"Elizabethtown College has a long and treasured past of dedication to serving the community around us. Many graduates from our school endeavor to create better, brighter futures for those who follow them. It is not often that one thinks back on the sacrifices our predecessors have made for our benefit—alumni of the college whose efforts have provided us with the secure world we know and occupy today. In the book “Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II,” Etown graduate Lois Kathryn Herr explores the stories of several former Etown students as they left campus to join American efforts in World War II – giving new meaning to our motto, “Educate for Service”.

Evoking images of a smaller, simpler Etown, Herr chronicles the experiences of student athletes from our school who, either after graduation or during their time as students, served in the Second World War. Using letters written to her father, beloved former Etown sports coach Ira Herr, the author provides the story of a group of students whose positive experiences in athletics and strong relationship with their coach gave them a sense of support and strength to draw upon as they experienced the difficulties of war first-hand.

In these letters, we find the stories of Etown students as they adjust to their new roles in life. Former basketball player Wilbur “Wib” Raffensperger, a member of the class of 1943, writes to Coach describing his new love for a position in the pilot’s seat as he takes part in combat missions that send him to places like Sicily and North Africa. Star pitcher Rudy Rudisill maintains a correspondence with Coach Herr throughout his experiences handling administrative duties in the Army. Coach Herr’s positive effect as a mentor and source of strength for his former athletes is obvious in the warm way in which each student addresses him. The author shows us how much Coach truly cared about each individual with whom he corresponded"

Read more here:

The Etownian.com

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"If you want peace work for justice" -Pope Paul VI

Jon

The letters of WWII are my most passionate area of the war. To read actual words, from the actual people involved. I buy a lot of these letters, and through them I have found I've learned so much about the human side of the battles and the daily life. We often forget that so many of the soldiers that served, did so in a non-combative role. It's really amazing to read about how those guys compaired life on an English airbase, or a Recruit Depot in New York, to their home town. One of my favorite letters was given to me by a neighbor from my boyhood street. Her husband was in the 9th Infantry Division and fought in all major engagements the 9th was involved in, up until his capture in France. He wrote a letter to his wife while on his way home and gave it to her, desribing the whole war. It's an amazing, amazing thing to be entrusted with.

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Kicking up dust since 1978