Eben "Bunny" Bradbury, son of two historic Newburyport families, joined the United States Marine Corps just days after the declaration of war in April 1917. Everyone in the city knew him, and his his sudden death a year later in at the Battle of Belleau Wood in France was commemorated with a public monument. Ninety-seven years later, a chance encounter brought a local historian and distant cousin to ask about his monument, leading to the discovery of intimate letters, personal diaries, photographs and military records, held by people across the world who had not forgotten Eben. Author Bethany Groff Dorau reveals a story that goes beyond a tragic battlefield death and uncovers a rich and complex American family, rooted deeply in a truly American city.

Bethany Groff Dorau is the author of A Brief History of Old Newbury (The History Press) and a primary contributor to the Defining Documents in American History series. She is the North Shore regional site manager for Historic New England, based at the Spencer-Peirce-Little farm in Newbury, and a recipient of the Pioneer in Preservation Award from the Essex National Heritage Commission and the North of Boston CVB Leadership Award. Bethany sits on the boards of the North of Boston CVB, the Newburyport Preservation Trust and the planning committee of the Newburyport Literary Festival. She has published articles in the New England Quarterly, the Encyclopedia of American History and Historic New England Magazine. She holds an MA in history from the University of Massachusetts and lives in Newburyport with her family.