Soldier Boy details the epic story of an immigrant family's journey from
Russia to America, arriving in the early twentieth century. Born in
1932, Ben is raised on the tough streets of Philadelphia, surrounded by
a motley collection of WWI veterans, gangsters, refugees, and his large
extended family. After graduating high school, Ben leaves home to pursue
a life of promise and adventure in the US Navy, attending universities
in the South via the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He witnesses racism
and religious intolerance, along with Elvis Presley's doomed concert in
Atlanta. Operations take him to Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean,
where he parties in Havana on New Year's Eve as Castro takes over the
island nation. Stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, Ben leads the South
American end of the Finance Aviation Office for the US Navy's Atlantic
Fleet. Directed by President Eisenhower, he and his superiors employ
clandestine techniques to support actions against Communists in South
America. The Kameradenwerk, an organization that protects and finances
Nazi/German businesses in Argentina, eventually fund these operations as
US financial contributions cease. He receives special combat training
and is personally involved in many top-secret missions. As Ben advances
from Midshipman to Lieutenant Commander, he gradually realizes that what
is asked of him threatens to destroy all he really cares about, his
family and his morals. He refuses to participate in further assignments
after innocent victims are killed, becomes mentally distraught, and is
transferred to Washington DC. After his discharge, he joins the MLK
Freedom March, listening to the famous speech on August 28, 1963. His
search for inner peace finally begins.
