‘The Dad I Never Knew’ Reveals a Son’s Journey to Learn About Father Killed in World War II

Ed Brodowski was born in Forrestport and grew up in Utica.  He went to Europe to fight in World War II and he never made it back to New York.

He did leave behind a wife and baby he never had the chance to meet.  That child, Bruce, had the opportunity to learn about the life of his father though letters exchanged with his mother.  The letters and the collected story of his father's life is told in the book 'The Dad I Never Knew: A War Orphan's Search for Inner Healing' and is available on Amazon.

From the Amazon.com editorial review:

In the glorious rush to take up arms in noble causes by necessity there is little thought to more than the matter at hand. Future generations are the reasons to strive for victory. Most warriors do return home to carry on raise families, but there are so many who are born and begin to grow not knowing the men who gave them life. This book is about one of those boys and his quest to learn what he could of the man whose hopes and dreams he carries into the present.

Mr. Brodowski is actually one of the more fortunate ones in that he has a wealth of letters exchanged between his father and his mother. These are skillfully interwoven with a historical timeline. It is this timeline that helps the reader to achieve a sense of place in the events. In hindsight we know that the war was definitely winding down and was soon to end. At the time though there was hope, but the fighting kept going with the Germans fighting on in desperation as their homeland was at long last feeling the privations of conflict.

This book by Bruce Brodowski is carefully and articulately written. The reader shares along with the author his quest to know the man and to make sense of the life the son was destined to follow. Mr. Brodowski was definitely not alone in his experience but he has been most fortunate in finding a personal history upon which to draw. This reviewer hopes that some of those many others in Mr. Brodowski's situation will take heart and find some pride in those that gave so much for them.