Includes bibliographical references and index.

"They were young Jewish boys who fled Nazi-occupied Europe for America and returned as soldiers to fight for their adopted homeland and the families they had left behind. Their history is the story of one of the allies' greatest secret weapons.
During the rise of the Nazi party, as Jewish families were trying desperately to get out of Europe, some parents chose to send their young sons away to uncertain futures in America, perhaps never to see them again. As these boys became young men, they were determined to join the fight in Europe. Recruited into the US Army for their natural grasp of the German language and people, they were trained to become special interrogators of German prisoners.
Aware of what the Nazis would do to them if captured, they nevertheless deployed in small, elite teams attached to every major combat unit in Europe, to collect key tactical intelligence that would save countless lives and help win the war. A post-war Army report found that nearly 60 per cent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe came from these unlikely heroes.
Drawing on original interviews and extensive archival research, Bruce Henderson vividly recreates the lives of six of these men - from childhood in Europe, through escape from the Third Reich, their wartime contributions and sacrifices, and finally to their anxious attempts to find their families amid the fog and rubble of Hitler's 'Final Solution'. 'Sons and Soldiers' is an epic story of heroism, courage and patriotism that will not soon be forgotten." -- Back cover