On Wednesday, November 6, Henry Ford Community College opened its doors to the Rosenau Room for World War II author and historian John Wokuvits for his presentation on his book “Nobody Gives a Damn: War Veterans and their Stories.”

Wokuvits first discovered his fascination with the second World War when he was in grade school after reading about the Battle of the Coral Sea. He is an alumnus of Notre Dame University and received his bachelor’s degree in history in 1967 before earning his Master’s degree from Michigan State. Centering primarily on Pacific Theater, he has studied World War II for over 20 years.

Working as a History and English teacher for 20 years at a junior high school, The Michigan State Alumnus thought it would be the best time to follow the advice he was giving his students which was, “Follow your dreams.” Wokuvits is an author of eight books on the subject of World War II and has been a consultant for the History Channel. Since his retirement from teaching in 2005, he has interviewed over 400 veterans for his research.

The Historian’s new book emphasizes how greatly World War II veterans question their actions and ask themselves, “Have we accomplished anything special? Will we be forgotten?” During the presentation, Wokuvits mentions one of the veterans he had met named Colonel Hanna.
“His neighbors said that he would wear a different Marine t-shirt every day,” the history scholar said. “The one he had on when I interviewed him read, ‘Marines don’t die, they go to hell and regroup.’” Wokuvits quoted Colonel Hanna saying, “John, if the Marines would take me back now, I would rejoin in an instant.”

He also mentioned legends that other veterans have told about the people they served with during the war. One of the stories was about Charles Natter, a 20-year-old Atlantic City lifeguard who saved many of his mates by swimming into shark-infested waters and gathering the men from the wooden planks they were floating on. After he saw a good friend of his get eaten by a shark, he continued to swim out and gather more stranded soldiers until he was killed by a shark. “Because of him, the sailors he saved, several families and generations survived because of Natter’s sacrifice,” said Wokuvits.

At the end of the lecture, Wokuvits took a Q & A from the Audience and signed a few of his books as well. His book “Nobody Gives a Damn: War Veterans and their Stories” will be available approximately January 2015.

To find out more about John Wokuvits’ experiences or order one of his books, visit http://www.johnwukovits.com/john_wukovits/Home.html. Any questions regarding his life as an author or World War II email johnwukovits@comcast.net.