Frank McElvain Author of SFC: A Poor Man's Battle To Appear at BookSmart in Morgan Hill
The Californer/10261934

MORGAN HILL, Calif. - Californer -- – Frank McElvain, author of SFC: A Poor Man's Battle will sign books from 10am to 3pm, Saturday, November 25, 2023 at BookSmart, 421 Vineyard Town Center in Morgan Hill.

McElvain will appear with other authors as part of BookSmart's Small Business Saturday Celebration.

McElvain's book highlights the life of his father, John McElvain, from his childhood of sharecropping parents to his military service in World War II and Vietnam, to his role in breaching Nazi Germany's Siegfried Line and receiving a Bronze Star. Though thriving in violent combat John struggled to navigate through his greatest challenge-his marriage to Hedy, a 4'11" Bavarian firecracker, and toughened German survivor of the Third Reich.

SFC: A Poor Man's Battle takes you into the foxholes with John during his heroic war efforts, focuses on his often-turbulent relationship with Hedy, and reveals the shocking family secrets they left behind.

Published and edited by Manuel Freedman, SFC: A Poor Man's Battle, is based on letters and documents Frank and his siblings discovered when clearing out their parents' estate after their deaths.

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McElvain found a trove of vintage correspondence hidden in a magazine rack amongst his mother's German newspapers. Included were love letters from his mother's first fiancé—a World War II German soldier fighting on the eastern front, his father's letters to his parents (intercepted by Hedy), letters revealing his father's extramarital affair with a coworker, and more. Many of these personal matters were often rumored but never discussed in front of the McElvain children. The discoveries were made when Frank was 60, a lifetime in the dark.

"John and Hedy settled in Colorado and were married for 49 years. They were loving parents and grandparents, and didn't discuss their pasts," McElvain said. "But we discovered details of a marriage dad had before my mother. It was just one of many secrets underlying their relationship. They had their own personal battles and were not ones to shy away from conflict. I never truly knew my parents until I was 60 and they were both gone."

For more information contact BookSmart at 408-778-6467. Small Business Saturday Celebration | BookSmart (indielite.org) (https://mybooksmart.indielite.org/event/small-business-saturday-celebration)