Woodstock author wins Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year Award

Woodstock author Mark Hutson’s account of the story of a Utah family that sent five sons to World War II and lost four of them has been named the 2022 Indie Nonfiction Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association.

“So Costly a Sacrifice” tells the story of the Borgstrom family, who received, in less than six months during 1944, four telegrams notifying the family that four of five sons who had enlisted had been killed. A fifth son was recalled home.

The Borgstroms became the only family in World War II to display a service flag with four gold stars, each one signifying a serviceman lost while serving their country.

Hutson’s interest in service flags began when he discovered one hidden in a dusty cabinet at an auction near Union. He began collecting service flags, determined to uncover the stories of the men behind the stars.

Late one night, Hutson stumbled upon the news of a family who lost four sons and was hailed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as “an inspiration to the parents of all soldiers.”

After years of research, Hutson used family matriarch Gunda Borgstrom’s letters, interviews with family and military correspondence to write the book.