KATHY h. kITTS, aUTHOR

Hi! I'm Kathy H. Kitts, author of books and stories for children and adults. Thanks for visiting my website. Please see the column on the right to read about my books.  May 2020 is the 75th Anniversary of V-E day, the end of WWII in Europe. Celebrate this event by purchasing a copy of my book Mines, Mules and Mud: A Cincinnati Teenager in WWII.  The book contains my father, Ray Wissel's, story of service as a minesweeper in Italy as well as the best letters that he wrote home.  

Powerpoint Presentation - The Italian Campaign 

I have a PowerPoint presentation called  All Gave Some, Some Gave All - My Father's Service in WWII, that I present to schools, clubs, senior citizen lifelong learning institutes, and veterans' groups.  The show will run 1 hour.  I trace Dad's journey in pictures from Cincinnati, Camp Croft SC, San Antonio, TX, Newport News, VA, to North Africa and Italy. We cover the three Italian campaigns - Rome/Arno, Apennine Mountains, and Po Valley.  

Talk - The Minesweeper's Journey    

 I give talks to senior and veterans groups.  Your group will be inspired by Ray's life. The talk is lively, entertaining and I read humorous and poignant excerpts from Ray's letters. Copies of Mines, Mules and Mud will be available for sale. 

 Once again, thanks for stopping by.

With the Old Breed - At Peleliu and Okinawa  by E. B. Sledge

This book goes into great detail regarding these two battles in the Pacific during WWII.  E. B. Sledge was a Marine who fought with the old breed in these battles. Written with honesty and simplicity, I enjoyed reading this book, although it was very sad in parts, and learning more about the Pacific campaign.  My uncle, Elmer Wissel, fought in the battle for Peleliu. Luckily, he was in a truck artillery unit and didn't have it as bad as the Marines on the ground in the front lines. 

 

Destination Unknown: Adventures of a WWII American Red Cross Girl  by Kathleen Cox

Kathleen Cox tells the story of her mother, LeOna Kriesel's, adventures with the Red Cross during WWII. LeOna was from Minnesota and served in North Africa and Italy. She wrote over 200 letters home; the best included in the book. 

 

The Blue Devils In Italy by John P. Delaney   Battery Press

A history of the 88th Infantry Division in World War II.  A classic.

 

From Salerno to the Alps edited by Lieutenant Colonel Chester G. Starr   Battery Press

A History of the 5th Army 1943-1945

 

 

 

Available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback format 

Mines, Mules and Mud: A Cincinnati Teenager in WWII, tells the true story of my father's service with the 88th Infantry Division (Blue Devils) during the Italian Campaign. Ray Wissel was 18 years old when he disarmed his first mine in Minturno, Italy. Given one of the most dangerous jobs in the Army in 1944, Ray worked at night while the Germans lurked in the hills, firing flares into the sky to locate the minesweepers and shoot them.  When Ray heard the pop of a flare gun, he froze, pretending to be a tree stump. His life depended on it.

From minesweeping to delivering ammo to the front lines to creating the morning reports, the book details the close calls Ray had with death and the dangerous work he did.

Mines, Mules and Mud is a complete war story - beginning in 1943 and ending in 2007 - about a teenager coming of age in the Army, a son keeping a promise to his mother, and a veteran honoring a fallen comrade.

The best of my father's 265 letters are included in this book.

Also Available on Amazon in Kindle format:

The Minesweeper's Letters - contains the entire collection of Ray's 265 letters to his folks during WWII.

 

1.  I won my first poetry contest in the second grade with "Winter Wonderland" published in Catholic Miss magazine. My prize - a check for one dollar!  (Of course I cashed it.)

2. I was the putt-putt champion of Tall Clubs International in 1976 or 1977. I scored three holes-in-one in a row.

3. I can't resist a contest. I've won two trips - one to the Bahamas and one to New York City to see Titanic on Broadway!

4. The best and worst day of my life. I survived a cardiac arrest at the age of forty-seven. I'm thankful and grateful every day.

5. I won the Fairfield Echo newspaper contest for "Most Interesting" vacation picture. I was standing on a glacier in the Canadian Rockies reading the Echo.

6. My two favorite vacations with my husband were a cruise to Nova Scotia and a cruise to Dubrovnik in the Adriatic Sea.

7. I had a stand-off with a mother deer in my backyard.  The deer won! When I saw her stomp heIr leg I slowly backed away.

8. I'm most proud of my book Mines, Mules and Mud: A Cincinnati Teenager in WWII.  It was a labor of love.

9. The Cincinnati Zoo is one of my favorite places. I'm a big Fiona, the hippo, fan!

10.  At age 72 I'm back in school at Northern Kentucky University. Go Norse!