3 Review(s)

Over fifty years after the carnage at Normandy, Dr. John Kerner draws from his wartime journals and letters home to present an insightful portrait of war. Medical units under his charge pushed through western Europe, improving the treatment and transportation of the wounded during some of the most brutal fighting. Amidst the mud and blood of combat, this decorated medical officer shares a time and place when living beyond each day was in serious question. Kerner's account includes some of the greatest moments in World War II: the dramatic breakout of the Normandy hedgerow country, the thrilling dash across France in the summer of 1944, and the siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Kerner recounts the chaos of ferrying wounded soldiers from an advancing front line back to the secure main encampments in the rear. It was a situation where the threat of encounters with enemy soldiers attempting to link up with their own troops could occur at any moment, with "shoot first ask questions later" consequences. Kerner's saving of lives, often with improvised methods, supplies, and shots and shells flying overhead, is a gripping account of one man's noble humanity in the middle of horrifying inhumanity.