On the 50th anniversary of D-Day, Dr. James Boelkins鈥� mother presented him with a set of letters his father had written to her during his service as a mobile field surgeon during World War II, letters Boelkins never knew existed.
Boelkins, provost emeritus of Hope College, copied the 1,200 pages of fragile letters with the goal of eventually creating an annotated and shorter version of the letters for family and friends. After many years the result is 鈥淔aith and Family in a Time of War: Letters of WWII Field Surgeon Dr. Richard C. Boelkins,鈥� released by Van Raalte Press.
The book follows Dr. Richard (Dick) Boelkins from his commissioning into the Michigan National Guard in February 1939 until his return to the States in June 1945 on a hospital ship. Dick and his surgical team landed on Utah Beach on June 8, 1944, D-Day Plus 2, and supported Omar Bradley鈥檚 First Army until early August when his team was transferred to support George S. Patton鈥檚 Third Army as it made its way across the European Continent from August 1944 to April 1945.
鈥淭he sheer number of letters (227) Dad wrote from D-Day to the end of the war was astounding,鈥� said Boelkins. 鈥淭he letters were written at all hours, in between difficult surgical cases while sitting on the floor of the surgical tent or huddled in a foxhole. Although my father died in 1982, the letters allowed me to spend a year with my father and hear his voice. The book has also provided me with a way to honor the many sacrifices my father and mother made during the war that I never fully appreciated or expressed while they were living.鈥�
The letters chronicle long hours of surgery in field and evacuation hospitals amidst the devastation of war, revealing the challenges of living in foxholes, operating on devastating wounds, suffering cold and wet weather, and enduring fear, homesickness and anxiety. The letters share the pain of watching young soldiers suffer and die, losing close members of his surgery team, and fighting an undiagnosed kidney disease that almost took his life. The letters also reveal the critical importance of mail from family and friends in sustaining his morale.
鈥淚 hope readers will gain a first-hand understanding of the realities of war and how the doctors and nurses on the front lines of WWII saved countless lives. Readers will also see someone who was a model for what it means to be a faithful husband, father, physician, and follower of Christ. The book testifies to why Dad and his colleagues are called the Greatest Generation,鈥� said Boelkins.
鈥淔aith and Family in a Time of War: Letters of WWII Field Surgeon Dr. Richard C. Boelkins,鈥� released by Van Raalte Press, is available for purchase for $30 through the Hope College Bookstore or Amazon.
Van Raalte Press is the publishing arm of the A.C. Van Raalte Institute (VRI). The VRI focuses on the history of Dutch Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries; Holland, Michigan; and Hope College. More information can be found at .