Murphy's War

As many readers of this digital rag know, my novel, Murphy’s War, is in the process of being published. The book tells the tale of a young man from a public service oriented family who in the years just before W.W.II is inspired to federal service by the acts of his political hero, Franklin Roosevelt, and who becomes entangled in the program to intern Japanese ethnics living in the West Coast of the U.S. at the beginning of the war.

The Internment while well chronicled from the point of view of its victims has never been adequately addressed as an exercise in public policy making, and after more than two years of research and writing I believe that my book will provide readers with some insight into how and why the travesty came about. Naturally, with my usual humility, I recommend it highly and will advise my fans when it is ready.

The other night while at a dinner with old friends, I was asked by my golfing buddy, Paul Royston, why I wrote Murphy’s War? Shockingly, I had no ready answer. Later, in attempting to review my motivation to begin the task, I constructed a reason that I think is accurate and truthful, but I’m not really certain.

Like my protagonist, Thomas Murphy, I was – and remain - an admirer of FDR. I also found everything about the internment to be abhorrent and distasteful. The question naturally arises, how could one of America’s greatest presidents ever authorize a program so shockingly racist?

My mission was perhaps twofold: to mitigate to the extent possible the guilt of an admired president and to condemn those who forced this abominable program upon the nation. I worked as hard and as honestly as I could to find the truth and created a story that I believe succeeds in answering the unanswerable. When the book appears, I hope that many of you will read it and see if you agree.

Blog on!

Wild Bill