Author’s Note

Though Ironside Lake and many of the pen pals in this book are fictional, Things We Didn’t Say is based heavily on the real experiences of POW camps in the Midwest during World War II. The public outcry when a camp was announced, strict guidelines against Americans fraternizing with enemy Germans, and occasional escape attempts all have counterparts in this little-known aspect of home-front history. Occasionally, though, I had to substitute a “this could have happened” detail, such as having Jo censor letters at the camp itself rather than through the official censor station in Chicago, and later New York, or making overseas letters arrive without many delays.

For the timeline of the story, I also chose to move up the date of the 1944 summer graduation for the Military Intelligence Service Language School by a few weeks. However, the heroism and tireless hard work of the men there (and anecdotes like sneaking out to the privy after lights-out in order to study) are all true to history. Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minnesota, has great information about these brave men if you’d like to learn more.

Jo and Peter and most of their friends live only in my imagination, but a few of the actual historical people who make an appearance include John Aiso, the head instructor of the Japanese language program; Dr. Howard Hong, YMCA representative for the War Prisoners Aid; Staff Sergeant Dye Ogato, Japanese American war hero; and Lt. Col. Arthur Lobdell, commander at Camp Algona.

Many of the locations mentioned in the book are real as well, including Camp Savage (located in a Minnesota city named after Marion Willis Savage, the owner of famous racehorse Dan Patch).

If you’re intrigued by POW camps in the Midwest, I’d highly recommend a visit to the Camp Algona POW Museum in Algona, Iowa. It’s full of fascinating information and displays, and I teared up when I paged through binders of real letters written by POWs to their families in Germany, much like the ones in this story. Jerry Yocum, vice president of the museum committee, was instrumental to me in my research, giving me a tour of the artifacts, explaining typical American attitudes toward the POWs, and allowing me access to hundreds of maps, letters, newspaper articles, and other documents from every POW camp in Minnesota, for which I am very grateful.

I’d also like to thank Masako Kedrowski for lending her language skills to give feedback on my Japanese references, as well as Kirsten van Leeuwen for checking the many German words and phrases in this novel. Your help was invaluable, though of course, in language or historical accuracy, any errors are my own.

To my Bethany House publishing family: It’s been an exciting ride. I have so much to thank all of you for, but especially Dave, for seeing something good in this story; Rochelle, for shaping and improving it; and Elizabeth, for seeking and destroying the many errors that once littered these pages. Jenny, the cover is beautiful beyond what I could have dreamed. And of course, my marketing pals—Steve, Paul, Noelle, Brooke, Rachael, Chris, and Serena—you may tease me relentlessly, but I’ve loved having you surrounding me and championing this book.

As someone who works in publishing, I know I can’t possibly list everyone in rights, contracts, typesetting, sales, and retail who contributed to getting this book into the world. Just know that they are all amazing, and I will be sending them cookies.

Now, to friends. My real-life pen pals deserve credit here, especially Mark and Amy, for their delightful correspondence. For the members of my writing, plotting, and brainstorming crew—Ruthie, Kelly, and Stephanie—thanks so much for all your support and feedback. My fellow Bethany House authors also fall into this category—I’ve been absolutely floored at how excited for this newbie writer and eager to help all of you have been. Thanks especially to Bev, who knew about this novel before almost anyone else. Your encouragement means the world to me!

And finally, to my biggest fans: my family. This book is dedicated to my mom and dad, first because I might never have another heroine with two well-adjusted parents, so I’d better take the opportunity, but also, and more important, because your love and support have gotten me here. Erika, you’ve been cheering me on since the start (including my awful elementary school stories), and I love you so much. Jake, thanks for letting me quote you in Jo’s voice, and for always being on and by my side.

And for you, reader—thank you for picking up this book, imagining characters who are barely ever described (if you know what Peter looks like, let me know—I just know I love him!), and going on this journey with me and my characters. Feel free to drop me a line via social media or my website . . . by now, you can probably guess that I love mail!