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| Vimeo interview with Joe Stoddard |
For a brief summary of their lives, watch this video created by a missionary who served in their mission. He interviewed Helen Joe about Loren and Helen Joe's life: http://vimeo.com/7042895
Some facts and highlights
1st Edition run of only 200.
523 pages of stories, historical settings and photographs from their life.
-- They capture the feel and life of small town America in their growing up years.
-- They vividly show life in the Depression and then the drama leading to World War II.
-- Loren's life of a pilot-recruit. Dramatic heroics during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Adventures in the South Pacific. Being shot down. Survival on the raft, capture and torture by the Japanese in Saipan. As a Prison of War (POW) in Tokyo Bay. Liberation and journey home.
-- Helen Joe's faithful life-in-waiting. Joyous news and reunion.
-- Building a life together in many US states, Germany and England. And his service as a squadron commander of C-130s in Vietnam.
-- Service in the Church with two missions, one as Mission President in Pittsburgh, PA, and other assignments.
600 photographs including:
* actual photographs of Loren's plane being shot down and crashing, news clippings, War Department telegrams telling of Loren being MIA presumed KIA, his release, Loren's entire secret POW diary pages,
* photos of Loren and Helen Joe's baby pictures, settings at the Stewart Ranch, Loren's family taking covered wagons to Oregon, early childhood rare photos,
* photos of Loren and Helen Joe's brothers and sisters including ones when they were young, to their high school, college and professional years,
* photos of their children in their childhood, teen, mission and married life.
Book Dimensions: 8.5" x 11" x 1.25" 3.5 pounds
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| Helen Joe is busy signing for friends and family the just published autobiography of Helen Joe and Loren Stoddard |
Loren and Helen Joe began the mammoth undertaking of gathering all the historical data, letters, journals, and photos and writing their stories. They printed two separate volumes on a dot-matrix printer and did a small printing run. Fortunately the entire work was completed before Loren began to lose his memory from Alzheimers.
After Loren's death in 2008, Helen Joe decided it was imperative to polish the volumes, combine them into one, add many more photographs and complete their history. She asked Eric to do the yoeman's task of the final conversion and edit, along with help from her, Mark, and Kris. Mark's wife Elizabeth designed the cover.
The book is filled with stories of their lives during the 1920's, 30's, 40's and so on until Loren's passing in 2008. The detailed stories give a full picture of life in California, of the close family and community life in little Gridley, CA before and during the Great Depression as well as life during the war. It helps us understand the innocence of America before that calamitous world conflict. Chapters are then dedicated to carefully describing their lives through the war, Loren's battles, his capture in Saipan and imprisonment in Japan as well as showing life for a young bride who is notified that her husband was "missing in action (MIA) and presumed dead or KIA."
After Loren's release from Ofunu prison camp beside Tokyo Bay, they tell of their reunion and rebuilding of their lives as well as the start of their business and family. With the Korean War engaged, Loren was called back into the military and the rest of the book tells of their adventures traveling the world,raising five sons and developing their talents, skills and faith in God.
The books are now available
You can get them from Helen Joe directly as well as from Mark Stoddard. This limited 1st Edition (only 200 copies in the first run) sells for about cost of $45 per book. Shipping in the continental USA is an additional $5 per book.
How to get a copy:
1. Mail a check for $50 (postage included) to: 2457 Fairway Drive, Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Be sure to include your mailing address and we'll mail it out to you as soon as we receive your check.
2. Call or text Elizabeth at 801.669.1777 or email Mark at mstoddard1776@gmail.com.
