The WW II Diaries and Early Life of Judge Benjamin F. Nolan

The early life of Benjamin F. Nolan is vividly presented with numerous anecdotes describing his experiences growing up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan during the 1920’s. Nolan family history is presented going back 50,000 years (conjecture), covering the Ancient Kings of Ireland from the “Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by The Four Masters,” through Nolan history in Ireland from 1100 A.D., to the Brosna Township, County Kerry, 1901 Census of Ireland. Hannon family history is presented in detail, describing his mother's roots on the family farm in County Sligo. His life during the 1930’s and 1940’s, including his Jesuit education at the prestigious Regis High School, his service at El Paso, Texas, as a U.S. Border Patrol Officer, his service in East Anglia, England, during 1943-1945, as a Military Police and C.I.D. Officer, and his post WW II employment with the U.S. Department of Immigration as Assistant Chief of Security on Ellis Island, are all covered in detail. The diaries of Benjamin F. Nolan, exactly as they were written, day by day, in the U.S. Border Patrol, and his entire service, day by day, in the United States Army during WW II, from October 1943 to July 1945, including thirty-two V-Mail Correspondence Letters, to and from his mother during WW II, are all presented exactly as they were written. The events in America during the 1920’s, and 1930’s, that led to an attempt by a group of men to overthrow the Government of the United States in 1940, are all presented in detail. The background and deportation of one of the leaders, William Gerald Bishop, is covered in detail, ending with “The Bishop Story,” written by Judge Benjamin F. Nolan, who personally escorted Bishop back to Austria in 1947. It is a story that deserves to be told.