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42 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2021 Our in-person meetings remain on hold due to COVID restrictions, but we continue to read… If the status changes, I will email everyone on the book club mailing list to let you know. The Book Club selection for April is My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Here is a brief description of the book from Amazon.com: "Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington's penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she's captivated by the young officer's charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton's bastard birth and the uncertainties of war. But the union they create — in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all — including the political treachery of America's first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness. When a duel destroys Eliza's hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband's enemies to preserve Alexander's legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she's left with one last battle — to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her." Our meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am in the RCN room #3, and someone volunteers to lead the discussion about the book we have chosen for the month. We will finalize our reading list for the remainder of 2021 when we are able to meet in person. If you have any titles you'd like to recommend, please email me at the address below. For more information about the Four Seasons Book Club or to get on our mailing list, please contact me at michelesrosen@ gmail.com. ~ Micki Rosen Book Club Veterans Walk Group 1942 – From the decks of the USS Hornet, Col. Doolittle leads 16 B-25 bombers for a raid on Tokyo. They launch from the maximum range, 650 miles from their target. Essentially unarmed to extend their flying range, the B-25's fly unmolested to Tokyo and drop their bombs, proceeding to China where they land at the very limits of their fuel. Although the bombing does minimal damage physically, the psychological impact is great. For the Americans, this raid symbolizes the first "strike back" at the Japanese and raises American morale substantially. The Japanese buoyed by their constant success in the Pacific are now forced to contemplate the implications of the war if it is allowed to be carried to Japanese soil. This change in Japanese attitude will affect military decisions in such crucial battles as the battles of Midway and the Coral Sea. For the Americans, the raid signifies that the Japanese are not invulnerable and therefore can ultimately be defeated. The only non-aviator is Doctor Thomas White of Redlands, Calif., who served as a door gunner. After the war he settled in Palm Springs until his death in 1992. He was buried in the family plot at the Hillside Cemetery in Redlands. ~ Len Tavernetti

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