Philly, the Heroine Pup Who Loved Doughboys

About the Book

This story of World War I and the legend of Philly is selective rather than comprehensive. The work has its strengths and weaknesses since it is painted on a broad canvass. To humanize the war, I present it as a diary—reminiscence from one soldier’s point of view. I tried to strike a balance between the specific and the general. I wanted to portray factual historical accounts, but one with emotion and imagination at work. The fact, fantasy, chronology, and locations are sometimes compressed—nonlinear or subordinated—to recreate the illusion of reality and intensify the appeal of Philly as a heroic mascot.

About the Author

G. P. Kemp grew up in Ohio appreciating both urban and rural living. His parents were poor but hard working folks. He had few friends, and most that were, didn't understand his obsession with books and the pursuit of knowledge. Content with their own simplistic thinking they would say to him," You think too much, man." He, nevertheless, was both ambitious and focused in wanting an academic career. On his own after leaving high school, he worked in factories and other jobs to survive. He lived on less than one meal a day through undergraduate and graduate school. Always trying to improve his body, mind, and spirit, he eventually became teacher. He evolved into an accomplished college professor and administrator. During those years, editors sought his art, film criticism, poetry, and essays for their journals. In his later years he has developed a strong interest in the esoteric, metaphysical, as well as Christian myth and legends. On every other level, he believes he is an ordinary guy enjoying the Creator's gift of life.