not giving up yet

While I'm still waiting to get some kind of feedback from the government, I'd like to make some things a little clearer.

I'm not trying to make Private Goodman a hero.

I'm not trying to make him the only African-American soldier or sailor worthy of respect.

I'm simply trying to share what I learn about one young man who died thousands of miles away from home, fighting for a country that often didn't give him what it promised him.

I don't know what else to say except I'm not giving up yet.

another soldier from a different time

Nothing new to report about Private Goodman. Somewhere in
Saint Louis someone is searching through a database- maybe even some charred folders- looking to see if the information I've requested was lost.

I did spot this interesting article about a blog focusing on the experience of another soldier. Wonder what that infantryman would think of his simple letters home, just ink and paper, now eagerly awaited by strangers all around the world nearly a century later, via electricity.

I wonder how Private Goodman would feel, too.

New Year hopes..

Nothing new to report, unless you count the New Year. The forms the government asked me to fill out are back in its hands, but with the holidays, I don't expect much to happen for a while. Here's hoping some leads will start panning out.

In the meantime, I'll be reading something my friend Chris gave me a for Christmas, a new copy of "The Good War" by Studs Terkel. I'd heard of Studs before, as a broadcaster and actor, but never knew he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. I'm looking forward to reading it, and maybe getting a better understanding of what Private Goodman experienced and endured.