Become a Beta-Reader

Teo Rogers is my dad. I lost him when I was ten years old. I have always held on to 

particular, vivid memories and yearned to know him better. Regarding his role in 

WWII with the U.S. Army, mom told me time and again that he had a desk job. On Father’s 

Day, 37 years later, my daughter, an aspiring history major, shared with me her 

discovery that her grandpa was a “Ritchie Boy.”  She and my son encouraged me to 

embark on an improbable hunt to learn the truth about my father’s past.

By persevering on a journey through 10 years of research into my dad’s real role in 

WWII, I gained precious insight into who he was. Over 200 mysteries are solved. I 

hunted down clues, which  often sprouted into six more to hunt down. I hunted down 

people he served alongside in Europe, and I met experts in the military, I 

consulted museum curators, I drove through every inch of Continental Europe that I 

figured out he traveled through. I met generous people abroad and here in America 

that gave of their knowledge of wartime circumstances. I pieced together the 

puzzle that is his storied service as a Ritchie Boy.

The result is a narrative that allows the reader to live the days in the life of a 

Ritchie Boy, as he executes a pivotal and life-sparing role in WW2, as a matter of 

duty. Furthermore,  I integrated, at a granular level, the lives of the 5th 

Infantry soldiers as together, they navigated their dangerous missions. Still 

further, I bring new light to historical events and elucidate events and people 

not yet recognized or known at all. Witness accounts and vignettes will bring new 

insight for relatives of the brave who fought in WW2, both those in this story and those in 

other campaigns. And for those who have an appreciation for what the "greatest 

generation" did for world freedom but have no direct connection to a warrior, the 

narrative provides lessons worth contemplating and witnessing vicariously.

Teo’s Ritchie Boy story is “...more fully documented than any other I’ve seen,” 

declared Dr. Guy Stern, Ritchie Boys historian and Distinguished Professor Emeritus 

at Wayne State University. 

The storytelling is centered around over 200 photographs that suddenly surfaced 

after 50 years. Only four had inscriptions on the back. The remainder were total 

mysteries. The final manuscript will include my incredible journey of discovery 

and how it unfolded. 

If you would like to be a beta-reader, one of a select few who will get a sneak 

preview of the final manuscript before it is blogged or e-published, please click-

on BECOME A BETA-READER or scroll down on the Home page and leave your level of interest and contact information on the contact form.