The story of people in one average midwestern city —Oshkosh—who were thrust into World War II, to experience it on the Homefront or in faraway lands confronting fierce enemies. The stories told here are representative of those heard in hundreds of cities across Wisconsin and across the nation. On the South Park War Memorial in Oshkosh, carved on the smooth face of the granite monument, are the names of 155 men who died in World War II. Each name represents a lost loved one, and Larson did not want those names to be forgotten, nor the memories of those who returned from combat. Oral histories from citizens of Oshkosh provided material for the book.