About the
Author & Editor
Jay Coffman, Diary Author...
was born and reared in rural Ohio. When
America’s entry into World War II was imminent, Jay joined the Ohio
National Guard with his pals so they could serve together. The Ohio
National Guard was inducted soon after Pearl Harbor, and Jay and his
buddies were sent to Tonga in the South Pacific to prepare for combat.
Coffman was sent to Guadalcanal to
relieve the Marines who had invaded the island, and to drive out the
remaining Japanese soldiers. Even though Jay was in a
headquarters unit, everyone picked up their rifles and joined in the
battles. After victory on Guadalcanal, Jay went on to dangerous duty on Emirau, a small island very close to the major Japanese base of Rabaul.
Then he and his buddies went on to mop up Iwo Jima, especially ridding
the caves of stranded, dug-in Japanese soldiers.
Following the war, Coffman returned to
Ohio and soon married his long-waiting girlfriend, Dot. He studied
watchmaking and took a job in a jewelry store in Lexington, Kentucky
where, before long, Jay and Dot opened their own jewelry shop. They
lived and worked in Lexington until Jay’s untimely death at age 48,
contributed to by the malaria that he had contracted on Guadalcanal from
which he never quite recovered.
Tom Fulks,
Book Editor...
is a student of modern history and an
eclectic writer, as well as a professional engineer. Fulks discovered
Jay Coffman's diary in the year 2000 when he began to research it
thoroughly. He interviewed Dot on many occasions until her death in
2002, and interviewed Jay’s buddy Mitch to corroborate and clarify diary
entries—Dot and Mitch were the only principals who were still living
after the discovery of the diary.
Fulks was a youngster during World War
II and recalls many of the names, places, and events in the diary. As
Jay’s blood nephew, Tom knew all the family members and many of Jay’s
buddies featured in the diary.
