Suzanne Simon Dietz, Honor Thy Fathers & Mothers

Author Suzanne Simon Dietz will discuss Honor Thy Fathers & Mothers: Niagara Frontier’s Legacy of Patriotism and Survival at Talking Leaves…Books, 3158 Main Street, Buffalo, on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Come and meet former World War II American Airmen held as Prisoners of War in Europe and Japan, survivors of concentration camps in Poland, and local residents who worked with German POWs from Fort Niagara. Their stories are part of local author Dietz’s just published new book; some of them will appear with the author at this free event. Copies of the book are available now at both Talking Leaves locations, and will be available for purchase at this book signing.

A series of personal events for Dietz inspired a trek through one of the most pivotal moments of history via stories from the “greatest generation” members residing on the Niagara Frontier. Soldiers and pilots, American POWs held in Europe and Japan, farm families who worked with German POWs from Fort Niagara, aircraft design engineers and test pilots at Bell Aircraft, and concentration camp survivors shared their experiences with her as she sought to come to terms with her own family’s little discussed war experiences. Dietz spent nearly two years researching and writing this work, which also contains more than sixty photos, documentation of the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works and its environmental legacy in the Towns of Lewiston and Porter and lists of medical personnel at the Fort.

Harry M. DeBan, editor of Fortress Niagara, Fort Niagara National Historic Landmark, writes: “Honor Thy Fathers & Mothers goes far beyond anything attempted or presented which documents the personal narratives of so many of the Niagara Frontier’s residents during the World War II era. From local kids to post-war immigrants, whether in or out of uniform, this meticulously researched treasure trove of personal sagas-–and the military, governmental, industrial and down-on-the-farm stages they played out on–-preserves for all times, a vital part of the nation’s soul that would otherwise have been lost to the ages. Our families, friends, and neighbors are all represented here in one form or another. The inclusion of seldom or never told details about certain federal war-time actions, and their effects (some still lingering) on the civilian population, adds another significant dimension to this incredible documentary chronicle.”

Suzanne Simon Dietz is the Town of Porter Historian. She is also the author of Porter and of Lewiston, both volumes in the Arcadia Publishing Images of America Series, and a contributing author to many other local history publications.