I Can Hear the Guns Now

I Can Hear The Guns Now - A World War II Story of Love and Sacrifice sounds like a war story, but it’s not. The story just happened to be caused by the war. It is about the gradual disintegration of a normal loving family of five that was caught in the horrible throes of World War II, with no way out. My thirty four year old father, Ova W. Ratliff, was torn between his love for his family and his duty to his country. He really didn't want to go to war, but, when his draft notice came he put his family on hold and answered his country’s call. This book allows the reader a glimpse into our war torn family. The story is told from a very personal point of view of how World War II affected our family. It makes a powerful statement of love for family, and sacrifice for country.

I Can Hear The Guns Now is told using the 84 unedited letters that my father wrote home during those eight months from his induction to his wartime death. All of the letters are in the book, just as they were written. Dad’s letters allow you to visualize the upheaval and sacrifice in his life as he went through the rigors of preparing for war. You can feel his love for his family, and experience his heartache from leaving them behind. Those letters capture his anguish as he was painfully and slowly being transformed into a soldier. You can sense the emotional agony and physical torment that was inflicted on him and the ones he loved the most.

As my father came face to face with the horrors of war, there came a point in his life where he had to say, in his last ever letter, “I’ve not been in battle yet, but the front lines are Close Now. I can hear the guns Now". His first battle, The Battle of The Huertgen Forest was his last battle. He made the ultimate sacrifice… his life for our freedom.

After reading this book many people have sent letters of appreciation. In those letters they say I Can Hear The Guns Now will thoughtfully draw you into the story like a moth to a flame, and they say it will stir your emotions and tug at your heartstrings. Below are a few heartfelt emotional comments readers have made in those letters.

~ “It touched my heart”

~ “This book has an impact beyond that which you may realize”

~ “I could not put it down”

~ “A moving story that touched my heart”

~ “I felt as if I was there with your Dad”

~ “This book is captivating, just can’t put it down”

~ “I cried when I read Ova’s letter to Hazel, that he wrote when he boarded the ship. War is about people. Thank you for helping us remember that.”

~ “Your book reflects our heritage -- the love, joy, pain and heartbreak of so many who served in World War II.”

~ “I thank you Thomas, for explaining so many things that made me feel as if I knew your Dad, and I could see inside his very soul in his torment at what he was going through. I couldn’t put the book down.

~ “This book can quickly absorb the reader and create a genuine humble appreciation for the reality that the liberties, enjoyed in America today, are the result of men and women who were willing to disrupt their life’s journey to serve their country’s need rather than their own.”

~ “Thank you for sharing your family story. Everyone should read about Ova W. Ratliff, he is a hero.”

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ISBN 0-9704865-0-2