Honor & Innocence- Against The Tides Of War
By
Glen Thomas Heirlmeier
Published: March 5, 2014
Pages: 338
Genre: Historical Romance
Genre: Historical Romance
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Honor and Innocence: Against the Tides of War, a
historical romance novel by Glen Hierlmeier, was released March 2014. This book
takes the reader through the devastation left by World War II across the
European and Asian continents following its main character Hank Fischer, who
was drafted to the American Army in 1945 shortly after his high school graduation.
During his service, Hank befriends a German
prisoner-of-war, Max, who tells Hank of his twin sister, Roberta, also in
captivity. An unlikely romance buds between her and Hank, leaving Hank
conflicted between his allegiance to the American Army and his love for
Roberta. Hank decides to break out Max and Roberta, and together they make a
desperate flight through war-torn Germany where they witness first-hand the
destruction post-war Europe has endured. Leaving Max behind in Switzerland,
they make their way to the port city of Trieste, where they board a ship and
depart to the seas, dealing with pirates, facing adversity, making new friends,
and desperately seeking a safe refuge in a place where their love can flourish.
Follow Hank and Roberta on their intense and
captivating journey from country to country as they seek refuge. Read as they
make their way through bombed-out cities, giving a rare glimpse into the tragic
consequences of war, as they remain together bound by love.
Glen graduated from the United States Air Force
Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, then earned a Masters of Business
Administration at The University of Wisconsin at Madison. He served in the US
Air Force on the Manned Orbiting Laboratory space exploration program and on
the design phase of the development of the F-15 fighter aircraft. After leaving
the Air Force, Glen returned to Wisconsin and became Vice President of the
largest bank in his home state, First Wisconsin National Bank. In 1979, he moved
on to become President and CEO of several real estate development and
management companies. Glen retired in 2009 to devote full time to his
grandchildren and his writing. Glen is the author of Honor and
Innocence, We Had to Live: We Had No Choice…, and Thoughts From Yesterday: Moments to
Remember.
There was little rest for Hank again that
night. His heart and his mind were being
pulled in different directions. He had
made commitments to Max and Oliver, then to Captain Stein, and now to
Roberta. He had always been trusted by
everyone, a pillar of integrity. Now, he
would surely destroy that reputation. As
he tossed and turned, and scolded himself for getting himself into such a
quandary, his thoughts kept going back to Roberta, warm thoughts full of wonder
and excitement. But, as the night progressed,
doubts began to creep into his head.
Hank
couldn’t deny how he felt; he felt fantastic, incredible. He had met the girl of his dreams---love at
first sight. He couldn’t wait to see her
again. She was everything he had always
imagined she would be, everything he hoped for in a woman. Yet, he began to wonder, is this real? Could it be
possible for two people to be in love when they’ve only known each other for
two days? Was he being foolish? Had the events of the past five months and
his absence from the comforts of home made him vulnerable in a dangerous
way? A frightful pang of fear shot
through his gut as he thought: Is she
just using me? Does she see me as her way out of confinement? Am I being fooled
by her? Maybe she doesn’t care about me at all; she only needs me to get what
she really wants. Why should I trust
her? I don’t really know her. Oh, what a fool I must be to fall for the
first beautiful woman who shows an interest in me, who caresses me. Am I that vulnerable? Am I that foolish?
Thoughts
of Roberta dazzled and confused him; nothing in his young life had ever left
him so unsure of himself. No amount of
concentration overcame the cascade of emotions flooding his chest. He tossed and turned long into the night,
soaked his pillow through with his sweat, though he wasn’t warm, and felt his
pulse exploding his temples; alternating between visions of pure, romantic love
and sheer foolishness. The pull on his
heart skidded back and forth like a tug of war.
That is…until he recalled his mother’s words, spoken on his eighteenth
birthday, just after a high school sweetheart informed him that another man had
won her heart.
Hank, you are such a precious
son. I adore you. I am sad when you are sad, but you must know
this pain you feel will pass. Sometimes
love is fleeting, it may disappear as quickly as it appears. You have your whole life ahead of you. I know you will meet the woman who will love
you completely, and for your lifetime. I
have no doubt. Love between a man and a
woman cannot be easily defined; love comes in many forms and is never the same
for everyone. Almost always love charges
into your life like a cosmic experience, even magical, it is so difficult to
predict or understand. Sometimes that
special feeling in your heart really is true love---sometimes not. When love comes suddenly, we can be swept off
our feet. It’s a dazzling experience
that confuses us. That’s often called
love at first sight, but it’s never really love at first sight. If it happens to you, don’t take it for
granted, it’s very special and you won’t want to lose it. It’s one of the best feelings you will ever
have, and I believe the best beginning for true love.
Don’t be deceived, true love
has to be built; it takes a lot of hard work and may take a very long
time. When two people stop working on
their love, it fades, no matter if it’s the first month, the first year, the
tenth or the twenty-fifth. There will
always be difficulties and complications, that’s how life is, not just
marriage. Use those difficulties to work
on making your marriage stronger. Don’t
expect not to have challenges, welcome them and be ready to take them on
together. Everything really worthwhile
in your life will require hard work.
Your marriage is the one very most worthwhile jewel you will ever have.
Laying
silently in the darkness, eyes wide open, thinking warm thoughts of his mother,
a smile came across his face. Of course,
he thought, mother is right. I have to
work on it. Tomorrow I’ll have to find
out if Roberta truly feels the same way about me. Sleep finally came.
He
should have been exhausted the next morning, with little sleep and tormented
the whole night through with all his mixed emotions, but his adrenalin had
taken over. Hank needed to get things resolved,
and though he wasn’t sure how to do that, he needed to attack his demons head
on. By the time he met with Oliver and
Max in the evening he wanted to have his life back on track. Since he was drafted there had not been a
dull day in Hank’s life. He never knew
quite what to expect, and that day would be no different. It would begin with his report to Captain
Stein.
Hank
was surprised to see the Captain waiting for him. Stein motioned Hank to his office as soon as
Hank appeared in the doorway. Hank’s
curiosity was aroused.
“Hank,
we have to release everyone except the SS Officers. The staff and family are being released as
soon as possible. We’ll have 30 days to
hold the officers and unless we can get enough evidence they participated in
war crimes we’ll have to release them too!
Something about the Geneva Convention says we can’t hold them unless we
have sufficient evidence to take them to trial.
It’s foolish as far as I’m concerned.
What kind of fair trial did the millions of dead Jews get?”
Hank
was stunned again. His first emotion was
that he was losing Roberta, but his first thought was that might be best. He had to set his feelings aside and listen
to Stein without revealing his feelings.
“I’m
sorry, sir. I know how important this is
to you. It really would be a shame if
guilty men went free.”
“Ya,
well, there’s nothing we can do about it but work our butts off to get the
evidence we need to hold the bastards.
That’s our job, and by God, we’re going to make sure every last one of them
hangs for what they’ve done. Did you get
anything out of the girl?”
“I
thought I was really close…I mean…I think she was beginning to trust me. I needed more time; maybe a few more days,
but I’m not sure she knew anything.”
“Come
on, Corporal, of course she knows things.
I’ll bet she knows plenty. We’re
losing a good opportunity by letting them all go. It makes our job harder.”
“What
will we do now?”
“We’ll
get busy interrogating the officers. The
British have been at it for weeks. They
have files on all of them. The Russians
are sending men to help too, and we’re getting some young Army lawyers by next
week. Today, you and I are going out
there to go through files. We’ll make a
list of the ones that look like they were in charge, in some position of
leadership, the higher the better, then we’ll start meeting with them. I want to get the top guys.”
Hank
didn’t know what to think. His emotions
all melted together in a jumble of confusion.
All he could do was follow orders for the moment, until he could sort
through all the feelings bombarding him.
Within
a few minutes he and Stein were on their way to the compound, where they came
upon a blur of activity. Those who were
being released were jubilant as groups of them gathered in the streets to
celebrate. There was pitched cheering,
yet, others pushed against the fence separating them from officers, loved ones
and former employers who they would be leaving behind. There was sadness and tears, as well as
questions about what may lay ahead for each of them, the uncertainty for those
who were released to communities that may not still exist, and for those who
remained in custody, facing the possibility of imprisonment or death.
As
Stein and Hank walked into the officer’s compound, Hank did his best to keep
Stein from seeing him looking among those being released through the
fence. In spite of his doubts, his heart
told him he was in love and he was growing desperate about losing Roberta so
soon, thinking she could be gone forever, and wishing he could know for sure if
what they had begun was truly love, or whether he was just a fool. They were moving too quickly for him to see
clearly. He couldn’t find her. They were up the steps and into the meeting
hall, leaving behind any chance he might see her again. He was numb, unaware of anything going on
around him.
“Hank,
Hank, come on, get moving. Pay
attention!” Stein gave him a nudge
toward the stairway leading to a room above, where they spent the rest of the
morning poring through files, assessing information that had been gathered by
the British, looking for clues to help them decide which officers they would
interrogate first. Stacks of files were
set aside, awaiting the lawyer’s arrival.
Hank couldn’t focus his attention; all he could think about was that he
may be losing the one person who was right for him, the one he would commit his
life to. Convicting German criminals
wasn’t important to him at that moment.
By
noon Stein was satisfied they had enough files to get started. They were loaded in the back of the truck and
about to leave.
“Captain
Stein, I’d like to see if I can find Roberta and make an appeal to her to give
us the information you believe she has.
Once she is gone, it will be lost.
I think it’s worth a try.”
“If
you think so, Hank. There can’t be any
harm in trying. In fact, I like your
attitude. Go ahead, get what you can,
and jump on another truck heading back later.
I’ll see you in the morning. Good
luck.”
Hank
felt relieved that Stein went along with the idea, but he felt a tinge of guilt
for taking advantage of Stein’s trust in him.
Trucks
loaded with released detainees were rolling out the gate as Hank walked over to
the camp. He ran alongside each truck
calling Roberta’s name but got no response.
Others were still loading near a barracks building to the rear. He ran into the building asking each person
he came to about Roberta until an older woman stopped him.
“Yes. Roberta was here. But she has gone.”
Hank’s
world came to a sudden stop. He just
stood there as people pushed past him toward the trucks. He lost her.
She was gone. Maybe she didn’t
love him after all. Maybe she just
didn’t need him anymore. He really
didn’t know what to think. He only knew
this was the worst day of his life.
As he walked
back toward the gate past the office where he had met with Roberta, the guard
who had brought Roberta to the meetings called out to him.
“Corporal! Corporal Fischer! Come quickly.
There is someone who wants to see you.”
Hank
wouldn’t allow himself to believe it could be her. He hurried into the building and found the
front office area empty, but the door to the room in back was ajar. He slowly opened the door and there sat
Roberta. She leaped from her chair and
into his arms with a scream of delight.
“Oh,
Hank, Hank! I knew you would come for
me. I knew it in my heart!”
“They
told me you had left. I thought you were
gone!”
“I
couldn’t go. Where would I go without
you now that I have found you? I love
you, Hank, I love you! I feel like I have
loved you since always, and forever.”
Her
arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her lips found his. Her words washed away any doubt. He had never known such elation. He was in love. It was real.
He was sure of it.
“I
love you, Roberta. I love you, too!”
