. >> he was 18-years-old from arlington massachusetts. his father died when he was 12, so he quickly became sort of the young man of the house. he was very close to his sister and his mother. his mother was my great -- we have a pretty small family so i grew up knowing her very well and i always wondered about the loss that she suffered losing her husband at a young age and then her son which was an absolutely heartbreaking loss that reverberated through my family. even as kids my mom who was very close to her cousin adored him, he was like a big brother. losing him is something that stayed with her the rest of her life and as a child i didn't understand the magnitude of it. we don't really feel those things when you are older but the older i got and the more i dug into the letters the more i realized why this was a huge part of her life and of her families life. >> the way you structure the book is you have the story of the battle and the buildup to the fight in the pacific that stories you remember from your childhood or that you resear

. >> he was 18 years old from arlington, massachusetts. his father died when he was 12. he quickly became sort of the young mayor of the house. he was very close to his sister and his mother. his mother was my grandpa's -- his sister. we were all pretty close. we have a pretty small family. i grew up knowing her very well. i always wondered about the loss she suffered losing her husband at a young age and her son, which was a heart breaking loss that reverberated through the my family. my mom who was close to her cousin harry adored him. he was a like big brother to her. losing him was something that stayed with her the rest of her life. as a child, i didn't understand the magnitude of it. you don't feel those things when you are little. but the older i got and the more i dug into the letters, the more i realized why it was such a huge part of her life and the family's life. >> you have the story of the batting le -- of the battle, the buildup to the fight in the pacific. you intersperse that with stories of your childhood. the story that sticks out to me most is when th

. >> is 18 years old from arlington, massachusetts.when he was 12 so he quickly became sort of the young man of the house. he was very close to his sister and his mother. his mother was my grandpa's sister. we were all very close to have a pretty small family part i grew up knowing her very well. i always wonder with the loss she suffered losing her husband at a young age and then her son which is a heartbreaking loss that reverberated through my family. my mom who is very close to her cousin harry adored him he is like a "big brother" to her pre-losing him was something for the rest of her life. as a child i did not ascend the magnitude of it. the older i got, the more i dug into letters i realize what a huge part of her life and her family's life. >> the way you structure the book as you have the story at the battle of iwo jima, the fight of the pacific. you enter disperse that story schumer from your childhood, if you would not mind telling everybody, the story that sticks with me so much as when they find out that pearl harbor has