Talkshow Thursday: Unintended Hero The Story Behind the Story

Unintended Hero: The Story Behind the Story

By Becky Van Vleet

A kitchen table, a father, a daughter, and a cassette recorder. What’s so special about this? As a baby boomer, I’d always been fascinated with my father’s WWII stories he shared occasionally about the USS Denver, the light cruiser he was assigned to as a teenage gunner in the South Pacific. Fearing his firsthand accounts might perish in oblivion, I whipped out my dated cassette recorder on March 19, 1990, and corralled my father, Walter Troyan, to our kitchen table. I asked him to recount his WWII adventures, experiences, and battles so I could save his stories for our children. For the next two hours he spoke with vivid pride, and I tucked those tapes away, intending only to keep them as family keepsakes.

Fast forward thirty years, during the COVID lockdown, I replayed those recordings and realized they deserved a wider audience. Could I write a book? Preserve my father’s recollections for others to read outside of the family?

Google and other search engines became my friends. I had a big puzzle on my hands to fit all the pieces

together—my father’s stories, ship deck logs, research of the Pacific Theater, for ammunition and guns, the battles, hundreds of other Navy ships, and . . . well, I had a lot of pieces to fit together to formulate a narrative. A well-written one. This was a story, after all, about my father. He was no longer living, and my book must honor not only him, but the other sixteen million Americans who answered the call of duty to fight for our country. They sacrificed school, jobs, families, homes, personal aspirations, and sometimes their very lives. My book must also represent them.

Tap, tap, tap. My fingers flew over my keyboard faster than armor piercing shells firing from battleships for more than a year as a manuscript emerged. Help came from everywhere--my husband, editors, veterans, and friends. Family cheered me on. I took a couple of research trips to tour WWII ships, and I walked on Preble Field at the San Diego Naval Training Facility where my father marched for his boot camp training in 1942. And certainly, God held my hand each step of the way.

Unintended Hero, my debut historical novel, finally made an inaugural appearance on Amazon in August 2022. More than sales, my goal has always been to preserve my father’s firsthand account and honor the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation. Since publication, I’ve been invited into numerous schools to share lessons of sacrifice, teamwork, and patriotism—values my father and his fellow veterans exemplified. It's truly rewarding to witness the enthusiasm of students as they eagerly raise their hands with questions and engage in group discussions about applying these values in their lives. What an honor to pay tribute to my father and the Greatest Generation through today’s youth.

If you would like to book Becky for her interactive presentation, grades seven and up, for a school classroom, homeschool group, or youth group, you may contact her at beckyvanvleet9@gmail.com. She donates her time and is available in person or by zoom.

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About Unintended Hero

When the first bomb drops on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941, Walter Troyan is a skinny seventeen-year-old California kid chock full of fear. But down deep he knows he must join the fight, so he drops out of high school and enlists.

Almost overnight, Walter is submerged into a brutal training regime and schedule. He’s homesick. Outmatched by all the other newbies. Knows he’ll never live up to his heroic brothers. And his soul shudders every time an officer shouts, “What are you made of!” Because Walter knows.

But then? Hope. He performs well on an aptitude test which sends him to Gunner’s Mate School. Upon graduation, Walter is sent to the USS Denver, docked in Philadelphia. He makes friends, gains a shred of courage.

Then his ship enters the Pacific Theater and Walter enters the crucible of his life. His body, spirit, and soul are forced to fight against emotions and circumstances he’s never encountered, and he’s faced with choices that will bring life or death to men he’s come to love as brothers.

Don’t miss this epic tale—inspired by a true story—of a boy facing head on, the courage it takes to become a man.

Purchase link: https://amzn.to/3HxiA1s

Social Media Links
Website: https://www.beckyvanvleet.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorbeckyvanvleet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becky_van_vleet_author/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-van-vleet-0388982a6/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/125841473-becky-van-vleet
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/becky-van-vleet
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/beckyvanvleet/

Photo credits:

Author and book image: Becky VanVleet

Ship: Pexels/John Wolf

San Diego Training Center: Courtesy of https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/