Author shares book of war letters with students

Students in teacher Brian Kennell’s 11th grade U.S. history class weren’t yet born when the country was engaged in war in Vietnam, but thanks to a special visitor last week, the war was made a bit more real to them.

Karen Ross Epp, author of “With Love, Stan: A Soldier's Letters From Vietnam to the World,” shared about her book, which is a compilation of letters her brother sent to various family members during his tour in Vietnam.

Ross Epp related to students how her brother Stan was killed in action in Vietnam in October of 1969, prompting her wish to assemble all of his letters home into a compilation for family members.

In the process of gathering the letters, she began locating and contacting other soldiers who had served with her brother and asked them to share memories and other information about their time together during the war. After the book was completed, Ross Epp’s family hosted a reunion at their family farm in Iowa with many of the book’s contributors in attendance and she gave them each a copy of the book.