In my “normal” life, I am a filmmaker and many of you know me through the World War II documentaries that I have produced:

MARCHING ONCE MORE: Veterans return to the battlefield 60 years after the Battle of the Bulge
THANK YOU, EDDIE HART: A Dutch woman, grateful for her freedom, makes a lifelong promise to care for the grave of a soldier she never knew
NORTH CAROLINA’S WORLD WAR II EXPERIENCE: Personal accounts of North Carolinians from both the battlefield and the home front

For me, sharing such stories has been a true honor as well as an opportunity to learn from those who have lived through such incredible times. During one of those productions, I met Paul Willis – Company G, 329^th Regiment, 83^rd Infantry Division – who fought from Normandy, through the Hurtgen and Ardennes Forests, to the Elbe River in Germany, crossing just before the war’s end.

Not long after, Paul returned to his North Carolina home where he worked at a paper and fiber company and with his wife, Evelyn, raised their two sons. He also began writing poetry – first, little jingles for colleagues – and then, more thoughtful, inspiring poems reflecting his experiences and love of history. For the past sixty years, Paul has continued to write about the war, nature, the earth, and hope for the future. A year ago, he asked me if I would help him publish a book of his work. While I had never done anything like that before, how could I say no?

And so, REFLECTIONS OF A WORLD WAR II VETERAN: POEMS ABOUT WAR AND LIFE was born and I must admit, I’m a proud parent! REFLECTIONS features sixteen poems, including two about the Battle of the Bulge. Here is one of them:

INFANTRY OF THE SNOWS

The bleak Ardennen wood shrouded
In mist and snow. Snow, a winding
Sheet for many. Yet life was there,
Merging with the shadows. In this
Solitude men moved among the trees.
The infantry of the snows. There
Amid the sounds of war borne on the
Winter wind, in the dim morning
Light they crossed the no mans land
Into the baptism of fire. When at last
The battle ended, for those who lived
The forest released its hold upon them.
For the sun in its course returned and
In pity erased the fearful record. But
To the living there remained always the
Memory of the white wasteland, and the
Infantry of the snows.

• From REFLECTIONS OF A WORLD WAR II VETERAN
    by Paul Willis. Reproduced with permission.

REFLECTIONS is one more way to remember the price of freedom and those who have so selflessly served. To you, I say, “Thank you!” and may your legacy live on through works such as this.

NOTE: REFLECTIONS OF A WORLD WAR II VETERAN, priced at $9.95, is available at Brenda’s website: wetbirdproductions.com. The documentary, THANK YOU, EDDIE HART, can also be purchased there.