Greg Wahl
Born:
Connection to Illinois: Wahl is a native of Chicago. He received his dental degree from the University of Illinois. He practiced in the Chicago area and Peoria. Biography: Greg Wahl, D.D.S., a native of Chicago, received his dental degree from the University of Illinois. He practiced in the Chicago area and Peoria. During The Nam, he served in the Navy Reserve Dental Corps. He later served as the Base Dental Surgeon and Vice Commander of the 182nd Illinois Air National Guard Medical Squadron. Several magazines and anthologies have published his short stories. He's written three books: "It Didn't Play in Peoria; Missed Chances of a Middle American Town" with Charles Bobbitt, "Legendary Locals of Peoria," and "A Time of Islands; Stories of the Pacific War Isles."
Awards:
Selected Titles
A Time of Islands: Stories of the Pacific War Isles ISBN: 0578315718 OCLC: Self Published Charleston, S.C. : 2021 Kick Ass is what World War Two did when it came ashore on the Pacific Islands.It was an island time like no other in history. It was The Mother of All Wars. A Time of Islands—Stories of the Pacific War Isles is a short story collection where each tale highlights a particular or unique aspect of a conflict in the sand or nearby seas, focusing on those personal moments wedged between a nation's triumph and tragedy. From a soldier who, during the Battle of Luzon, loses his hand but hankers to be palm-free to how a dentist, without his dental mirror, faces the fiercest banzai attack in history on Saipan... these and other stories within the backdrop of the tropical fighting celebrate the fact that war, at its core, is how each person handles the craze of combat. |
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It Didn't Play in Peoria: Missed Chances of a Middle American Town ISBN: 0738525707 OCLC: 308211233 Arcadia Publishing Charleston, S.C. : 2009 "Will it play in Peoria?" was an old Vaudeville phrase meaning, "Will it appeal to the average person?" But it had greatness in its grasp, and more than once. The Illinois city has gained fame through the years, but more often as the butt of jokes or as an example of the typical Middle American town than through any recognition of its many accomplishments. Peoria boasts a string of close brushes with prosperity, any one of which could have made it a Chicago or a St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh, for example, first approached Peoria for backing for his historic flight, but the town's moneymen refused him and his Spirit of Peoria, perhaps losing a chance at the airline industry as well. |
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Legendary Locals of Peoria ISBN: 1467101737 OCLC: 932593740 Legendary Locals 2015 Peoria harkens back to the 1670s glory days of the French voyageurs and became the now-familiar face of Americana--its townsfolk have touched every aspect of national and international life, often significantly. In comedy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Charles Correll, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and even Bishop Sheen with his witty homilies have made Peoria the "Habitat of Humor." Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique jump-started the 1960s feminist movement, while Philip José Farmer's The Lovers rocked the 1950s sci-fi universe. Dr. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Romeo Garrett, and John Gwynn Jr. held the frontline against racism. Representing the best of society's core values, Barb and Dick Hammond founded Friends of the Children of Haiti, a medical organization tending to the year-round needs of the earth's poorest. And unheralded Bill Noel has shouldered the sorrows and burdens of others who have leaned on him for decades. When it comes to all the legendary locals, they play in Peoria . . . and the world. |