coming Soon
Knowing My Father
The Collision of the O. B. Jennings and War Knight
Col. Joseph R. Tedeschi, US Army, Ret.
Mining History to Know My Father
I never really knew my father. He died in 1951 when I was seventeen years old. Having lost him when I was a teenager, I had so little to hang on to that was really him. As I grew older and experienced more of life and fatherhood myself, I began to recognize and feel this missing part of my life. Over the years, I also developed an intense desire to learn more about my father in order to know him better, even in retrospect.
As I look back on it now, despite a normal and healthy relationship with my father, there simply was neither sufficient time nor enough opportunities to really get to know him. I don’t ever remember bantering or kidding with my father or sharing a joke. I’ve lamented and felt cheated by this most of my life, especially as I experienced fatherhood myself and established relationships with my own two daughters. It occurred to me that if I knew more about my father’s early life, especially before he married my mother in 1925, I might be able to get to know him better and fill in parts of this absence. I started to investigate by searching for information of his background and early life through the various family ancestry search engines. I then began to reconstruct my father’s early life especially from his World War I military service records.
Dad in his 40s
★★★★★
- In Knowing My Father, Joe Tedeschi gives us a multifaceted gift. First, he takes us on a poignant journey to meet, and salute, his long-deceased father. He also provides a painstakingly researched account of a naval tragedy set against the wider scope of a world war. He relates a compelling military story of sacrifice, courage, and heroism. He tells a touching family story of patriotism and resilience that helps us understand our country and the people who help to build it. For those who have read Joe’s previous works, he gives another opportunity to admire an accomplished author’s intellectual curiosity, wisdom, and extraordinary humanity. Lastly, he invites us, as we write the final chapters of our own life stories, to reflect on the legacy we are leaving to others, both loved ones and strangers.
Bill McCusker
Founder & CEO of
Fathers & Families, Inc.
- This exciting World War I adventure involves a tanker ship traveling in convoy, maneuvering through hostile submarine-infested waters. The tanker collides with a British merchant ship resulting in an explosion. Luckily, our protagonist survives the flaming aftermath and returns from the war unscathed to resume his civilian life.
Equally interesting are the chapters recounting the author's detailed, painstaking research of news, records, and documents regarding his father's personal and military life. This work is a labor of love that will capture the reader's undivided attention from beginning to end!Brigadier General Ray Ong
Philippine Army West Point Class of 1963