Fighting for Delphine

I met author Lee Burtman at a Minnesota Christian Writers' Guild author event held at Bethlehem Baptist Church on December 8.  We shared a table together as we signed books and visited with one another. 

Lee is a delightful woman with a passion to share the recollections of our American military veterans.  "Ordinary men who did extraordinary things in anything but ordinary circumstances," she says.

I'm featuring her book, "Fighting for Delphine,"  which is a soldier's true story of triumph and tears.

The war in Europe had been won.  Minnesota soldier, Ken Krueger, was elated it was over.  Yet after having arrived home safely, he found himself facing another enemy - one that would take a lifetime to defeat.  War would continue to be waged, not on land, but in his heart and soul.

In Part One of this true story, Ken tenderly recalls meeting his first love, Delphine, in war-ravaged France.  Along with his faith, she became a source of hope in the midst of horror.  He also details his harrowing experiences serving as a teenage Signal Corps Messenger in General Patton's Third Army.  Ken delivered correspondence that had the power to alter the course of untold lives during World War II.  Regrettably, he was unable to deliver the one message that would have forever changed the course of his own life.

Is it ever too late to say you are sorry...and to fulfill a sacred promise?  This question tormented the American Army veteran for decades.  It also compelled him to travel across the ocean, at the age of eighty-six, on a quest for the answer.

In Part Two, "Return to Fenetrange," Ken, now in his ninth decade of life, is given an unforeseen gift - an opportunity to return to France.  His mission would be to deliver one final message.  Its words possess the power to give Ken victory over the battle he has fought for nearly seventy years.

Travel with Ken Krueger as he seeks triumph over the bitter tears of regret in this unforgettable true story, "Fighting for Delphine."  Experience his journey of loss and love, of fear and  faith, of horror and hope, of triumph and tears, and most of all, of God's grace.


Lee recently retired from teaching after thirty four years, and she puts her experience to work in her new position as Disability Ministry Coordinator at her church helping families with children and adults with special needs.  She is currently working on her father's memoir and hopes to complete "Waiting in the Wings"  next summer.  Her father served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

Lee will work on editing a fascinating book, "Red Run the River" written by a young veteran post World War II.

Lee and her husband, Greg, live in Lino Lakes, Minnesota.  They have two sons at home and two grown daughters, one son-in-law, their five-year-old grandson, twin toddlers, and a new grandbaby due in March.  "Grammy" loves to spend time with family.

"Fighting for Delphine" is available at www.MoongladeMedia.com, or you may order copies at 651-271-5941, and also via email at burtmanlee@gmail.com
Lee Burtman can be reached at burtmanlee@gmail.com.