Suzie Q
Somewhere in China. October 2003 I’ll always remember her dark unforgettable eyes. We only met once in a bustling train station, and I never got her name. I don’t recall her speaking since we had a language barrier and a brief visit. This young Chinese woman was in danger, meeting four Americans. Our contact told us she would meet us at the local train station. A young woman approached, followed by two porters shouldering a bamboo pole with four heavy bags. Her eyes darted back and forth nervously as several policemen stood nearby. She handed our leader a cell phone and four train tickets. Then she looked into our eyes as if to say, “Now, I’ve done my part. It’s time for you to do yours.” Without a word, she waved us toward the crowded train platform. Then she turned and walked away, never glancing back. The four bags contained hundreds of ziploc bags containing DVDs of The Jesus Film* in the heart language of her people. For the first time, they would see and hear the story of Jesus in their native tongue.
Early Chapters on ‘Where We All Belong’
Where We All Belong Curt Iles I. THE JOURNEY _____________________ CHAPTER 1 CAPTURED “A prisoner of war is someone who was trying to kill you, but then asks you not to kill him.” —Winston Churchill 13 May 1943 Tunisia, North Africa “The first five minutes of a POW’s captivity determines whether he lives or dies.” German Wehrmacht Korporal Noah Becker stood in the North African sun surrounded by a half circle of grim-faced American soldiers. Slowly lowering his weapon to the ground, he raised his hands as he was prodded along with five other prisoners. Noah limped due to grenade shrapnel in his left leg. The grenade had killed two of his comrades and wounded the others. He was the only one who could walk. An officer approached the American GIs, giving a series of commands in English. A tall, sunburned GI motioned to them, “Move, Jerry,” as they were marched behind a nearby sand dune. Noah knew the fear of death, but this was different. He was no longer a soldier but a prisoner of war. Killing him would not result in any great victory for the Allies. As Noah awaited his fate, another squad of GIs approached. The two groups had a heated discussion. Finally, the tall GI waved to the prisoners, and they joined a long line of Afrika Korps POWs filing into a large, barbed-wire cage. Noah was relieved at being spared but had no idea what awaited him. One thing he knew for sure: The War was over for him. CHAPTER 2 RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION May 1943 Sisters Emma and Maggie Loewer stood on the depot platform in Crowley, Louisiana, waiting for the afternoon train. They were there to pick up a thresher part for their family’s rice farm. The passenger train arrived, screeching to a halt, and the sisters walked to the freight car. This New Orleans-bound train was scheduled for a thirty-minute stop, just enough time for passengers to stretch, smoke, or grab a bite to eat. A passenger door opened, and five laughing GIs, dressed in crisp uniforms, stepped off the train. Maggie whispered. “I’ve never seen Colored soldiers before.” “Me neither.” The GIs walked to a nearby cafe, stopping in front of a sign over the entrance: Whites Only. Maggie and Emma were close enough to gauge their reaction. The largest soldier, obviously the leader, took one last drag on his cigarette, stubbing it out on the sidewalk. “We’re on our way to fight a war for our country, and we’re still not welcome in an American café.”
Working Titles on ‘A Louisiana Journey’ Series Book 1: ‘Where We All Belong’
Where We All Belong is the first book in a three-book series, A LOUISIANA JOURNEY. A LOUISIANA JOURNEY will consist of three books: Where We All Belong A German POW, Noah Becker, comes to Louisiana during War World II and finds a new life and new love. The American Woman Louisiana girl Maggie Loewer travels to war-torn Germany to find and marry her true love, Noah Becker. A Promise Kept Noah Becker and Maggie Loewer build a life together in the rubble of a new Germany. You can learn how you can be an early reader and be involved in Where We All Belong at www.creekbank.net
“Back Cover Copy” of our upcoming novel Where We All Belong
Where We All Belong A Novel by Curt Iles BACK COVER COPY Visit www.creekbank.net to read “Early Reader” Chapters ____________________________ Back Cover “Hitler said we’d march across America. He just forgot to tell us we’d be carrying shovels instead of rifles.” During World War Ⅱ, over 200,000 German prisoners of war, primarily members of Rommel’s famed Afrika Korps, were shipped to America. Where We All Belong begins with the long journey across the LONG VOYAGE SEA of German POW Noah Becker. After a host of difficulties, Becker lands in a Louisiana POW camp. Where We All Belong is the story of two young people caught up in the life-changing years of World War II. It was a remarkable time with remarkable people. Maggie Loewer is fighting her own war on the home front. Her family are German-American rice farmers in South Louisiana struggling to keep their farm going during the manpower shortages and difficulties. It was a time when enemies became friends. During the 1944 rice harvest, POWs are sent to work on local farms where there is a wartime shortage of manpower. They work alongside the Americans to help bring in the rice crop. In spite of the war, friendships are built and relationships bloom. The sparks fly when Noah Becker and his friends are sent to the German-American hamlet of Mowata, Louisiana Everyone needs a place to belong. That’s when Noah meets Maggie Loewer, and they begin a forbidden romance opposed by everyone except each other. Sometimes the greatest battles take place far from the front. As in his first thirteen books, Curt Iles’ warm and poignant storytelling style brings two different cultures together on the homefront during America’s greatest war.
“You cannot make up a story better than the Truth.” Introduction to ‘Where We All Belong’ by Curt Iles
Where We All Belong by Curt Iles Introduction You cannot make up a story better than the truth. Mowata rice farmer Jimmy Loewer shared the following story: In the 1960’s a car drove up to his family farm and a well-dressed middle-aged couple stepped out. The man pointed at the farm’s windmill. Jimmy’s visitors were a German couple visiting America. The man had returned to this spot to show his wife where he worked as a POW during the War. He turned to Jimmy and in passable English said, “I remember the windmill and this house. We worked during the rice harvest that year, and the American couple at this house treated us well. The German rubbed his head. “It was in 1944 and the wife of the house was pregnant.” Jimmy Loewer smiled. “That woman was my mother and she was pregnant with me.” As I said, you cannot make up a story better than the truth. As you read Where We All Belong, you’ll find a woven tapestry of stories like Jimmy’s woven into this historical novel. It’s set against a remarkable time in Louisiana. As the reader, you are welcome to separate the facts from fiction. As for me, I choose to believe it all happened. Curt Iles Fall 2023 Dry Creek, Louisiana Alexandria, Louisiana Visit www.creekbank.net to read chapters, back cover copy, and series ideas.
Upcoming: Where We All Belong
Readers, Many of you are curious about our upcoming novel, Where We All Belong. We are currently putting the finishing touches on this 94,000-word novel. (that translates to about 370 pages.) We are in the most challenging phase of publishing a book: finding an editor/publishing house. I’d appreciate your prayer that God will open doors and Where We All Belong will find the right home. Here are the current details: One Word: Belonging One Sentence: A German POW comes to Louisiana during World War II and discovers love and friendship. Three-Paragraph Synopsis: Noah Becker is a member of the German Afrika Korps captured in North Africa in 1943. His arduous journey across the Atlantic and America ends in a small Louisiana POW camp. Due to the severe manpower shortage, Noah and his fellow POWs are sent to work on local farms, and it is there where Noah meets Maggie Loewer. Maggie is an older teenager on a hard-working family rice farm in Mowata, Louisiana. Her family is German-American, and Maggie must fight through the prejudices, challenges, and difficulties of the American homefront during World War II. During the 1944 rice harvest, Maggie and Noah’s lives collide, and the sparks fly. ___________________________________ As always, your questions and ideas help me as I write. A book is always the result of so many people working together. Your feedback is valued! Curt Iles Dry Creek/Alexandria, LA curt@creekbank.net
Rice University’s Connection to Beauregard Parish, La.
NEWS from Rice University. Used by permission. 12/4/1997 12:06:00 AM Updated: 31 August 2023 To our knowledge, the entire Rice Land pine timber farm was lost to the Tiger Island fire. A Growing Tradition: Rice University in Beauregard Parish The Rice Land Lumber Co. is more than a tree farm: its crop rotation provides a renewable resource and sustained income for the university. By Christopher Dow Special to Rice News December 4, 1997 Let’s take a drive. We’re on the country highway between Merryville and Singer, two small towns in southwestern Louisiana. On either side of the road stand tall pine forests. We stop the car, get out, and breathe deeply of the scented air. To the casual observer, the woods on either side of the two-lane country highway are simply a forest; however, the ordered neatness finally reveals the truth. This is not a forest–it is a farm where trees are cultivated instead of corn wheat or rice. But this farm, known as the Rice Land Lumber Co., is more than a farm, so let’s explore. Let’s take a walk beneath the pines. When the Civil War ended, this part of the country was completely undeveloped. A few settlers dotted the vast forest of native longleaf pine that stretched across Louisiana and into East Texas, but there were no towns here, no roads or railroads. The federal government owned most of the land and sold it at bargain prices to speculators who promised to develop it. William Marsh Rice joined in the speculation and purchased three tracts in Beauregard Parish totaling 50,000 acres. When Rice died in 1900, the Beauregard Parish property formed a significant portion of his bequest for the establishment of the Rice Institute. The institute’s first board of governors organized the Rice Land Lumber Co. to handle management of the property, and Benjamin Botts Rice, W.M. Rice’s nephew, served as president. At the time, the land’s main value was in its trees, and during the first decade of the century, timber operations were in full swing throughout the area.
