David Komarnicki

Five Stars in the Window David Komarnicki

The city of Chester, Pennsylvania, is pulsing with activity during World War Two, grinding out ships, planes, and helicopters at record rates to fuel the fight against Hitler and Hirohito. Its winding streets are a patchwork quilt of ethnic neighborhoods, and families are displaying stars in their windows to show that they have sons or fathers off serving their country. There are five stars in the window of the house young David lives in, representing four of his seven brothers and the husband of one of his two sisters. While he prays daily for their safe return, David peddles newspapers to the shift-workers at the war plants, dodges the local traffic cop who tries to interfere with his shoeshine business, hookies school to hear Louis Armstrong in Philadelphia, dazzles his classmates with his yo-yo prowess, downs the pierogi and halupki his Ukrainian-born mother dishes up by the dozens, and does his best to negotiate adolescence on the home front.