Love and Sacrifice is the true story of a father and son killed in World War II.
The stories of the Reed family in Love and Sacrifice are vividly brought to life in the personal memoirs of wife and mother, Mildred Reed, enhanced by personal letters among family members through courtship, love, and loss. Mildred's words are richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs bringing the family's stories to life. Their travels are documented within the significant historical context of the time and places where the family was living.
Colonel Ollie W. Reed, was the commanding officer of the 175th Regiment, 29th Division in Normandy. He died of the mortal wounds suffered on July 30, 1944 in Villebaudon, France during a German counter-offensive. Colonel Reed did not know that his son had been killed in action three weeks earlier.
Lieutenant Ollie W. Reed, Jr., a 1942 West point graduate, was a platoon leader in the 363rd Infantry Regiment, 91st Division in Italy when, in their second day in combat, he was killed in action while trying to get his panicked men to cover during an artillery barrage. He left a wife and six-month-old son, Ollie W. Reed, III.
Father and son are buried alongside one another in the Normandy American Cemetery.
Love and Sacrifice is an essential story in the history of World War Two and the entire era. Indeed, this is a story from the heart of America of a proud Kansas family. The sacrifices the Reed family made for their country and for freedom are still being made today by our military families and the message of hope arising from adversity rings as true today as it did then.
- U.S. Senator Robert Dole
