Growing Up Army by Robert R. Heath Sr.

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MWSA Review

Growing Up Army is a remarkable and heartwarming read that both military and non-military can enjoy. The enduring term Army Brats is brilliantly explained and gives the story context. The adventures of a globe-trotting military family started in the 1930s about a career Army family with nine siblings and continues over time to the adulthood of the siblings. Serving a career in the army myself with three of my own Army Brats, I found this book entertaining and relatable. It presented shared personal and cultural experiences relatable for all generations of military children. The story is wonderfully told and uses reality and levity to engage the reader and convey personal and cultural experiences that in some instances dramatically and humorously draw the reader into an understanding of what it was, and is, to be an Army Brat.

Review by Warren Martin (April 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

Shortly after Dick and Jinny started dating, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and soon afterwards, Dick was drafted into the army. Not long before being sent into the war, Dick offered to provide Jinny with her own kindergarten if she would quit teachers college and marry him. She did, and Brat #1 arrived while he was in Sardinia. The rest of the 9-member Brat Platoon arrived in different places around the world as Dick continued his career serving our country. The Brats proved to be highly adventurous as they experienced many different peoples, languages and cultures while growing up army. This historical memoir chronicles the historical aspects of Dick's time in WWII, the many places in which he served our country, and the wild and crazy adventures of the Brat Platoon.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 290

Word Count: 96,181