OCONOMOWOC, Wis. — Dale Reich is an Army veteran who served overseas in the Vietnam war. He was a part of the infantry before taking a job with the brigade newspaper.
“It was quite an adventure,” Reich said. “It was probably the most important part of my life because of how it changed me and what it gave me.”
Reich had no idea this job with the newspaper would lead him to a journalism degree and a career after the Army.
“I became a newspaperman, and eventually got my journalism degree and moved into writing full time as a newspaper reporter, then eventually as an author,” Reich said.
Reich has a heart for history. He has written many books detailing the war, including some about his personal experiences. Over the past few years, he’s used the writing skills he first developed while at war to write books for the people who mean the most to him — his grandkids.
“It started out as simply bedtime stories, and someone said ‘Why don’t you try to put those into a book?’ And I said ok,” Reich said.
He’s written a book for each one of his grandchildren. They are fun, whimsical books that all have their own story, and lesson inside. His hope is that his grandchildren will always have a piece of their grandfather with them.
“It’s wonderful because you know you have a legacy that these kids can always have with them,” Reich said. “And even if they don’t remember everything else about me, they will know that there is something I did out of love for each one of them.”
He said he is proud to be a grandparent. He’s been able to communicate his love for his grandkids with skills he learned decades ago while at war. Now, he’s passing that down to the next generation.