Monthly Archives: March 2021

Forty Thieves with Cynthia Kraack and Joseph Tachovsky, Episode #23

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The Forty Thieves of Saipan is the true story of an elite team of very young men, barely out of their teens in many cases, who went behind enemy lines in World War II, led by Frank Tachovsky. It is told by Frank’s son Joseph Tachovsky and Cynthia Kraack.

Cynthia Kraack, co-author of Forty Thieves of Saipan

Cynthia Kraack is an author of fiction, short stories and nonfiction. 40 Thieves on Saipan was released by Regnery History in 2020 and received Best Book in Military History from the American Book Festival. The High Cost of Flowers won two 2014 Midwest Book Awards taking first in Literary Fiction and Contemporary Fiction. Her debut work, Minnesota Cold, won the 2009 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. She also wrote the Ashwood trilogy, a speculative fiction family saga. The Saturday Evening Post, Glimmer Train, Big Muddy Literary Journal and the Hal Prize competition have published or recognized her short stories. She has an MFA from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program in Creative Writing. She is a founding board member of Write On, Door County.
Cynthiakraack.com
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Joseph Tachovsky, co-author of Forty Thieves of Saipan

Joseph Tachovsky is the son of Lieutenant Frank Tachovsky, commanding officer of the 40 Thieves. Tachovsky knew nothing of his father’s heroic past beyond that he was a Marine in the Pacific until his father’s funeral in 2011. A eulogy was given in which a man recounted a story a wherein Lieutenant Tachovsky “saved every man in our unit” from a Japanese tank. This set him on a journey to discover everything he could about his father and the 40 Thieves. Tachovsky is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and currently resides in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
40thievessaipan.com
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Cynthia and Joseph’s Readings:

  • Four Woodpeckers – 13:48
  • Arello and Duley – 29:48
  • Pacts & Premonitions – 41:59

Michael’s Beer Pairings: 

Interview Highlights: 

  • The hardest part of writing such a book – 23:09
  • Why does it matter to tell the story of the 40 Thieves? – 24:52
  • Origins of the name “40 Thieves” – 35:18
  • Rivalry and stereotypes among the branches – 36:30
  • The Thieves as old men – 38:00
  • Do you believe in premonitions? – 47:42
  • What gives a 21-year-old the courage to face death? – 50:27
  • Lingering impacts of war – 52:58

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Philip Watling: The car hit me….I died….

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

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