Remembering Sam: A Wartime Story of Love, Loss, and Redemption

by David Everitt

A death in the family opens memories of another loss suffered years earlier, in the closing days of World War II. A letter in the mail brings a new dimension to that earlier death and unsettles an old, accepted version of events. In this tender remembrance, David Everitt recounts the story of his mother's first marriage to a man named Sam Kramer, a soldier fighting against Nazi Germany who was killed on his unit's next-to-last day of combat. Everitt begins to explore this hidden chapter in his mother's life after his father's sudden death from cardiac arrest in 1999, when memories reemerge about the first time his mother had to contend with the loss of a beloved spouse. Previously uncomfortable about examining the life of the man who preceded his father, Everitt now sees the need for completing this corner of the family portrait.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2008

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forget a star rating. This book needs a KLEENEX rating. I'd give it a 5 hankie rating. Good thing I was reading it after everyone had gone to sleep because tears were rolling down my face towards the end of the book. What makes this one stand out is knowing it was true. I'd say 75% of the WWII books I read are novels but 25% are nonfiction.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful read! I think we are forgetting the true sacrifices that were made on all fronts during WWII. This book serves as a poignant reminder of love, loss and remembrance. The story was very touching, and the author had done his parents and Sam well. It makes me sad that I purchased this book at the library book sale, and I don't believe it was ever read before. It was in pristine condition. What a waste that it was ignored.
If you get the chance, read this book. Sylvia is one amazing woman and her husbands both loved her unfailing. What a marvelous tribute from a son to his mother.
Read the book.

[Whitney Grindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and entertaining little read. Some of the author's politics show themselves a little too much, but the author does a good job of recreating his mother's life and first marriage using letters and interviews.

[Jim Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful, elegiac little book written by a son who worked to preserve the unique and heartbreaking WWII experiences of his mother, the former Sylvia Honigman. You sense that this book is a labor of love on the part of the author, who clearly adores and respects his mother. Everitt had a happy childhood and his mother's first husband, Sam Kramer, was a kind of mythic figure as he was growing up. The author painstakingly documents Sam and Sylvia's courtship and eventual marriage through interviews with his mother, family and friends. He also makes use of the many letters Sam wrote to Sylvia, beginning while he was in boot camp. Sam expresses himself in a mature, forward-thinking and wonderfully romantic way, and it is easy to see why the couple fell so hard for each other. Sam emerges as a "mensch", a man wise beyond his years, universally loved and respected by his fellow soldiers. Everitt describes the terrible, wrenching aftermath of Sam's tragic death in Germany in the waning days of the war; memories that were still fresh for Sylvia some 60 years after her loss. Having previously toiled in the Brooklyn Navy Yards, Sylvia decides the best way to deal with her grief is to take Sam's advice and she goes to work with wounded soldiers. She serves at a rehabilitation facility with young soldiers and sailors blinded during the war. It is here where she meets her second husband, Everitt's father. The sense of devotion and strength, even in the face of chaos and unimaginable personal loss, is incredibly moving and inspiring. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the WWII era.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up at the dollar store. Good read. Wondered if Sam's wife stayed in touch with Sam's family- the only hanging thread that I wish the author had elaborated on.