A Story of Finding Closure after Loss

Many families are still mourning over their loss during World War II. The same has happened to the Darter family. With Michael’s deep desire to find out what really transpired when his brother vanished, he conducted a long investigation over the family’s unresolved issue.

Gone with the Wind, He Said chronicles the life of the author’s missing in action brother, Staff Sergeant Eugene Darter.  He vanished on his first bombing mission over Bremen, Germany during the Second World War, leaving the Darter family with unanswered questions like: Did he really die? If so, how did he die? Where did he die? It took six decades for the author to courageously look for the answers.

Michael O’Connor, a military aviation enthusiast, an author, and a retired Public Librarian, stated in a review that the book is “…meticulously-detailed, exciting and very well-illustrated account of the 16 December 1943 Mighty Eighth mission to Bremen…Part detective story, part war story, it’s compelling, well-written tribute to a brave, young man who went to war and never returned… until now.”

A touching story about the loss of and search for a lost family member, the author shared how he wittingly came up with the title. It was through a boy who witnessed an American airman come down through the fog and splashed down just offshore, into the sea, screaming for help, but then carried away by the ferocious wind further out into the freezing sea beyond reach. “Gone with the wind, he said. Who was he? He was a 17-year-old Dutch boy. He had waited sixty plus years to tell what he saw on that day…as he was walking with a friend out on the dike. ”

This book is specifically dedicated to many families who are looking for MIA fathers and sons. As a useful device, it unveils varied resources that are helpful for studies related to search and rescue.

Gone with the Wind, He Said will be featured at the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair which will be held on October 14-18, 2015 at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt, Germany. Check out the book along with several other materials during the whole event.
 
 
 

Gone With the Wind He Said
The Cold Case Search for My MIA Brother
Written by Michael I. Darter
Nook Book | $ 3.49
Kindle | $ 5.99
Paperback | $ 19.19
Hardcover | $ 28.73
 
Book copies are available at www.xlibris.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and other online book retailers.
 
 
About the Author

Michael I. Darter is a Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois. For thirty years, he taught classes and conducted research at the said university where he also served as Principal Investigator of many research and development studies. He contributed significant knowledge and widely used engineering tools in forensic analysis, performance prediction models, life-cycle cost analysis, and management, rehabilitation, and maintenance procedures.  Furthermore, he is known internationally for his expertise in design, construction, rehabilitation, and management of highway and airfield infrastructures.

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