Dave Posted August 21, 2019 Share #1 Posted August 21, 2019 All:Quite a few folks have reached out to me via PM and have asked about the status of the book. Here's the answer: it's done. That being said, I'm negotiating with the printer right now and working out the final details on print production and such. Once those are worked out, which I expect should be done in the next week or two, it will take about five, perhaps six, months for the book to go through the production steps, ship to me, and end up in my hands, available for purchase. Thus, I'm aiming for an availability date sometime in March or April 2020. Have no doubt that when they are in hand, I will let everyone know - trust me, it will be a big deal. No one will miss the release of the book, I promise! I plan on offering the books here on the forum at a discount off the cover price ($59.99) once I have them on hand (no pre-sales as I want them in hand first in case of any printing issues). I then plan on selling them on Amazon as well. The book itself ended up at 604 pages. Still in the 6x9 format, hard cover with a scratch-resistant matte cover and a glossy dust jacket. The pages are 105 pound, full color glossy (if you have my book by Schiffer Publishing, it's the same weight of paper). My goal for the book was to be the #1 reference book for WW2 US medals. I think it's that, but if you don't agree, it will make one heck of a paperweight! In addition to having Purple Hearts and associated medals from all branches of the military (including some famous ones, never before photographed or even seen by collectors) I have included appendices for Purple Heart engraving (including sorting Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard engraving for the first time), researching Purple Hearts, and a list of Kevin's 14,000+ traceable Purple Heart numbers. I did everything possible to make this book a "one stop shop" for anything that had to do with the Purple Heart from the Second World War. This is not to mention the engraving closeups for everything from the Medal of Honor to the DSC, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and more. I'm including three images of the thumbnails of the book. The thumbnails are "spreads"...e.g. two pages combined into one for the printer's use, so just imagine each of these 302 spreads split in half down the middle as two pages. Also, some of the images didn't render correctly on the thumbnail so if you see something that looks strange...that's not in the real book, trust me! Thank you for all your help as this has gone forward and I will keep everyone up to date as this project moves toward completion. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted August 21, 2019 Thumbnails, picture two... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted August 21, 2019 And finally, the last set of thumbnails...just a taste of what's in the book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1991 Posted August 21, 2019 Share #4 Posted August 21, 2019 Dave, It already looks amazing! Can't wait to get a copy in hand! Will forum members be giving signed copies? Definitely worth the price! Hope it all turns out great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted August 21, 2019 Dave, It already looks amazing! Can't wait to get a copy in hand! Will forum members be giving signed copies? Definitely worth the price! Hope it all turns out great! Of course...any copy bought from me will be signed (unless requested otherwise). Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted August 21, 2019 Share #6 Posted August 21, 2019 Very happy to hear you finished it Dave, been asking people all over about Purple Hearts and how to either date them, tell the engraving styles etc. everyone I’ve talked to says to wait till your books out and I must say it definitely seems like the ultimate guide for US medals. Congrats! I know you put a lot of work into it and you can bet I’ll be one of many that buys the book from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakkasan187 Posted August 21, 2019 Share #7 Posted August 21, 2019 Dave, This endeavor of yours is rermarkable.. Anxiously looking forward to adding this to my bookshelf... Thank you for your efforts and all those who helped contribute their time, talents and examples of decorations Leigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosieres64 Posted August 21, 2019 Share #8 Posted August 21, 2019 Can't wait to get it in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay V Posted August 21, 2019 Share #9 Posted August 21, 2019 Hi Dave Great News.Please put me down for one .Thanks for keeping us updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccomas Posted August 21, 2019 Share #10 Posted August 21, 2019 This is great news Dave. I know this has been an arduous task, but well worth the effort. We are all looking forward to it. Congratulations of finishing this project. What is next for you (after a long rest, of course)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted August 21, 2019 Share #11 Posted August 21, 2019 The book will be wonderful!!! I can't wait to get my copy. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collector .45 Posted August 21, 2019 Share #12 Posted August 21, 2019 Dave, Your book looks fantastic! I can't wait to get a copy! - Henry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted August 21, 2019 Share #13 Posted August 21, 2019 Me too ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted August 21, 2019 Share #14 Posted August 21, 2019 Woohoo! Looking forward to the release! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristoffer Posted August 21, 2019 Share #15 Posted August 21, 2019 Will definately buy it! I a positive it will be the #1 reference book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted August 21, 2019 Share #16 Posted August 21, 2019 I was just trying to find out how to date Purple Hearts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swag Posted August 21, 2019 Share #17 Posted August 21, 2019 I was just trying to find out how to date Purple Hearts!Take 'em out for a dinner and a movie! lol But seriously, cant wait to get a copy. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted August 21, 2019 Share #18 Posted August 21, 2019 Great news, Dave! Can't wait! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuftStalg1 Posted August 22, 2019 Share #19 Posted August 22, 2019 There's that light at the end of the tunnel Dave, can not wait to get my copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share #20 Posted August 24, 2019 The printer now has the files in hand...they think I'm a little "over the top" for insisting on having 105 pound paper for the pages... "You could get away with 85 pound...or even 70 pound paper and the book would look just fine..." they tell me. Nope. My goal is to make this a top-quality memorial to these men - cutting corners won't do. Anyway...because I was curious and I had never counted before, I went through and counted the number of awards in the book. I’ll admit that I was pretty astounded. The following awards are included in the biographical section of the book: Army Medal of Honor – 5 DSC – 11 DSM - 1 Silver Star – 25 Legion of Merit – 1 Soldier’s Medal – 1 Air Medal – 1 Bronze Star Medal – 15 Purple Heart – 97 Good Conduct Medal - 2 Army Air Force DSC – 4 DSM - 1 Silver Star – 7 DFC - 12 Air Medal – 34 Bronze Star Medal – 1 Purple Heart – 52 Navy Medal of Honor – 3 Navy Cross – 6 Silver Star – 6 Legion of Merit – 1 DFC – 6 Air Medal - 8 Soldier’s Medal – 1 Navy and Marine Corps Medal – 1 Purple Heart – 93 Good Conduct Medal – 8 Marine Corps Medal of Honor – 3 DSC - 1 Navy Cross – 5 Silver Star – 7 Legion of Merit – 1 DFC – 2 BSM – 5 Air Medal – 3 Purple Heart – 64 Good Conduct Medal – 3 Coast Guard Medal of Honor – 1 DFC – 1 BSM – 1 Silver Lifesaving – 1 Purple Heart – 8 Good Conduct – 1 Civilian Purple Heart – 1 US Public Health Service Purple Heart – 1 In Appendix B, where I provide coverage of engraving types and styles, I include photos of many awards of the Purple Heart. Some are duplicates of those seen earlier in the book. Others are not included in the biographical section of the book. In this appendix, we have: Army Purple Hearts – 209 Navy Purple Hearts – 114 Marine Corps Purple Hearts – 32 Coast Guard Purple Hearts -4 It must also be noted that for the non-Purple Heart awards, I have included close ups of the engraving to the maximum extent possible in order to make this a “one stop shop” reference for WW2 US medals. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted August 24, 2019 Share #21 Posted August 24, 2019 Dave I cant wait !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted August 25, 2019 Share #22 Posted August 25, 2019 Wow, its going to be great. Want a couple. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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