From Kansas to Kilimanjaro
A Memoir of a Family That Survived Two World Wars and Outwitted Russian Espionage
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My first night with the Notts was a real baptism of fire. We caught up with the tank brigade in a small depression where they were taking heavy fire. One of the tanks had been hit and was beginning to smoke. I drove nearby, jumped out, and ran over to the smoking tank in time to see one member of its crew struggling to get out of the turret. I helped him get free and walked him back to my ambulance. Then I headed back toward the tank. I didn’t get far before I was stopped in my tracks by a ghastly sight. Coming slowly toward me were two soldiers holding their arms out in front of their bodies with what at first looked like gloves hanging down, inside out, held in place by their fingernails. There wasn’t much light, but as they came closer I could see that what looked like partially removed gloves were actually their own skin ….
I offered help, but they just shook their heads and walked on. I realized they were the remainder of the crew I had thought were dead inside the tank with the man in the turret. They seemed to know where they wanted to go, so I continued back to my ambulance, frustrated and sad at being unable to help them. It was my first face-to-face confrontation with some of the real horrors of war, and I’ll never forget those poor, surprised-looking young men.
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About the Book
For author Dr. David A. Emery, life has been anything but dull. In this memoir, he narrates some of the highlights of his long and colorful life. He also provides a background of his family tree, which found some of its roots in Kansas.
From Kansas to Kilimanjaro documents Emery’s decisions and their consequences during the international upheaval of World War II. He narrates how, beginning in 1942, he served as an ambulance driver in the American Field Service and became attached to the British Eighth Army’s lead tank brigade in North Africa, where he helped save lives and nearly lost his own. Emery tells how he finished his education and became an industrial psychologist and family man. He also discusses how the Cold War brought him back to Africa with his family, where he became involved with the KGB, the CIA, and the FBI.
With photos included, this memoir recalls Emery’s adventurous spirit and how he found himself involved in humorous and life-threatening adventures: a KGB agent in Africa is outmaneuvered by Marilyn Monroe’s curves and how a Bedouin present of an Aphrodite olfactory provided elixir for a lonely soldier. From Kansas to Kilimanjaro provides keen insights gleaned from one man’s interesting life, but also provides a historical context of the world throughout the years.
About the Author
David A. Emery was an ambulance driver with the American Field Service in North Africa during World War II. He earned a PhD from MIT and worked as an industrial psychologist and as an international consultant on management practices. Emery and his wife have five children and live in Connecticut.