Public Information and Communication
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 13, 2020
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Rod Wagner
402-471-4001
800-307-2665
Governor Ricketts Proclaims 2020 One Book One Nebraska:
All the Gallant Men
On Jan. 13, 2020 Governor Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation honoring
2020 One Book One Nebraska: All the Gallant Men: An American
Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
(William Morrow, 2016) by Donald Stratton with Ken Gire. Rebecca
Faber, Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) Board member presented the
governor with a copy of the book. All the Gallant Men
is the first memoir by a USS Arizona
survivor. Born in Inavale, Nebraska and raised in Red Cloud, Donald Stratton
joined the Navy in 1940 at the age of eighteen. On December 7, 1941 he was a
Seaman First Class on the USS Arizona.
Stratton’s account of the Pearl Harbor attack is seventy-five years in the
making, as he finally shares his personal tale at the age of ninety-four.
His story is one of survival and determination as he recovered from the
severe injuries he sustained in the attack, and ultimately re-enlisted to
fight again.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program, sponsored by the Nebraska
Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, and Humanities Nebraska is
entering its sixteenth year. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to
read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or
that have a Nebraska theme or setting. Libraries across Nebraska will join
other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions,
activities, and events to encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this
book. Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities
are available at http://onebook.nebraska.gov. Updates and activity listings
will be posted there and on
http://www.facebook.com/onebookonenebraska.
The Nebraska Center for the Book
is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s
readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators,
and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to
celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written
word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library
Commission.
As Nebraska’s state library agency, the
Nebraska Library Commission is
an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The
mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and
coordination of library and information services-“bringing together people
and information.”
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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are
always available on the Library Commission Website,
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.