Former Lt. Col. Gordon Rolla Lanker, a resident of Toledo, published his first book at the age of 96.
Lanker’s memoir, “Just Another Unsung Hero,” details his lifeas a pilot in World War II, his life leading up to his deployment and his journey back to the workforceupon his return.
Lanker dictated his story on five 90-minute tapes and enlisted the help of his grandson, Cory Lanker, to help put the story into words.
The idea for the book came from Gordon’s wish that he knew more about his great-grandfather’s experiences in the Civil War.
“He was in several important battles in the Civil War,” Gordonsaid. “I thought ‘Wouldn’t that have been nice if he would have kept some kind of diary or something?’
I thought that it would be a good idea to write a book.”
Gordon eventually mentioned the idea to his family, which prompted Cory to push his grandfather toward making the memoir a reality.
