In 1942, no one could predict how or when World War II would end. As young college students at the University of Illinois, Vernice and Steve could not have predicted that she would be recruited to do highly classified code breaking work at Arlington Hall Station, or he would find himself being shot at by friend and foe alike as a Marine in a small fabric-covered plane searching for artillery targets on the battlefields of Peleliu and Okinawa.

This carefully researched book tells her story, his story, their story, and rarely told historic backstories of the people, places, organizations, and events that shaped their World War II experiences. They include the stories of the code breaking contributions of American women during the war, the valiant, violent, and heartbreaking fighting of the First Marine Division in the Pacific, the formation and contribution of the VMO observer squadrons, the prelude to the decision to drop the two atomic bombs over Japan in 1945, the role of the United States in north China after the war ended, and the challenges faced by both men and women when the World War II veterans returned home.

This is Steve and Vernice's personal story, but it is also a story of America before, during, and after World War II. It's an important and fascinating story to read.