• Tell a friend about
• Create a page like this
• Please bookmark this page.

Maurice "Vic" Duvic's Story

It was a gutless, unprovoked attack on the United States and all it stood for. The hatred shattered the early morning calm and moved a nation from a time of peace to years of war and hardship. It prompted young men to offer their service, and many their lives, to defend their country and everything it stood for. It was a time of great uncertainty and fear. It was the original "day that will live in infamy."

Maurice "Vic" Duvic remembers it well. He lived it. He was twenty-two years old, standing on a Florida beach with his buddies the first time he heard the words "Pearl Harbor." He had no idea what those words would come to mean, but the uniform he wore assured him he would get a front row seat.

He went on to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps, traveled across the world and became a part of the Allied forces that would prove too much for Italy and Germany. While the words "Pearl Harbor" had a life-changing meaning for him, there was a number that would prove to be even more important: forty.

That was the number of combat missions he had to complete before he could get back home. While that sounds simple enough, he learned there is much truth to the saying, "It's not about the destination, but the journey." And what a journey it was.

He has written his memoirs in "Forty Missions and Home" Read the first chapter at his website:
http://fortymissionsandhome.com/

Book Reviews and Quotes

Once again, 'a member of the Greatest Generation' has revealed, thru personal recollections and diary notes written at the time, the true grit of the men and women who served our country at a time of it's greatest need. Mr. Duvic's accounts place you along side of him and his fellow Soldiers. His character, integrity and compassion are evident. He confirms the moniker, 'a member of the Greatest Generation'. This is a must read, can't put down, book for those interested in the stories of our WWII Heroes. - MG Hunt Downer, Assistant Adjutant General, Louisiana National Guard

I thoroughly enjoyed it...recalling a number of memories of my own military service in the process... a big 'thumbs up' from me for a job well done. - David A. Clark Col. US Marine Corps Ret'd.

Whether off duty shenanigans or the stark realities of combat, the authors provide a candid narrative about Duvic's service as a B-26 Marauder pilot during the Second World War. Their style is conversational and vivid. By the end of the book, you come to know Vic, Max, Weaver and Mildred as they live, love and fight during the Second World War. - Chad Daniels, Director Mississippi Armed Forces Museum

A wonderful book that's full of hard facts about air raids and shrapnel and bombs and the horrors of war, laced with some hugely comic stories of military life. - Ann Waldron, Author of Eudora: A Writer's Life

The work and time the authors put into this book is a testament to their love of country and love of history. In reading Maurice 'Vic' Duvic's memoirs, one can only appreciate the dedication and danger that our airmen, soldiers and sailors had to deal with during WWII. As a WWII enthusiast, I was in awe of the detail the authors put in this book. It shows that the simple task of keeping a record of your memories of a time of great peril in our nation's history, as Duvic did, is a simple way to share history with all that are so appreciative of what our young men had to endure. - Jeffery M. Duplessis, FOX 40 News, Jackson, MS