The book is the extraordinary story of a country boy who was sent to fight in WWII in the 101st Airborne division. He fought in Normandy and survived against overwhelming odds before heading into Holland in a glider which crashed when the tow plane was shot down. He was captured by the Germans and imprisoned as a POW until the Russians liberated the camp where he was being held. It tells of the challenges Earnest faced and the subsequent obstacles he overcame returning to civilian life in post-war America.