Well, I found this “R E S T R I C T E D” order in that old Army trunk I keep writing about. The first time I looked at the “restricted” label, I expected to see a war report from my Uncle Jack Daley, a spy in WW2, one of the first members of the OSS, which morphed into the CIA. The order had passed through the War Department at the direction of the President, by order of the Secretary of War. It was approved by Marshall, Chief of Staff and Ulio, Major General, The Adjutant General, then signed by Geisler. And what was this secret and restricted order? An announcement of the change of name of: 2nd Lt. Helen Marie Eberhart to Helen Eberhart Daley. It had only taken the Army nearly 3 months to register the change.
Archive for the ‘spy’ Category
DAD’S STORIES
October 17, 2017
I remember sitting in that chair and listening to Dad’s stories until someone would make us quit–usually, a phone call from a sick person who needed a house call ASAP. Dad made his WW2 buddies come alive for me: Anderson, Lartz, colonels and majors, privates, doctors, and patients. He told me stories about his family–how my Uncle Jack ended up a spy in WW2, or how he quit his restaurant job in Columbia, MO, so that Dad could work there and put himself through school at Mizzou. And if I pressed him, he’d tell me about the beautiful nurse he met in Army training and married after only a few weeks–Helen Eberhart, my mom. http://www.dandibooks.com
WAR WEDDING
April 1, 2017
If you’ve read this far in WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE, I’ll bet you know exactly what this is. Clues: 1) It’s nearly 75 years old and still intact. 2) The cake it topped is long gone. 3) That lovely white dress really should have been another Army uniform. 3) Check out that flag–only 48 stars. So, have you read this far?
BOOK RELEASE DAY!
March 7, 2017
It’s here! And as if that weren’t enough for me, it’s getting two starred reviews–Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. I’ve waited so long for this. I thought about dozens of pictures I could post, along with witty, but poignant things to say. But here I am, speechless and grateful, hoping that you like my story.
Check out giveaways at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38952.Dandi_Daley_Mackall If you’re on GoodReads, will you add the book to your favorite lists and to your shelf as to-read? Thanks!
IT’S MARCH! In 6 days…
March 1, 2017
WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE officially releases and should be in book stores on March 7. After so many years dreaming about this book, it’s still hard to believe it’s real. God is just so good. I thought these pictures may help you envision some of the moments in the novel. Helen in Rennes, Frank in Marseilles, then on a battle field in Germany. Frank is on the castle in Heidelberg, Germany. Helen is on her way to meet Frank.
If you’ve been reading these blogs, thanks so much for your interest. I would LOVE to hear from anyone who’s reading WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE!
http://www.dandibooks.com/with-love-wherever-you-are/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38952.Dandi_Daley_Mackall
ARMY NURSES
February 21, 2017
These are the nurses Mom (Helen) came to know and rely on–well, most of them. Can you pick out Lt. Helen Eberhart Daley? She’s front and center and seems to give off her own light. Next to her (on her left, our right) is her best war buddy, Naomi. Although I never met her, I feel as if I know Naomi. So many of Helen’s letters and war stories included her kind friend. If you read WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE, I think you’ll come to know her a bit too.
http://www.dandibooks.com/with-love-wherever-you-are/
Lt. Frank R. Daley, M.D.
February 14, 2017
March
Sodier-Doctor
My dad is the other main character in WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE. This St. Louis medical student didn’t want to be a hero. There were enough of those in the family. His dad, Dr. Pete, had served in WWI and now spent every waking moment training medics for the Army. Frank’s sister, Dotty, had joined the Army a couple of years before Pearl Harbor and was still in the Philippines as a nurse. His brother, Jack, in the Army in special service, had to be a spy. Even his mother volunteered for the Red Cross, along with daughter Mary, who was married to Charles House, a career Army man.
The carefree and dashing Frank Daley just wanted to finish med school, move to a hospital close to the ocean and tennis courts, and hang up his shingle. Even after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, everyone seemed confident that the war would be over in a matter of weeks, certainly before his deferment ran out. Instead, as soon as he graduated, he was sent straight to boot camp. There, he met a number of colorful Army buddies, some who journey with him through the novel.
Oh–and he also met a spirited Army nurse named Helen.
See more on my new website: http://www.dandibooks.com/with-love-wherever-you-are/
Uncle Jack the Spy
February 6, 2017
Move over, 007, and meet John “Jack” Daley, my dad’s big brother. Uncle Jack signed up in 1939, when the government appealed to accountants to help organize the armed forces from the inside out. The select group of pencil pushers were called “Thirty Day Wonders” because that’s how long they committed to serve in the US Army. Only the “wonder” came months later, when thirty days stretched to ninety, then to a year. None of them got out of the Army for years, so Jack was still in service when his little brother joined him in Europe. In WITH LOVE, WHEREVER YOU ARE, it’s fun to see Jack pop up unannounced and know everything, but tell little. He became part of the OSS, Office of Strategic Services, the first organized effort by the United States to implement a centralized system of strategic intelligence. The OSS was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Special Operations Command, including the US Navy SEALs and the Green Berets. Even though he delighted in dragging his little brother into a couple of dangerous adventures, I remember Dad saying that his brother was the most generous person he knew.
As for the German stationery with the hateful insignia, it helps to know that Jack the Spy likely swiped it from from a Nazi and put it to better use.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/100384.Most_Anticipated_Christian_Fiction_2017
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