Please join us as Mollie Moody shares her fathers book, A Father’s Arms. No pre-registration required. Light refreshments will be provided.
The year was 1945, in the closing months of World War II, not long before Maynard, a captain in a U.S. Army Tank Destroyer battalion, would enter Adolf Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest hideaway. There would be other brushes with death before Maynard returned home to his wife and daughter, born while he was away. Like many in his generation, he would try to set aside his war experiences and get on with raising his family in Michigan. He would also write his “war diary,” completed 53 years after the end of WWII, to help his children understand what happened to America—and to him—in the journey from Pearl Harbor to “Victory in Europe.”
Now, 78 years after the war’s conclusion and nearly two years since Maynard’s death in Traverse City, Michigan, at the age of 101, Maynard’s oldest daughter, Mollie Moody, has led the charge of getting her father’s diary published, along with the support of her three sisters. Says Moody, “My sisters are my cheerleading team and have also contributed monetarily. It has been immensely important on so many levels levels to be a part of this project of a lifetime. Nothing has been more meaningful to me!”
The purpose of releasing Maynard’s autobiography is two-fold.
“The ultimate purpose is to share his story with many other people and also to donate 100% of the proceeds to the VFW of Michigan,” Moody said. “Our father was a huge supporter of the VFW and would be honored to have that organization receive the proceeds to help other veterans. The VFW supports veterans in so many ways, both legally and with support in getting the veterans the compensation they deserve.”
Please note that the library will close at 6pm and reopen at 6:45 for this special event.