On Veterans Day, the prof talked about his uncle's wartime death. In a fitting commemoration of Veterans Day, History Professor Thomas Childers told a heartfelt and emotional story yesterday of his personal connection to World War II. More than 100 people -- including a large contingent of International Relations majors and war veterans -- packed a Logan Hall lecture room for the talk, part of an annual Veterans Day speaker series sponsored by the I.R. program. The audience listened attentively as Childers weaved the story of his newly released book, Wings of Morning. "I want to tell you all a story today," Childers began yesterday's lecture. "This is a day of special meaning for many people." The book chronicles the Black Cat, the last plane to be shot down in Germany during World War II. That story holds special meaning for Childers because his uncle, Henry Goodner, was a member of the crew killed in the crash. Childers' lecture centered around his own personal desire to unearth the facts behind his uncle's death. In the process, he found the story of the lives of 12 men caught in a situation that portrays what he believes to be the destructive qualities of war. Wings of Morning tells of Childers' own personal journey throughout the country to bring the crew's story to light. In the lecture, he described the bombing of the plane which took place right outside of Regensburg, Germany, on April 21, 1945, and the conditions the men faced before their deaths. Childers' interest in the men of the crew grew out of an unexpected situation. "Until 1991 my work was focused on the history of Germany," said Childers, who teaches a popular class on the Third Reich. But when his grandmother passed away and his family went to her home in the summer, he soon discovered his uncle's personal items in a room and instantly developed an interest in pursuing the details of the soldier's life. "I was not so much side-tracked, but bushwacked by history," Childers said of his encounter with his uncle's past. With access to old photographs, letters, and "v-mails" from the war, Childers began the search for the truth behind his uncle's death that was to last for years. "I could follow the trail to find out about an uncle I had never known but who had haunted my memories," Childers said. Childers took trips to Washington, D.C., and Germany, while making numerous phone calls to people with firsthand accounts of his uncle's story. While in Germany, he interviewed villagers who recalled the exact day the plane crashed and the site where the plane had landed, which Childers visited. Childers was even able to speak to and form a friendship with Albert Saradari, one of the two men that survived the crash. Saradari described Childers' uncle as "the most beautiful guy [he'd] ever met." After years of researching personal records and information surrounding the crew's deaths, Childers was finally satisfied. "I had come to the end of my search. My circle had been closed," he said. Wings of Morning describes not only the tragic deaths of the soldiers, but also Childers' own personal acceptance of his past that he once described as "haunting." "It is a book about war. It is a book about loss. It is a book set in a particular time and a particular place," Childers said. At the end of his lecture, Childers recognized the importance of remembering war veterans, both living and gone, in everyday life. "[War veterans] have given us a precious gift of freedom and security that we enjoy today," he said.
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