The war is over! Curtis Bertrand on the boat coming back home from Australia.

Taking Pictures During World War II

Did you ever have a relative or know of someone who fought in World War Two? Perhaps you envisioned what it was like for them to go to boot camp and get on a ship and sail off to war in the South Pacific.

Dad’s War Photos Flyer

WWII Trench Art From 40mm Artillery Shell 

WWII Trench Art From 40mm Artillery Shell

Here is a piece of what is called trench art from WWII. I suspect this is from a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft round. My dad brought this back from the South Pacific after the war was over in 1945. Can someone please confirm what artillery shot this?

While on the ship on the way back to the U.S. it was made into an ash tray. It had three Filipino centavos coins bent into shape and soldered into the indentions on the rim to hold the cigarette. Two of the coins went missing. Read more

Events for October 2017 & November 2017

Local Author Book Signing Events

Here are three events that we will be attending during October 2017.

Sat. October 7 from 10-2.  “Books For The Bayou” This Event was canceled

Location: Terrebonne Parish Library (in Houma)
151 Library Drive
Houma LA 70360
Phone: (985) 876-5861

Saturday October 14, 2017

Tangipahoa Parish Library, Hammond Branch

Location: Tangipahoa Parish Library – Hammond Branch (Hammond)
314 E. Thomas St.
Free Book Festival: Autumn Adventure
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Meet your favorite authors! Decorate a pumpkin! Wear your Halloween costume.

October 28, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m,

2017 Louisiana Book Festival

Location: Baton Rouge
in downtown Baton Rouge at the State Library of Louisiana, the State Capitol, the Capitol Park Museum and nearby locations. The Louisiana Book Festival will be jam-packed with outstanding literary events. Whatever book genre is your favorite, you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy!

http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/exhibitors_list2017.html

Cypress Authors Collective
Exhibitor Tent B
Book signings by Louisiana authors Neal Bertrand, Marina Landry, and Carrie Simon

Events for November 2017.

Sat Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. til 4 p.m.

Sat Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. til 4 p.m. Grand Coteau Festival of Words
On the grounds in front of the Thensted Center on Church Street

Thurs Nov 9th, D.A.R Meeting

Thurs Nov 9th, D.A.R Meeting 2 pm
Crowley, LA
Veterans Day event
Neal gives a talk about his Dad’s War Photos book and displays his father’s souvenirs from WWII.
Location to be announced

Sat. Nov 11

Sat. Nov 11 at 9 am
Veterans Day event
Fountain Memorial
On Pandora Drive
Neal will give a 10-minute talk on his father’s adventures during WWII.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Author Book signing: Rice Cooker & Slow Cooker Demonstration. Giving out free samples of meals PLUS chocolate made in a slow cooker (crockpot). Cooking “Blackeye Pea & Sausage Jambalaya” in a Rice Cooker. Cooking “Chicken Fajita Stuffed Potato” cooked in a slow cooker.
Barnes & Noble, Lafayette, La.
Black Friday, Friday Nov 24, 2017 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sample Ebook on Amazon

“When I was age 10, my daddy started showing me his 600 war pictures and telling me his experiences. Later in life, he bought a video camera so he could relate his wartime experiences for history sake, but he got sick and died before he could do that. My new book, “Dad’s War Photos: Adventures in the South Pacific” is to honor his experiences, and to honor the vow I made to him to hold his most valuable war souvenir in high honor – his Japanese war rifle he found in the Philippines.”

Using 400 pictures his father brought back from the South Pacific in WWII, author Neal Bertrand created a timeline and traced his father’s steps from home to boot camp to war and back. Portions of the battalion’s daily journal are included, adding adventure and drama to the story. There are nearly 80 photos of WWII airplanes, some with erotic artwork.

This WWII pictorial is in paperback, hardcover and multimedia ebook format.

The ebook has:

  • over 200 links to vintage Army videos of action in the South Pacific.
  • 21 color maps to help trace his steps from home to war and back on a monthly basis
  • and much more…

See the free 40-page sample at

www.amazon.com/Dads-War-Photos-Adventures-Pacific-ebook/dp/B011WDS8RA/

 

Directions to the Monthly Author Book Expo

Directions to the Monthly Author Book Expo: Driving along Interstate 49, take the Grand Coteau exit, which is exit 11. Drive East into Grand Coteau. g-maps-directions(If you drive West, you will be in Sunset). Follow Martin Luther King Drive, turn left at the only traffic light. The Thensted Outreach Center will be on the right, next to a red brick church. See map

Monthly Book Expo!

New Multimedia Kindle ebook

Dad’s War Photos is now available in three formats: hardcover, softcover, and multimedia Kindle ebook.

 

I just made this Youtube video to introduce you to my new multimedia Kindle ebook. Amazon is giving you a huge amount of free content, including 40 original WWII videos, so take a look.

If you know any history buffs, they will love this. Plus it makes a great gift.

Watch the video below.

Photos and videos of LSTs

The Landing Ship, Tanks or LSTs are the ships that transported troops and machinery. See last week’s blog post for more information, photos and video.

My father and his battalion traveled aboard these ships, being transported to the various locations in the South Pacific. They were on these LSTs when they left Oro Bay, New Guinea and went to Saidor; from Saidor, New Guinea to Biak Island, and from Biak to Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar Philippines, then on to the battle of the Lingayen Gulf in Luzon, Philippines. Read more

Landing Ship Tank, or LST, Part One

Introduction to LSTs Part One

One of the more fascinating and mysterious aspects of the photos my dad took were the troop and vehicle carriers, called LSTs. I always wondered how the trucks ended up parked on the top deck. It wasn’t until after I completed my book, Dad’s War Photos: Adventures in the South Pacific, that I learned how that was accomplished.

Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is the naval designation for vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore. About 1,000 LSTs were laid down in the United States during World War II for use by the Allies. Read more