LOOKING BACK: A HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY REGION’S VETERANS DURING THE KOREAN AND VIETNAM WARS, VOLS I AND II

By Sarah Sherman McGrail

Cozy Harbor Press, 2016

564 pages, $24.95

Civil War Confederate General John S. Mosby wrote in 1887: “War loses a great deal of its romance after a soldier has seen his first battle.” That old soldier’s remark proves true in the stories of the Boothbay region’s veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars.

“Looking Back” is a fascinating two-volume set that captures the spirit of military service experienced by 210 soldiers, sailors, airmen, coast guardsmen, merchant mariners and Marines from the Boothbay area. The author, Sarah Sherman McGrail, is a Southport Island native. She spent eight years locating, contacting, convincing and collecting the memoirs of men and women who served in those tumultuous wartime eras.

Some veterans wrote their own stories, McGrail interviewed others, and a few stories were provided by surviving family members or veterans’ friends. She also thoughtfully includes a list of veterans who declined to be interviewed, and their long list of names says enough.

These stories are of officers, NCOs and enlisted, telling of their wartime experiences on land, at sea and in the air.

And remember, these are Mainers who fought, bled and sometimes died as infantrymen, tankers, mechanics, Seabees, machinist and aviation mates, helicopter aircrew, truck drivers, radio operators, cooks, bakers and clerks, living, working and fighting in Vietnam’s steaming jungles or Korea’s frozen wastes.

Some stories are funny, some harrowing and some are poignant, but all are vivid recollections, liberally sprinkled with colorful language and painful memories. Learn about a soldier’s unique system for bagging enemy snipers in Vietnam, about a Marine lieutenant leading his rifle platoon into Hue City in 1968, and who “Shake ‘n Bake” and “Willy Peter” really were.

Collections like this should inspire other Maine writers to seek out the stories of their own hometown veterans before those memories are lost and forgotten.

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FOX: A COOPER & PACKRAT MYSTERY

By Tamra Wight

Islandport Press, 2016

200 pages, $16.95

With this third book in her Cooper & Packrat mystery series, Poland author Tamra Wight scores another hit for readers ages 8-12.

“The Mystery Of The Missing Fox” finds Cooper and his pal, Packrat, hot on the trail of a poacher targeting a mother fox and her five kits. This is a fun, fast-paced and very suspenseful mystery set at the Wilder Campground.

Cooper’s parents own and operate the campground, working hard each spring to get the place ready for the camping season. When Cooper’s father is injured in a chainsaw accident, the campground’s chores must be completed by Cooper, Packrat and two other friends, Roy and a girl named Summer. Cooper feels guilty about his father’s injury (there’s a good lesson here) and is determined to do all the springtime chores.

Meanwhile, the kids discover a fox den with a fox family. They all love wildlife and enjoy watching the mother and her cute, playful kits. But the mother and kits begin disappearing, one by one. Tracks and other evidence indicate a human is fox-napping and the kids are angry.

While the kids are working and searching the woods for the foxes, someone is deliberately sabotaging the campground’s water supply. These three boys and girl are pretty smart and soon develop a pretty convincing list of possible suspects — and one of the suspects is very close to them.

The poacher is desperate and very dangerous and will stop at nothing to protect the crimes. But some fancy detective work, an exciting zip-line escape and gutsy kids save the day. And everybody learns some valuable lessons about suspicion, friendship, following rules and looking out for each other. Many fascinating fox facts round out this excellent children’s fiction.

Bill Bushnell lives and writes in Harpswell.

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