TV journalist Rita Cosby took a trip with her father to Poland, where he fought in World War II, and says their bond grew stronger as a result. INSIDE EDITION has the details.
It's an emotional father's day for INSIDE EDITION special correspondent Rita Cosby. She's opening up for the first time about her secret pain, her strained relationship with her dad.
"There was a huge void in my life, and here I was this successful TV newscaster and yet I didn't have a father. My dad was always very disconnected and always a bit detached," said Cosby.
Rita's father, Richard, fought in the Polish resistance during World War II. He became one of the war's heroes when he led a famous escape from Stalag 4B, a notorious Nazi prison camp.
"He and his resistance fighters were fighting with malatov cocktails and sticks and often their bare hands, against the most vicious war machine in the world," said Cosby.
Rita helped her dad finally face the horrors of his past, taking him back to the streets of Warsaw, where so many of his friends died. He was overwhelmed with emotion.
"It was so hard as a daughter to see him physically break down. He's a changed man. My father now is emotional, now he hugs me, now he says 'I love you,' and now I finally feel like I have a father. This father's day is going to be very special," said Cosby.
She's written a touching tribute to her father called Quiet Hero. She wrote it to bring hope to millions of war veterans and their families this father's day.
"I asked my dad, if he thought he was a hero after I told him the title of the book and he said, 'I'm not a hero, but I can definitely tell you, I was never a coward.' "
Part of the proceeds from the book go to a USO program, Operation Enduring Care, to help the families of wounded soldiers. To learn more go to http://quiethero.org
