Was sitting out on our big ol' country porch tonight talking to my Lee about my aspirations for my book, etc. I always look to him for guidance and advice for many reasons. One: he is very brilliant. Two: he is very well read. Three: he is very well read in WWII history. Four he is a good writer. Five: I always value his opinion because he is unbiased and will always give me the truth. Some people only tell you what you want to hear. He tells me like it is and I value that. So if I write something he won't say, "Gee hun that was great." He won't if it's not the truth.
Well as we were sitting and sharing the sunshine of an unusually gorgeous warm Michigan November day, and he said, I have an idea that I'd like to share with you. Oh yes, do tell. He then went in to fetch a copy of WWII magazine. I think you should do this he exclaimed and turned to a well known feature of the mag. If any of you are regular readers of WWII, then you know about the sections they feature up front, namely Commands, One Man's War, etc.
He suggested that I submit a concise synopsis of the 540th for inclusion in the magazine. He reminded me that they are always hungry for submissions and he thought it would be a great way for me to bring my thoughts together in a neatly summed up one page article. Kind of a basis with tight paragraphs that would lead me to expand on each as I write my book.
Great idea I exclaimed. Thank you for your thoughts. He has me "geeked" now and I am going to start writing this weekend. Wish me luck "me mates". It would be a perfect avenue to try out my wares. WWII mag, here I come!
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
I sent this email to the editor of WWII mag last night and this morning I received a reply.
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Dear WWII Magazine:
I am interested in submitting a brief history of my father's unit, the 540th Combat Engineers, to your magazine and am requesting some guidelines as far as length, etc. I have a rough idea after looking over such sections as Command, but need to need to know if you have any other requirements.
Thank you for your letter to World War II. I would be very happy to see something on the 540th and I think that "Commands" would be just the place to run it. I have attached a copy of our editorial guidelines for your review. You should try to keep the story to around 1,500 words as it will need to fit on one page. Thank you for your interest and I look forward to seeing your submission.
Regards,
Chris Anderson
Editor
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As you can well imagine, this has inspired me even more and as of this afternoon, I have already covered the time period to Jan 1945.
Lee is going to proof-read my article and I also plan on sending a copy to my friend, Michael at the Army Corps of Engineers. I trust both to give me their unbiased and professional opinions before wisking this out in an envelope to the editor.
Well, back to the family room. If I'm sitting here writing, then guess what I'm NOT doing?
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
I know, I know, I'm geeked. I just finished my first draft and will now hand my manuscript over to my beloved husband. Gulp! We'll see.
At first it was terribly difficult to keep a watch on the words flowing from my fingertips. I had a 1500 word count to work within. Trying to compile 3 years into 1500 words is not an easy task. What do you include? What do you exclude?
I think I have succeeded, but my editors will be the judge of that, not me!
I do feel a real sense of accomplishment as this is the first step in my set of goals for the 540th and for VI Corps. It's always important to get past that initial step. It breaks the ice and gets the old blood going. Okay world, try and stop me now.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
It's done. I mailed the submission today! I am nervous, excited, apprehensive, elated, thrilled, proud... Lots of adjectives thrown in there. It will be a thrill for the 540th to "see their name in lights". (if it happens...)
Essayons!
Here ya go my friends. You can read my original. This is a PDF. As with all PDF files, it may take a while to download.
12-4-05 There was an error regarding a date that Stan Dziuban caught. I therefore changed it and have placed the revised document below. Thank you Stan. You're the only one who caught the mistake.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Well Mare; where will it end. I hear you have now written a history piece on the 540th, and submitted it to a magazine. Congratulations kiddo. I still say you are a pint sized dynamo. For those of you who haven't heard, I copied this for you.
Oh did you read about my submission to WWII mag? Here ya go....
Upon the urging and suggestion from Lee, I began writing a brief history and sent an email to the editor of the magazine on Sunday. Monday morning I received the following reply:
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Dear Ms. Chard,
Thank you for your letter to World War II. I would be very happy to see something on the 540th and I think that "Commands" would be just the place to run it. I have attached a copy of our editorial guidelines for your review. You should try to keep the story to around 1,500 words as it will need to fit on one page. Thank you for your interest and I look forward to seeing your submission.
Thanks Chuck for your kind words and encouragement. Actually I do have this posted on the site. It's under WWII Engineers and is in the post, "My Book..."
I appreciate your enthusiasm and it's great that you took a moment of your time to inquire. Thanks again. As you can imagine, I am really geeked and have my fingers crossed (well not really cuz I'm NOT superstitious).
It's not even so much for me, but I want everyone to know about my daddy's unit and how much they contributed to the war effort. Of course it doesn't hurt for my name to be out there, because as Lee says, it opens a door for you when you try and get your book published. And he's right! I'm so glad to have him at and on my side. I couldn't do this without his love and assistance!
NOTE: I have since moved his post and this reply and merged them within THIS POST.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Well I have missed so much here. I will be catching up any day now. At the moment I am sitting at Ft Campbell with Dusty watching Dennis Leary Lord he is an angry comedian .... so tomorrow night is the night, and then I will be back home. Thanks for sharing your news and always working so damned hard Mar. You're a wonder filled girl ya know... Good on you.. Hugs at ya Cindy
Kisses and hugs to you and big hugs to Dusty. Thanks for your sweetness, sis and your wishes!
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
I got a year subscription thru Publisher's Clearing House for like $8, a steal, it's a good magazine.
Brooke
Yes Brooke, one and the same. You got a subscription for that cheap? WOWZEE! That is a real steal.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
(if it happens...)
