To the Fire of Normandy and Beyond (Paperback)

Frank Kozol "Paul Kramer," who served in the U.S. Army during WWII is the eyes and ears for the reader on what it was like to leave home and go off to War.
While he's changed the names of the people he served with, everything he writes about is true.
As he takes the reader on his journey to serve his country from leaving his family and neighborhood for Registration to returning as an honorably discharged WWII veteran, the author describes his day to day adventures which lead to unexpected service for the US Army behind enemy lines, embedded with the French Resistance.
He describes his friendships, his day to day activities as an army medic and working with the French Resistance, during the war.
Kozol must draw upon his patriotism, loyalty, character, and apply the values he was taught as a child to the challenging circumstances of war in order to survive.
This book conveys a captivating true story, by one of the many heroic soldiers protecting our country during WWII from a perspective that has rarely been seen or told. This is the adventure of one man's war-time journey to The Fire of Normandy and Beyond.

FOREWORD REVIEW:

To the Fire of Normandy and Beyond sets out to balance the horror of war with morality and wisdom, and succeeds wonderfully.

A successful optometrist reflects on his wartime experiences in To the Fire of Normandy and Beyond, a lighthearted and captivating memoir by Frank Kozol.

Writing about himself as “Paul Kramer,” Kozol records his experiences from World War II, from being drafted in Boston to sneaking behind enemy lines, and his eventual return to civilian life. The bulk of the memoir focuses on the day-to-day life of a common soldier.

During the war, Kramer becomes a medic, turns down promotions in order to stay humble, befriends a colorful group of soldiers and noncombatants, and even crosses paths with legendary historical figures. Upon discharge from the military, Paul successfully navigates civilian life and builds a loving family and a prestigious career.

Though he changes his name in the text, To the Fire of Normandy and Beyond is Frank Kozol’s life story, altered to supplement his messages. As stated in the introduction by his son, “the reader will see that the author reconciles the balancing act of describing his story without resorting to the grim realities of war nor devaluing the sacrifices made by our armed forces.” To that end, the memoir adopts a third-person-driven narrative following Frank Kozol’s stand-in Paul Kramer.

The narrative flows beautifully with an optimistic but factual tone. Kramer faces every horror of war, including viewing the concentration camps, a friend’s dying next to him, and struggling to fend off German advances. He becomes a double agent, transporting information behind enemy lines, and acts as a medic on the front line. From these experiences flow his message: we should honor the sacrifices made in the war. This is conveyed by capturing events clearly without resorting to writing in over-the-top violence; the text is balanced with humor and morality.

The author’s son, Neil Kozol, contributes to the book, polishing it up to have it published and supplementing it with a second introduction, interesting asides, and a heartwarming conclusion. His additions add a sentimental flavor and are helpfully interjected whenever the narrative becomes too dark or disheartening. Through him come stories of Paul after the war, as he thrives and gives back to his community; these threads tie everything up perfectly.

Some of the narrative drags, and some recollections are too short. Kramer’s medical experiences are given short shrift, though individual accounts, such as of him bandaging a superior officer’s ankle, are well detailed. Conversely, scenes where Kramer finds some respite from the war stack up and meander.

To the Fire of Normandy and Beyond sets out to balance the horror of war with morality and wisdom, and succeeds wonderfully. Paul Kramer’s wartime experiences are vividly recorded, and his return to civilian life brings him warmth and love. This fantastic read stays true to history and remains faithful to Kozol’s worldview.

KIRKUS REVIEW:

An autobiographical novel about an American medic's experiences in World War II.Paul Kramer grows up in Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston, and in 1943, at age 18, enlists in the U.S. Army. He's shuttled to Virginia's Camp Pickett for basic medic training, where he's shocked by the brazenly contemptuous enforcement of racial segregation. Although he struggles with the food during training—he's Jewish and strictly observes kosher dietary restrictions—he distinguishes himself enough to be sent to medical and surgical technicians' school at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis for an intensive 10-week course. He then travels to Scotland by ship through waters populated by German submarines, and he's later sent to England. After discovering a black-market operation within the ranks, he's assigned to a military police battalion and given combat instruction by British Special Forces. He's eventually sent to France and hand-picked for a clandestine reconnaissance mission with French Resistance fighters. His experiences abroad are remarkably eventful—he meets generals George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower, plays jazz piano for British aristocrats, and is serenaded by singer Dinah Shore. Kramer's military career is also notably honorable: he participates in a mission to save a captured colonel and later gets a Purple Heart. Debut author Kozol says that he wrote this book as a personal memoir but changed some names to protect the anonymity of many of the people he knew. However, the story is told in the third person, his own name is changed to "Paul Kramer," and the reasons for these unusual authorial decisions are never made clear—or even remarked upon. The book also episodically reflects on the protagonist's childhood and his life after the war—he becomes an optometrist—but its best moments are in its tales of war abroad, which are consistently engrossing throughout. The prose style is clear, if unremarkable, and the author appears to excise some of the grittier aspects of his experience, including expletives, which makes the work as a whole feel bowdlerized at times. That said, the story itself is as good as anything a novelist could conjure from his or her imagination.A gripping and often charming wartime story.