In the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate, new opportunities present themselves to bring meaning to historic phrases such as "Pursuit of Happiness"

SMITHTOWN, NY, UNITED STATES, October 28, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- This first novel by U.S. Army veteran Wm. G. Holst is spiced with many of the counterculture elements of the 1970s to create a page-turner that heats up the Cold War era.

William G. Holst, author of the historical novel Bicentennial Trifecta, was born in Port Jefferson, NY in August 1952 and was actively involved in student government, starting in seventh grade. Interested in politics, he seized an opportunity to speak to Robert F. Kennedy in 1964 at a campaign stop in Smithtown.

Some years later, from June of 1975 to June of 1978, Bill was an active duty member of the United States Army. He received his Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and his Advanced Individual Training at the Defense Information School ("DINFOS") at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. Bill was the Distinguished Honor Graduate of his DINFOS class, which included male and female members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

As an Army journalist (Military Occupational Specialty 71Q), Bill was a reporter and photo-journalist at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Camp Zama, Japan. At Fort Knox, he was part of a post newspaper staff that won honors among Army newspapers and went on to win top honors (the Thomas Jefferson Award) from the Department of Defense. At Camp Zama, Bill was awarded an Army Commendation Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster) for his reporting on the activities of members of the United States Army Communications Command-Japan. After his service in the Army, Bill attended law school in the evening program at St. John’s University School of Law and, by day, worked in a paraprofessional role in the Law Department of CBS Inc.

In his first novel, Bicentennial Trifecta: Patriots for the American Evolution, Wm. G. Holst shares the adventures of Desi McKoy, a young Army journalist.

Armed with his camera, notepad, and '73 VW Super Beetle, an Army journalist sets his sights on being in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and NYC, all on July 4, 1976, so as to witness how far we have come and how far we have to go.

After the festivities of the Kentucky Derby in 1976, Army Specialist Desi McKoy juggles his duties as a photo-journalist at the Fort Knox weekly newspaper with his quest for his own version of the 'Pursuit of Happiness’ in the year marking the 200th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Throughout his pursuit, he encounters many different people, including Emily, a newly minted graduate of the University of Kentucky, hitchhiking musicians who are looking to be part of a protest in Philadelphia, and Penny Bright, a member of the United States Army band at Fort Knox.

On the Fourth of July, Desi attends a Washington D.C. breakfast event hosted by Emily's father. Emily has doubts about her own independence as they head towards New York, while Desi is determined to get a sense of the mood of "We the People of the United States" on the American Bicentennial. He also has to figure out where he will be spending the night if he makes it to New York City that day.

Through their various experiences, some of the characters discover that true "Patriots" are those who seek to help make the United States what it is capable of becoming, not just a vessel in a turbulent world, but a sanctuary where the aspirations of all its citizens are encouraged.

Whether you can recall the Bicentennial with your own memories or not, you will get to ride along with Army Specialist Desi McKoy and experience a moment when a decade of planning at the federal and state levels came together with the participation of millions of people of all backgrounds to celebrate. In the words of John Warner, the Administrator of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, the celebration proved that “America was alive and well in 1976.”

BOILERPLATE -
Bill Holst was born in 1952 and grew up on Long Island, New York.

He served as an Army journalist in the mid-1970s after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University, where he majored in journalism. He was part of an award-winning newspaper staff at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and received an Army Commendation Medal for his reporting in Japan.

After his service in the Army and graduation from law school, Bill worked for several years as a litigator and broadcast counsel in Manhattan. He later served on Long Island in several appointed and elected governmental positions.

Bill has been married to his wife, Laura, for forty-two years and has two children and three grandsons.

His historical novel about the adventures of an Army journalist in 1976 is spiced with many of the counterculture elements of the 1970s, creating a page-turner that heats up the Cold War era.

William G. Holst
Trifecta Press
email us here