On September 28, 1924, German immigrants Henry and Ella Borgman arrived in New York Harbor along with hundreds of others who dreamed of a better life in America. A year later, on their route home across the Brooklyn Bridge in the middle of a New York City traffi c jam, Ella goes into labor and gives birth to a son. They name him Brooklyn “Brooks” Borgman after the bridge which, to them, embodied the American “can-do” attitude they had come to love.
Life wasn’t easy for the Borgmans, but they trust “the good Lord,” work hard and “get by with a little help from
their friends” in the small town of Anomie, Kansas where they are forced to move after the depression. Henry becomes an airplane mechanic and Brooks starts spending lots of time with Dad at the hangar where he develops an aptitude for fl ying planes. Shortly before his 19th birthday, Brooks is drafted into the army during World War II. It soon becomes apparent that both the providence that ordered his parents’ lives and his own has been preparing him for his time in the service. Brooks quickly distinguishes himself as the best of his class and is pressed into dangerous duty. Against overwhelming odds, Brooks selfl essly volunteers to put himself in harm’s way to aid a crucial mission, earning him the love of his fellow soldiers and the respect of his superiors. It will also win him
the hearts and admiration of his countrymen but will he live to see it?
