For the last eight years, I've been working on a 'based on true story' book about this photograph. The book is written, an now being edited. However, I still don't have a title. 

In this photograph, you can see an American airman being escorted by six German guards after he parachuted into a tree in Elisabethville, France. 

My story, is about how he got there as well as a separate story of the Frenchman saluting  him from across the square. 

The stories are about them individually before and during World War II until they are intertwined in this captured moment on film

The book continues on with their lives up until the European war ended. 

I'm quite proud of this story. I only hope I've done both men justice in my telling of such a somber, yet encouraging moment in history.

This is for James Weldon Mellody and Robert Mourand, two heroes from the greatest generation.

This past month, Kim and I took the opportunity to travel to the island of Malta for our summer vacation. Honestly, neither of us knew much about the place other than they specialize in a certain docile breed of long haired dog and their own cross symbol. We knew it was in the Mediterranean Sea, not far off the coast of Sicily and it that it is one of the filming locations for the HBO series 'Game of Thrones'. 

Once we got there, it really became so much more. 

This history alone is incredible. Starting with the Knights of Saint John who came out of Jerusalem and were given the island of Malta. They fortified it and withstood an extensive siege by the Ottoman Empire to the importance the island was for both the Germans and the allies during World War II. A fact we learned while there was Malta actually had more bombs dropped on it during the war than London did during the Blitz. They were on their knees and about to surrender when supplies finally made it through and they were re-fortified. 

The Nazi's wanted Malta as a launching point into North Africa and the allies wanted it for the invasion into Italy. The strategic location also controlled the entire Mediterranean, shipping etc.

We stayed in a home that was built by pirates in 1620 and was more like staying in a museum than a hotel. Even more interesting is the home is still owned and run by the original family that built it.



Here are a few pictures of truly my favorite destination in the world thus far.

Malta, here we come. Our Air Malta A320 and Kim on the tarmac at Valletta's International Airport.

Our hotel room, one of six in the building, and our reading room! This place was fantastic!

The rooftop terrace of our hotel. The Grand Harbor in the background. We watched fireworks from here the evening of their independence day celebration.