BLURB FOR CHIPPED BEEF ON TOAST BY CHARLES H. BERTRAM


In 1956, Airman Bertram sat in a VFW bar in Denver, trading his listening to war stories of WWII vets for beer. He was taking a writing class at that time and so began this book. Three of the short, humorous stories have been published in service magazines. Readers are advised that CBOT is a work of fiction, told in the first person. Some tales are based on the authors adventures, but most are a combination of the authors imagination combined with bits and pieces picked up over the years, and told in the authors kind of OHenry style. The Story of Stone Bear is different and while it may make the Japanese a bit upset, it deals with things that need to be told.

These are not the bloody combat tales like you Want To Live Forever, of the Hemingway type, but more like, You Want To Bomb The Bridge With A Jeep! Or Private, The General Is Using Your Mop! And Yes, I Handed It To Him, Dont Worry Sir, Hell Do A Good Job. The real heroes of our military battled boredom and military bureaucracy as much as the Japanese and Germans. They rarely will talk about combat action, but are quick to share about times like the private that used a Boy Scout salute. Veterans will recognize as real some of the crazy things that happen when they try to fit young, spirited, American men into the mold of a perfect soldier.