Let Me Tell You A Story

  Mike Sanders’ dream of visiting Germany not only came true, but changed the trajectory of his life. He was only four years old when his father Cal was drafted into the war. He shipped out to Germany as a medic on the same day Mike’s sister Brenda was born. Mike had no idea where Germany was, but he knew even then that he wanted to go there like his father. Cal didn’t share his experiences in Germany once he returned home, but the war changed him. “I remember he would wake up screaming from nightmares,” Mike’s younger brother Randy said. Life was not idyllic at their home in the small town of Gaffney, South Carolina. They were poor, relying on Cal’s work as a carpenter, farmer, and any other odd jobs he could find. He wasn’t living the standards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which they were members, and this caused tension between his parents. No matter his flaws, Mike loved his father and enjoyed working alongside him when he could. Then on April 8, 1953 trag