{"product_id":"the-journey-d-kent-decker-9781535607452","title":"The Journey: An American Soldier in WWI","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe rain had stopped but the damp air was unseasonably cold. German artillery lobbed stray shells into the vicinity as the massive movement to the jump-off trenches began. Single file, tens of thousands of troops slogged the two miles through mud and foliage, groping their way through the darkness, rookies and veterans alike. At 6:00 a.m. sharp, the attack battalions would go over the top. The day before, Private First Class Dick Bakker, Company E, 308th Infantry, penciled a message to the folks at home, \"I am near the front now and I expect to go within a few days. That may not sound very good to you but I have no fears \u0026amp; am ready to meet death at any time but I expect to be back.\" Mother Grace would hold these words close in the years to come. The battle would become legend. The heartbreak was eternal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDick Bakker was drafted in May, 1918, and rushed into action after two months training. Dick wrote thirty-two letters home that chronicled his tour of duty from the Minnesota farmlands to deadly combat in the Argonne Forest. The Journey: An American Soldier in World War I commemorates Dick's journey amidst the turmoil that gripped the country during that hurried summer of 1918. The story delivers a unique personal insight into one family's struggle to cope with the tragedy of war.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e D. Kent Decker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1535607459\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781535607452\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Darwin K Decker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/07\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.64d","brand":"D. Kent Decker","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43984869032191,"sku":"9781535607452","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_136a214e-ee43-41c2-9aca-88c75c601f2f.jpg?v=1683274578","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-journey-d-kent-decker-9781535607452","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}