TUNISIA was where most of the bloody North African campaign occurred, 1942-1943, and where my dad spent almost a year of his life. There, amidst the ancient Roman ruins, cactus patches and olive groves, dusty paths and rugged mountains, I walked in some of the very places where my father’s war story unfolded. I tried to imagine and feel his emotional geography of place, purpose, and loss.
Physically, I breathed in the air, felt the sun’s intensity, and sensed the pulse of a very foreign land and culture that so profoundly shaped my father as the young man I never knew. But honestly, I could not even touch the degree of fear, uncertainty, danger, and responsibility my dad must have experienced.
My weeks in Tunisia were portals into my father’s courage and unwavering duty amidst the chaos and carnage of war. And although I didn’t have GPS coordinates to pinpoint his exact locations, I was able to witness many of the places where he served -- and pay tribute.
My time in Tunisia wasn’t all WWII-related “business.” I also spent some time in locals’ homes, saw how they lived and prepared traditional meals with them; met skilled regional artisans; visited important national monuments and historic sites; and learned from local guides/experts, the fascinating ancient history of Tunisia, so strategically located on the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea.
In the posts to follow, I will interweave glimpses of modern-day Tunisia and my time there, with WWII history and my father’s war time experiences.
Posted May 11, 2026
In my book, "A DOCTOR'S WAR," you can read all about my father, Maj. Arthur L. Ludwick Jr, M.D. and his WWII experiences on the frontlines as a medical officer and combat regimental surgeon.
After arriving in Oran, Algeria in January 1943 from the UK, the goal for Allied troops was to move eastward to engage the German army and ultimately capture Tunis, the launching point to Sicily and then, Italy.
U.S. troops were given strict instructions on how to properly interact with the Muslim culture.
My father's abrupt immersion into a very foreign culture, where he was tasked with the physical and emotional well-being of his regiment, must have been quite a challenge.
Along with my father's 275 detailed, typed letters home to my mother, I drew heavily from Rick Atkinson's Pulitzer-Prize winning book, "An Army at Dawn." Mr. Atkinson was very generous in endorsing my book, his blurb appearing on its back cover: "Intimate and compelling. Captures the vivid, often poignant experience of a frontline physician during the brutal campaigns in North Africa and Italy."
March/April 1943: Capt. A. L. Ludwick, M.D. outside of his camouflaged medical aid station in a cactus patch, ". . . somewhere in North Africa." In my book, "A DOCTOR'S WAR," you can read about his innovative and effective treatment of PTSD, resulting from the 133rd's and 168th's infantry regiments disastrous first two battles with General Rommel's highly trained Afrika Korps.
October 2024: I finally saw first hand the ubiquitous Prickly Pear cactus patches in the very locations where my father served.