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Posted In: Branson, College of the Ozarks, Education, Hollister, Press Release, Veterans by BroadcastBranson.com

Student’s Dream To Be An Author Becomes Reality

Senior Cailin Casey says that she has always wanted be an author of fiction books. These days, she says all she wants to write about are real heroes. Last spring, Casey and 16 other College of the Ozarks students accompanied six WWII Veterans to battle sites in Europe as part of the College’s Patriotic Education Travel Program, which is designed so that students learn about history and sacrifice from the men and women who lived it. During the trip she became inspired, so much, that upon her return, she wrote a short book about stories the Veterans shared with her.

The book, Twice as Brave, is a collection of the true stories of six WWII Veterans, Andy Anderson (5th Engineers Special Brigade), Bill Kamsler (102nd Infantry Division), Ned Knapp (75th Infantry Division), John Primerano (101st Airborne), Lou Rabesa (Army Air Force), and Bryan Sperry (75th Infantry Division).

EXCERPT (Casey, page 1): “Below John Primerano’s dangling boots were 450 feet of nothing but air. All the guys had told him, ‘You don’t want to get hung up in the trees.’ The distance between his feet and those tall poplars was becoming steadily shorter. Before the jump, he couldn’t pass up the treat of a whole tin of peaches and sat with his buddies beneath the wing of the plane and ate every bite. Those peaches were more appetizing going down than coming back up all over his jumpsuit. Still it seemed he was headed right for those trees. In moments, he was sure his chute would be caught in them and he would be stuck like a feather in a barbed wire fence.”

Individuals interested in obtaining a copy of the book may purchase one for $9.99 at The Keeter Center Gift Shop at College of the Ozarks (417) 690-2110. Casey is donating all of the proceeds to the College’s Patriotic Education Travel Program. On May 12, from 1-3 p.m., the College plans to host a book signing event for Casey at The Keeter Center. Book clubs or other groups may request her to share about Twice as Brave at one of their meetings by calling (417) 690-2276.

Twice as Brave may be small (less than 50 pages), but is the beginning of something much bigger for Casey. One of the Veterans John Primerano, whom she accompanied on the trip, asked Casey if she would write his biography. She accepted his offer and will begin writing his memoir this summer, after she graduates from College of the Ozarks. “I always thought I would write fiction,” Casey said, “but sometimes truth is more fascinating than fiction.”