In Search of a Boy Named Chester: A gift to my father for his 100th birthday

Shortly after the end of World War II, a 21-year-old Navy officer – just back after a year at war in the Pacific – was eager to return to his small hometown in eastern North Carolina for a brief home leave. At the San Francisco airport, a mother travelling to Omaha offered him her seat – a patriotic gesture of gratitude, he believed. There was one condition: the sailor would need to accompany her 10-year-old son and see him safely to his grandmother in Omaha.

The boy’s name was Chester. The sailor never forgot him.

Nearly 80 years later, the sailor’s son sets out to give his father a special 100th birthday gift: to discover what became of that precocious boy.

The book blends memoir, investigative nonfiction, and family history into a poignant and suspenseful journey. Through letters, military records, census and newspaper archives and outreach to strangers-turned-allies, the author pieces together the life of a boy nearly lost to time. Along the way, the story explores themes of memory, intergenerational connection, and the lasting impact of wartime experiences. Rich in historical detail and emotional resonance, the book will appeal to readers of narrative nonfiction, World War II history, and family sagas, and to genealogical sleuths drawn to real-life mysteries. In Search of a Boy Named Chester is a story that shows us how even the most fleeting encounters can reveal who we are and who we may become.

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