number of great writers in my area and they were willing to help others improve their skills. I am grateful to many of them.
My next project is already underway, a memoir of growing in SW Washington called “Life on a Sorta Farm.” My wife of 49 years, Susan and I still live in that area.
We raised seven children, and have eleven grandchildren. We love to travel and see the sites and cultures of the world. I still get on my bicycle whenever I can.
Review
‘They Called Him Marvin’ is a poignant and raw look at the lives of two young Americans torn apart by the Second World War. This is a fictionalised version of Dean and Connie’s story told through the love letters they left behind, personal memories and military records. What we are given in return is a heartbreaking story of a couple whose start in life was destroyed by Dean’s death during the war. Dean never got to meet his son who was born a few months before he died.
I was fascinated by this story as it showed us how people were coping during the war and allowed to us the social history of this period. As a social history nerd ‘They Called Him Marvin’ appealed to me from the off and seeing so many primary sources included was a bonus. The letters between Dean and Connie whilst showing their love for one another are a great source of information - how the men’s wages were paid, his time in India and the hospital, the way the B-29s were huge flying beasts liable to fail in mod-air. It's the small points that I loved. There are a lot of scenes towards the end of the book which are harrowing and heartbreaking. I found the parts about the bombing on Toyko and the family fleeing this a great reminder that it is always the innocents that get hurt the most during a war. No matter which war we are taking about.
A great look into the past which I loved reading!
