Russell Dorn

This is the story of the author's father, Russell Dorn, and the qualities that defined his life. It tells of Russ's induction into the U.S. Army in 1944 at age 26 to his discharge after being wounded in 1945. It is one person's wartime experience, but also includes family history, stories about World War II, and more. This biography covers not only Russ Dorn's life, but also the lives of soldiers who overcame their own inexperience and mistakes of the high command as well as the enemy....
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This is the story of the author's father, Russell Dorn, and the qualities that defined his life. It tells of Russ's induction into the U.S. Army in 1944 at age 26 to his discharge after being wounded in 1945. It is one person's wartime experience, but also includes family history, stories about World War II, and more. This biography covers not only Russ Dorn's life, but also the lives of soldiers who overcame their own inexperience and mistakes of the high command as well as the enemy. Details are memorialized in Russ's own words from letters and V-mails to his family back home. His depth and despair become evident as his story unfolds. It didn't look good for Russ at one point in particular, as he lay wounded and bleeding profusely in a ditch in western Germany. Once home, Russ and his wife, Dorothy, enjoyed their family, friends, and time at their family cabin on Otter Tail Lake near Fergus Falls, MN. He survived a lung transplant due to cancer in 1963 and lived a full life until succumbing to Alzheimer's Disease in 1995.The final chapter focuses on the life lessons and values the author learned from his father. Larry Dorn paraphrases author Stephen Ambrose when he concludes, "It would not be possible for me to praise my father too much. He was a decent and praiseworthy man."