No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love: A Son's Journey to Normandy

by Carter Wf, Walter Ford Carter, Terry Golway

Describes how a journal and a collection of letters, excerpted here, taught him about the life of the father--who had died in combat in France during World War II--he had known and details his odyssey to the battlefields of Normandy to find the place that he had died.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, World War II

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Truman Bullard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the D-Day book that everyone should read!

[Melanie Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the best book I've read this year. Thank you, Walter Ford, for sharing your family with us.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This summer we went to the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach in France and did something different than we did the other 3 visits: we took a tour. It was the best tour we've ever taken! Stephanie, our tour guide, had photos from several of the people buried there and made the tour more personal by telling their stories as we walked to their graves. She began by reading a letter from Dr. Norval Carter, showed pictures of him and his sons, and told us she'd met his son who wrote a book about his father. I made a note of the title and when we got home, my husband bought the book. We read it aloud, as we often do. Tears often welled up while I listened to the book being read. It was a moving book written by a son using letters found long after his father's death and shortly after his mother's. If you are interested in history and WWII stories and you aren't embarrassed to cry as you read, then make sure you read this book.

While we read, I found myself vascillating between being angry at Norval for volunteering to leave his safe hospital to see more action and be at Omaha on D-Day and thankfulness and pride that he was willing to sacrifice all to save another man. I believe that writing this book might have helped W.F. with lingering negative emotions of growing up without a father and with a mother who never even talked about her husband. I hope it helped put some ghosts to rest. Writing it was a courageous thing to do: sharing such a personal story coudn't have been easy.

[Vincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so simple and sweet and inspiring that I just gave it to my boss for Christmas.
The story recounts how a hard working doctor from a small West Virginia town decides he must volunteer to serve during World War II. He goes over there during the Normandy invasion and is killed by a German sniper while rushing to provide medical care to a fellow GI.
The guy who wrote the book did not know his father at all so we sets out to learn more about him, and retrace some of the events that led to his death.
Very nice story to talk about with a veteran in your family, or a father, son, uncle.

[Judy Templeton-sims · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would have more about the dad's life.
It was more of a recording of some of the letter's he had written to his wife. No details really.
The author filled the rest of the story with dates and places his dad was stationed.
The why he joined and his death were in my opinion were the two interesting parts of the story.
The other information I can get from any history or travel book.

[Inknscroll]

This book was recommended in one of the "Bookmarks" magazine's issues of either: (Nov/ Dec 2007) or (Jan/ Feb 2008).

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a little dry and doesn't have an amazing story.