L. Vaughn "Lory" Curtis wrote a book about his dad's letters home during World War II back in 2009. It is called Letters Home: A Paratrooper's Story.
Lory's dad was in the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT). This unit was the "911" force of their day and was the only PRCT in WWII. The unit made a combat jump in Southern France, fought at the Battle of the Bulge and into liberating Germany. During the war Lory's dad wrote about 150 letters home.
In 2004, the French government gave 100 American soldiers Medals of Honor called the Legion of Honor. Lory's dad was one of those soldiers.
In 2009, Lory hosted a reunion for the 517th in Salt Lake. Ryan Little, the director of Saints and Soldiers was interested in meeting the WWII heroes and came to the reunion where Lory gave him a copy of the book.
In the summer of 2011, Little contacted Lory and said he wanted to make his dad's story into a movie. That was the beginning of Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed.
Actor Jasen Wade plays Lory's father in the movie, and joined him on GTU Friday.
Lory will be at book signing Saturday, September 22, at Barnes and Noble at 1104 East 2100 South in Sugar House from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
