The Exquisite Corpse of Kenneth Christiansen

I have chosen my father because his experience in World War II has proved to be the strongest influence in his life, leaving him with both an intense sense of gratitude for life and severe PTSD. He grew up in a poor community with many Jewish friends and, believing the stories of the extermination, he unsuccessfully attempted to enlist at 17. He successfully enlisted in 1942 at 18 and was in the infantry until 1945. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Ubach. Today he is alive, grateful, and about to turn 90.—Diane Christiansen