Diamonds and Perils

Diamonds and Perils is about the life of World War ll Navy veteran Johnny Cantrell of Bremen, Georgia, which started when his fellow Navy vet urged the author to write a newspaper article about him. Johnny spent little time in the Navy compared to career veterans due to the crushing toll taken on his diminutive body by the world’s most horrible conflict. Despite a hearing loss and a long recovery from battle fatigue, his legacy as a faithful member of what Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation is assured. Johnny joined in the capture of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Marianas, and other Pacific islands, witnessing the hoisting of the Stars and Stripes over Mt. Suribachi. His strict Methodist upbringing, the Boy Scout skills he learned, and family work ethic in the agricultural south of the twenties, thirties, and forties stood him in good stead as Quartermaster on a landing craft, without which the U.S. Marines could not have functioned. Johnny tells in a riveting fashion how milking cows, church life, camp experiences, hard work, and even funny happenings all helped facilitate his military competence and character when bombs and bullets started flying. Although he was never shot and never killed an enemy, he faced the deafening noise and fear produced by war. He came home a nervous wreck with a severe hearing deficit, but because of his innate abilities and the mentorship of his older brother, he became a highly successful businessman, dealing in diamonds and pearls; hence the title Diamonds and Perils.