Maurice Meyers was an unlikely 19-year-old hero when he earned the Silver Star for gallantry in action under enemy fire at the Rhine River in World War II. A naïve bookworm from an orthodox Jewish household, he was neither physically nor psychologically prepared for his harrowing experiences as a combat infantryman, and the malignant anti-Semitism that followed him throughout his military service. This true story, emphasizing the personal events of war rather than the grand panorama, relates not only how he survived, but also how he earned the respect of the disparate buddies with whom he shared this strange, traumatic life. Battles are described in detail.

This memoir brings to light the interactions and psychological interplay among the individuals with whom Maurice lived and fought.  He was awarded many other medals and citations, including the Purple Heart. His life was forever changed by meeting a seven-year-old French orphan with whom he formed a special long-lasting bond of love amid the inferno and horror of the conflict. Haunted by his war memories, Maurice and his wife traveled to France 47 years later to revisit the war scenes that were so vivid in his memory. Many fascinating events occurred on this trip, which gave closure to a difficult period in Maurice's life.