David Kenyon Webster 24 Later years He was the last <strong>of</strong> the surviving Toccoa veterans who had fought in Normandy to be sent home. He returned to work as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Daily News and found great enjoyment sailing, studying oceanography and sea life. [7] During those years he worked on his wartime memoirs and occasionally approached magazines with an article but deferred any wholesale treatment <strong>of</strong> the war, perhaps in favor <strong>of</strong> reflecting and trying to make sense <strong>of</strong> it. He had a wife (Barbara), whom he married in 1951, [7] and had three children. [3] His interest in sharks led him to write a book on the subject entitled Myth and Maneater: The Story <strong>of</strong> the Shark. However, Webster's interest in sharks eventually may well have led to his demise, as he was lost at sea <strong>of</strong>f the coast <strong>of</strong> Santa Monica in 1961. [7] Webster's wartime diary and thoughts remained unpublished except for a few short stories in magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post. Unable to see a salient theme for his greater wartime experience, publishers showed little interest in another memoir. However, Stephen Ambrose, a tenured University <strong>of</strong> Louisiana System pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> history (specifically, at the University <strong>of</strong> New Orleans) who had studied Webster's writings, was so impressed by the historical value <strong>of</strong> Webster's unpublished papers that the pr<strong>of</strong>essor encouraged Webster's widow to submit the writing package to LSU Press. This she did and with Ambrose's foreword; a book was published by LSU in 1994. Titled Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir <strong>of</strong> D-Day and the Fall <strong>of</strong> the Third Reich, it presented Webster's first-hand account <strong>of</strong> life as an Airborne infantryman. His trained eye, honesty and writing skills helped give the book as well as the <strong>mini</strong><strong>series</strong> a color and tone not available in other G.I. diaries. On September 9, 1961, David was lost at sea <strong>of</strong>f the coast <strong>of</strong> Santa Monica, California. As his body was never recovered, it is generally assumed that Webster may have drowned. [8] References [1] DeAngelis, Frank. "Webster's shadowbox" (http:/ / www. frankdeangelis. com/ PFC David K Webster. htm). . Retrieved 2009-10-14. [2] David Kenyon Webster letters (http:/ / www. davidkenyonwebster. com/ lettershome. html) [3] A Brief Biography <strong>of</strong> David Kenyon Webster, Author <strong>of</strong> Parachute Infantry (http:/ / www. davidkenyonwebster. com/ biography. html) [4] Ambrose, p.169. [5] Winters, p.201. [6] Ambrose, p.220. [7] Ambrose, p.301. [8] http:/ / www. findagrave. com/ cgi-bin/ fg. cgi?page=gr& GRid=19055564 Bibliography • Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). <strong>Band</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Brothers</strong>: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-6411-6. Bibliography • Webster, David K. (1994 (posthumously)). Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir <strong>of</strong> D-Day and the Fall <strong>of</strong> the Third Reich. Bantam Dell. ISBN 978-0-440-24090-7. • Webster, David K. (1963). Myth and Maneater:The Story <strong>of</strong> the shark. Norton. ISBN 0-207-12265-2.
David Kenyon Webster 25 External links • Official website (http:/ / www. davidkenyonwebster. com/ ) • "David Kenyon Webster" (http:/ / www. findagrave. com/ cgi-bin/ fg. cgi?page=gr& GRid=19055564). Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
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