Growing up during the Great Depression and coping with a father deserting the family is what Gerry faced at the age of seven. His childhood experiences and good luck helped him survive WWII. After a number of humiliations by a neighborhood bully who was much bigger than he, Gerry managed to beat him badly. The reputation seven-year-old Gerry got from that fight meant that he never had another fight the entire several years he lived in that neighborhood. He applied that lesson in the infantry during the war.

Josh, an observant Jew, and Gerald became close friends. They discussed...