I'm very excited to announce that I have officially launched the writing and research of "The Legacy Ridge". This is the follow-up to The Legacy Road which began a series of travel essay / genealogy / military history hybrid books. I am uncertain how many will complete the series. I suppose that all depends on how long I am physically capable of traveling, hiking, and tapping a keyboard. One thing is for certain though, this book won't take me twelve years to complete like my first venture did.
The Legacy Ridge is another labor of love, and a salute to my best friend's father, who I knew so very well that I considered him my second Dad. In turn, he and his wife called me "Son #2."Sergeant Hal Willits served his country during WWII in the infamous "10th Mountain Division". He survived the victorious assault on the Germans' impenetrable Gothic Line, by way of an ascent under the cover of darkness up the the sheer face of Riva Ridge in the Italian Apennine mountains in 1945. His Division was only active in combat for 4 months, yet the 10th suffered one of the highest casualty numbers of any unit in the European theater. Hal was a recipient of both the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star.
As with my first book, The Legacy Ridge will include the realtime observations from the roads of discovery presented in journal form, this time from the perspective of three travelers: Myself, Hal's son Ken, and his grandson Kenneth. We will revisit some significant sites where the 10th trained in Texas and Colorado, and retrace the march from the Italian hamlet of Vidiciatico to the top of Monte Belvedere in the Apennines.
I will post updates here on The Legacy Road blog as the details emerge. Please share my blog with friends and family who might be interested in coming along for what I anticipate will be a very interesting ride, where we will meet many new friends and experience some profound discoveries along the way.
Sincerely,
Steve Enyeart
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