Submitted by: James OBrien

Category: Books

This hard back book, an autobiography, contains pictures of the author, as a child, in uniform during WWII, and a current one in color. It has pictures of wife, as National President, Daughters of Colonial Wars, making a presentation to a cadet at the Airforce Academy for outstanding grades in American history, with the story of a similar presentation at West Point where she was escorted to the tomb of her hometown friend, Capt. C. Rodney Chandler who was assassinated in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Each book chapter deals with a different phase of the author's life: childhood on a farm, school and college try, life in the Civilian Conservation Corps, hitching rides and riding freights while exploring the West in 1938, "The War Years", which tells the amazing story of how we entered WWII and explained why Pearl Harbor was caught unalerted. That story, as indicated heretofore, relates his expereinces on the staff of Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin from covering the landing in South France, to the P. Is., Iwo Jima, and Okinawa where his flagship was hit by a kamikaze. Undergraduate work including studying under Prof. Breckinridge at Vanderbilt (he helped build the atomic bomb), back of college in LA, law school, leading fight against org. crime in LA. Served as a trial attorney in U.S. D. O. J. during six admins., a chap. devoted to each. Became Deputy Ass't Att'y Gen. Retired to private practice and, with wife, devoted much time (pro bono) to nonprofit corps that granted scholarships to qualified students.
The book is replete with historical detail, with reseach as one experienced in the law would do. In the last chapter it describes the monetary and immigration problems of the nation. As to specific legal cases, one is a rather incredible story in itself (U. S. v. Jurzykowski et al.) which D. O. J. thought could not be won as it entailed getting evidence from behind the Iron Curtain. Depositions taken in Brazil in both Rio and Sao Paulo. Admissible evidence was obtained from behind the Iron Curtain. (Defendants had established the first Daimler Benz assembly plant in Brazil and had received the Order of he Southern Cross.) In face of accumulated evidence, defendants pleaded guilty and paid the U. S. some $2 million.

About the author:

The author has been married to Neoma O'Kelley for 64 years; four children and four grandchildren. Other publications by author: "The Trial of Criminal Tax Cases", a Restricted publication used, in updated form, by federal prosecutors and judges; "Our Colonial Ancestors" which is both genealogical and historical, showing how the colonial experience prepared the colonies for nationhood. The author and wife live at Ft. Washington, MD. Interests are: "the state of the nation", and its future.

Read more: Website of James Dewey O'Brien