Sarah Sherman McGrail’s got her start writing about the experiences of veterans by convincing her own father, a forward observer in the U.S. Army in North Africa and Italy during World War II, to finally tell her his story.

“We knew dad was in the Army. We knew he was in Italy. We knew he was a forward observer and we knew he had been awarded the Purple Heart. We knew he learned to eat spaghetti in Rome, and to this day we all eat our spaghetti with a spoon,” said McGrail.

Growing up, however, she knew little else. She eventually convinced him to tell her about his experience for a family history. Those interviews forever changed the way she sees veterans.

He told her of operating behind enemy lines and from no-man’s land to help coordinate artillery fire. In North Africa, the desert was an alien landscape sometimes shifting from one day to the next as the wind erased sand dunes to create new landmarks elsewhere.

Once, when she asked him a question, his face went blank. She repeated the question, but when he came back to himself, he abruptly ended the interview. Later, he recalled the “100-yard stare” he saw in the eyes of soldiers coming back from the front lines and commented “I didn’t think I did that.” For McGrail, it was the beginning of 20 years of self-education on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), its causes, symptoms and treatments.

From that interview was born the inspiration for “Southport – The War Years: An Island Remembers,” focused on the World War II experience of her home – Sarah is in the seventh generation of her family to live on the island – including the 75 islanders who served as well as those who stayed home, enduring blackouts, air raid drills, and the occasional encounter with enemy submarines.

Her next book, “Heroes Among Us,” focused on World War II veterans of the Boothbay region. Her most recent book, the two-volume “Looking Back: A History of Boothbay Region’s Veterans during the Korean and Vietnam Wars,” explores the stories of veterans of those conflicts.

McGrail will speak about her most recent book at the monthly gathering of veterans at Chase Point Assisted Living on the Miles Campus of LincolnHealth Oct. 5 at 1:30 p.m. All veterans are welcome.

From her interviews, McGrail developed a deep respect for the men and women who left home so young to fight the nation’s wars.

She also came to understand that the experience of the Korean War and Vietnam veterans was very different from that of World War II soldiers, who returned home to near universal adulation.

The Korean War veterans felt their service had been forgotten. The Vietnam vets came home to the antiwar movement, which for many was worse than apathy.

“In the Vietnam era, a lot of the guys came back and couldn’t adjust so they went back to do a second tour because they felt more comfortable with their outfits,” said McGrail.

Learning of the disappointment those men experienced, McGrail threw them a “Welcome Home” party this May at the Southport Town Hall to celebrate both the release of “Looking Back” and their service.

She filled the hall with mementos, everything from uniforms and photos from the Vietnam and Korean War era to weapons, old magazines and a bulletin board filled with photos of USO programs.

McGrail herself wore a mini dress and white go-go boots from the 1960s in recognition of the USO performers who were so beloved by service members.

“It was 40 years too late, but it meant the world to them. I still can’t go anywhere without getting hugs,” she said.

For more information about Sarah Sherman McGrail’s books, go to www.cozyharborpress.com.