Loretto M Thompson / Loretto M. Thompson
An Unexpected Coddiwomple takes you on a journey through a captivating collection of World War II (WWII) letters abundant with humor, intrigue, and romance across the U.S., to the U.K., and back again. Join S/Sgt. Frank G. Thompson and his daughter Loretto on parallel 'missions.' Frank’s mission is to survive the war as a B-17 radio operator gunner and get on with his life; Loretto’s is to discover whatever she can about the father she never knew. Frank wrote his family almost daily, which transports you to the everyday life of a WWII soldier from the day he reports to the day he is discharged. Frank’s story could belong to any one of the 16 million WWII soldiers who served. Not since The Diary of Anne Frank has a window with such an intimate view of WWII been opened to the world, seen this time through the eyes of a soldier. ---Learn from the pilot himself, 'Big Sundin,' what happened when they ditched Heavy Date in the North Sea in 1945, saving the lives of the entire crew. Had Big Sundin not executed a 'perfect ditching,' Loretto and her six siblings would not have been born. Through her father’s words, she uncovers truths about her parentage that were buried with him in 1965, solving decades of mysteries that culminate with an invitation to Buckingham Palace. It’s a story of family, duty, faith, and a life transformed. It’s a story of love.---... By the time Loretto discovered the cache of WWII letters, her father had been dead almost 50 years. She’d accepted she would never know him. That changed when she decided to type his 500+ letters for her siblings. With each letter, she heard her father’s voice. With each place she visited, each person she met, the 50 years without him melted away, and the enduring gap that had opened between them when she was four years old gradually began to close...----Coddiwomple (v.): To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague, as-yet-unknown destination.
