NOW IN FIFTH PRINTING

Oak Ridge Boys Book Club
discusses G.I. Joe and Lillie

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G.I. Joe and Lillie
An American Love Story

So I can live

In the Land Of Free

Raise my kids

Live my dreams

There’s a price

For liberty

(Excerpt from “Sacrifice (For Me),” words and music by Joe Bonsall, © 2003, B’s In The Trees Music (Adm. by Heavy Harmony). All Rights Reserved.)

Joseph Bonsall, known the world over as the sparkplug of the Oak Ridge Boys, set aside his fame and took snippets of time, when he could, to write a tribute to his parents, who are simply known throughout the book, as G.I. Joe and Lillie. The book small in size, compared to most bestsellers, is well-written, easy to read and can be handled by most readers in a leisurely evening. Joe definitely did his research before tackling such a monumental task. I am certain the author had many emotionally rough times writing the book when telling of the trials and tribulations of post, as well as pre-WWII, the aging of his parents and his own personal growth. Joe used third person dialect to describe the events that shaped his parents into who they were and how he was honed into the Oak Ridge Boy we all know today. Describing one’s own life in third person is a difficult feat, even for the most seasoned writer. Joe handled it well and one can follow with ease, not only his parent’s transition through life, but, as well, his own personal growth.

The book is a moving, living saga of the author’s parents from their ancestral lineage, to their birth, growth and ultimately, their deaths and final interment in Arlington. I did not know G.I. Joe and Lillie, but after reading the book, I feel I have always known them. The tale of their lives makes us reflect on our life and the lives we have known and loved. I was no exception. The names and the circumstances were and will be different for each of us, but the story is basically the same. Life, love, happiness, sadness, hope, aspirations, births, drama, comedy, deaths and all the other emotions and events that shape us, our families and those we love. All are contained in this book and we, human as we are, use the author’s family, to identify our own.

Someday they’ll rest in Arlington

Neath’ the Red, the White and Blue

Safe in the arms of Jesus

When their journey here is through

An American love story

Not unlike a lot of others

Except that G.I. Joe and Lillie

Is my father and my mother

(Excerpt from “G.I. Joe and Lillie,” words and music by Joe Bonsall, © 1999, B’s In The Trees Music (Adm. by Heavy Harmony); Mal ‘n Al Music (Adm. by Gaither Copyright Mgmt.), Pete Green / ASCAP. All Rights Reserved.)

Every veteran in America, indeed, every person in America, should pick up a copy of G.I. Joe & Lillie and spend an afternoon or evening, getting to know Joseph Sloan Bonsall Sr., Lillie Maude Collins Bonsall, and of the legacies and freedoms they left for us all. All our lives are so much richer because of the Bonsalls, their generation, known as the greatest generation, and the second greatest generation they created and left behind. So far, to date, this book is required reading in at least five school districts with more districts expected to follow suit.

Joe Bonsall, entertainer, author, son, husband and father is proud of his parents as well he should be. I, after reading his book, am proud for Joe. There is much more to Joe Bonsall than meets the eye. Joe is a very deep and complex person who was shaped by two very loving, involved and complicated people.

G.I. Joe & Lillie, an American Love Story, can be purchased at most noted bookstores. The author may be contacted at: josephsbonsall@aol.com.


Kurt L. Moore
Branson Daily Independent
Gampy's Gang Productions, INC.

Lillie by Ellen Schumm

General Chuck Yeager and Joseph S. Bonsall