The Etownian >> Features

Book explores WWII letters sent to beloved former coach

Nicole M. St. Pierre

Staff Writer

Thursday October 22 2009

Elizabethtown College has a long and treasured past of dedication to serving the community around us. Many graduates from our school endeavor to create better, brighter futures for those who follow them. It is not often that one thinks back on the sacrifices our predecessors have made for our benefit—alumni of the college whose efforts have provided us with the secure world we know and occupy today. In the book “Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II,” Etown graduate Lois Kathryn Herr explores the stories of several former Etown students as they left campus to join American efforts in World War II – giving new meaning to our motto, “Educate for Service”.

Evoking images of a smaller, simpler Etown, Herr chronicles the experiences of student athletes from our school who, either after graduation or during their time as students, served in the Second World War. Using letters written to her father, beloved former Etown sports coach Ira Herr, the author provides the story of a group of students whose positive experiences in athletics and strong relationship with their coach gave them a sense of support and strength to draw upon as they experienced the difficulties of war first-hand.

In these letters, we find the stories of Etown students as they adjust to their new roles in life. Former basketball player Wilbur “Wib” Raffensperger, a member of the class of 1943, writes to Coach describing his new love for a position in the pilot’s seat as he takes part in combat missions that send him to places like Sicily and North Africa. Star pitcher Rudy Rudisill maintains a correspondence with Coach Herr throughout his experiences handling administrative duties in the Army. Coach Herr’s positive effect as a mentor and source of strength for his former athletes is obvious in the warm way in which each student addresses him. The author shows us how much Coach truly cared about each individual with whom he corresponded throughout the war.
Herr notes that her father saved all of the letters he received, marking them with the dates he read and wrote a response to each and every note or postcard. The author deftly portrays how Coach Herr’s interest in the lives of his athletes extended to giving them a source of support, no matter how far their duties in the armed forces carried them.

Using the many letters written to her father over the course of World War II, Lois Kathryn Herr weaves together the experiences of Etown students and shines a light on the many challenges facing a young adult at the front lines of war. “Dear Coach” not only portrays the effects World War II had on our campus, it also shows the true ways in which a single person willing to show compassion and support can truly make a difference in the lives of his or her students.





The Etownian >> Features