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Stories of Real Soldiers
That Such Men Lived follows a young German Jew who finds himself thrust into the chaos of WWII, dealing with grief and loss, and coping with anger and his own fears. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Both of my grandfathers served in World War II. As a sixteen-year Air Force veteran myself, I wanted to highlight the kinds of sacrifices that the men of this era went through. Given the prevalence of stories from this time in American history, I chose to focus on lesser-known aspects of larger campaigns, and I tried to bring the stories of mostly unknown soldiers to the forefront. It was Bruce Henderson’s book, Sons and Soldiers, that led to my focus on a protagonist like Johannes.
Can you share with us a little about the research process that went into putting this book together?
After deciding to write a book about World War II, I read as much as I could about the subject. I read books like The Iron Sea, by Simon Read, The Rifle, by Andrew Biggio, and The Last Battle by Stephen Harding. However, it wasn’t until I read Sons and Soldiers that I knew I had my story. After that, it was a matter of narrowing down the focus, and for that, a big help (probably the biggest help) was Four Stars of Valor by Phil Nordyke. I wanted to get the details right and highlight the stories of real men. In my historical notes within the book, I provide more details, but I’ve tried to ensure that the stories of real soldiers are included in That Such Men Lived.
How were you able to capture Johannes Schmitt’s thoughts and emotions?
I’ve been writing for a long time, and often as you write a character, they kind of begin to tell you their thoughts and emotions. Johannes was probably the most difficult for me to understand. His story went through a dozen different iterations before I developed enough of a relationship with him to understand his motivations. Despite the book being about 90K words, I probably wrote close to 200K before I finished. Spending that kind of time with someone (even someone fictional) helps you gain insight into their mind.
Can we look forward to seeing more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
That Such Men Lived was something of a departure from my normal writing, which focuses more on Medieval and Ancient history. I’m currently working on the fourth book for my series, The Crusader Chronicles, which follows the story of a thief-turned-knight during the First Crusade. I don’t yet have a working title, but I’m hoping to finish that up by the end of the year, with a potential early spring release.
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—General George S. Patton
Seventeen-year-old Johannes Schmitt can do nothing but watch as the Gestapo murders his father in his own home.
Forced to flee Germany, Johannes is torn from the girl he loves and the mother he swore to protect, boarding a ship to America with nothing but a suitcase, a broken Star of David, and the weight of survivor’s guilt. He arrives alone, enraged, and powerless to help those he loves.
That is, until he’s finally drafted into the US Army.
From there, Johannes is sent to the most unlikely of places: the top-secret Camp Ritchie, where he and fellow Jewish immigrants learn advanced interrogation techniques and German order of battle, strategies that promise to change the tides of the war. From the burning streets of Briedheim to the secretive Camp Ritchie to the very walls of Hitler’s Fortress Europe, Johannes must navigate a journey haunted by the past as he tries to keep his honor intact.
In this evocative retelling of the real-life German-born Jewish immigrants known as the Ritchie Boys, That Such Men Live is a gritty and emotional story of sacrifice, war, and maintaining hope when all seems lost.
That Such Men Lived
That Such Men Lived tells the story of Johannes Schmitt, a young German Jew whose life is torn apart on Kristallnacht and who is thrust into the chaos of World War II. From the loss of his father to the pain of leaving his mother behind, Johannes’s journey takes him from Europe to America and eventually back again into the war that claimed everything he knew. The book blends historical events with a deeply personal narrative, capturing the fear, the anger, and the small rays of hope that kept people alive during the darkest of times.
I liked the writing style. It’s vivid without being overworked, and it has a rhythm that keeps pulling you forward. The dialogue feels alive, like conversations overheard rather than scripted, and that makes the heartbreak hit even harder. There are moments where I found myself smiling at the playful teasing between characters, only to be gutted pages later by violence or loss. That unpredictability gave the story weight. The author doesn’t shy away from horror, but he doesn’t revel in it either. It’s honest, sometimes painfully so, but never gratuitous.
This is an emotional novel. I felt Johannes’s fear of being powerless, his shame at leaving loved ones behind, and his stubborn determination to carry on anyway. I related to his anger, too, that blend of grief and fury at injustice that has nowhere to go. Some passages made me put the book down just to breathe. Others I read twice because they carried a beauty that didn’t quite sink in the first time. The author doesn’t just tell you what happened, he makes you feel it, and that’s the kind of storytelling I admire most.
I’d say this book is for readers who want more than dates and battles in their World War II stories. It’s for people who care about the human side, the quiet moments in kitchens and churches and letters home, as much as the grand sweep of history. If you’re drawn to novels that are raw and heartfelt, that let you walk in someone else’s shoes, this is a book you shouldn’t miss.
Pages: 374 | ASIN : B0FP3W98J6
LITERARY TITAN 