Summary of the Novel THE TENTH MAN
This is a story about two men, one in the present and one in the past solving the same crime 50 years apart.
The present day soldier, Major Sam Call, is at the end of his once promising career. He was a career minded
soldier of honor and integrity who, when faced with a situation of criminal conduct by a senior officer could not
walk away. By openly fighting the system he ended his own career. Now his last assignment is a task far
beneath his rank and position, closing out Fort Sheridan. This installation had been placed on the list of base
closings and Call is tasked to supervise the preparation of military buildings on the post by removing old
furniture, and other contents of the buildings, cleaning them then sealing them for the turn over to civilian
authorities. Sam is an intense man and soldier who loves his wife, his kids and his army with equal intensity. He
is fun loving and in love with Mary, his wife of twenty years, and together have four daughters all of whom Sam
adores. His best friends are Dana and Vickie Jackson. Dana is just about everything that Sam is not. Where
Sam is the tall, picture of a solider, Dana is small, meek, and introverted. While Sam never avoids, and even
enjoys, an ‘in your face’ confrontation, Dana will walk a mile to avoid one. Yet they are the best of friends and it
is a friendship born from conflict together and raised on fifteen years of mutual respect.
Upon arriving on base Sam is intrigued by the graves of nine Germans buried in the post cemetery, and
appalled at the ego and self-serving nature of the new Post Commander. The assignment is terrible but it has
two saving graces, he works with First Sergeant Kent, an ‘old school’ first sergeant of immense presence and he
gets to be near Dana and Vickie who are assigned to a command in Chicago. In the course of clearing the
buildings, one of Sam’s soldiers finds a diary belonging to a Sergeant Jonathan Simon, who was finance NCO
during WWII. The reading of this diary sets Sam off to learn more about what happened on Fort Sheridan during
the war. Sam learns that German POWs were housed at Fort Sheridan from 1944 through 1946 and that the
army contracted out thousands of German POWs to local farmers, loggers and other companies from the Ft.
Sheridan POW system that included over twenty sub camps throughout the mid west.
Through his reading of the diary and his research, Sam soon realizes that millions of dollars that were earned
by POW labor seemed to be unaccounted for. Sam also realizes that SGT Simon knew something was not right
as well and also set off to investigate and Simon’s diary abruptly stops after he informs his commander of his
suspicions. Sam enlists his old friend Dana in what has become a quest for the truth and to find Sergeant Simon
and solve the mystery of the lost money.
Sam uncovers a plot that involved the Post Commander, the army doctor, security and administration, and the
senior German POWs. In 1944 through 1946, while Ft. Sheridan was the home for thousands of German POWs,
it was also the out-processing center for thousands of American soldiers who had done their duty, ended their
military obligation and were now returning to civilian life. Each week, a thousand soldiers came to the processing
center, were medically examined, administratively cleared and returned to civilian life. But some never left the
confines of the base. Judged medically unfit by the post doctor, one selected soldier was kept back for
‘treatment’ while the rest of the group processed out of the army. This unsuspecting soldier had no family, no
one to go home to, and more importantly, no one to miss him. Judged medically unfit, the soldier is moved by
security while “recovering” from his illness. The unsuspecting American soldier is killed and one of the German
POWs apparently dies in an accident. He is also not missed by anyone. The American soldier is buried in the
POW’s place and the once medically unfit soldier becomes well and joins the next group processing out of the
army. With over a thousand American candidates a week, it does not take long to allow a hand full of POWs to
join American society.
Sam searches for the truth and discovers the four key players from the plot, all of whom are now dead. But the
trail leads to one man, Michael Ream, a powerful local Chicago businessman. Sam believes that Ream is
actually the chief POW who controlled the POW labor and enabled the American officers to steal millions of
dollars. Sam is convinced of Ream’s guilt but knows that after forty plus years the likelihood of proving the man
in the grave was not a German POW but actually an unknown American soldier was slim to none. Sam gambles,
and using the press to push the issue into the public spotlight, he forces Ream to challenge Sam with a public
opening of the disputed grave.
The story emphasizes the bond that only real soldiers develop, ‘Leave no man behind’ is not just a phase, but
rather an oath that some live and die by. This is a story patterned around real people, real POWs, and actual
events. It is a story that has lay hidden along with nine other souls for over forty years. It is the story of a young
sergeant who was left on the battlefield of corruption and greed, and of the man who brought him home.
This is a story about two men, one in the present and one in the past solving the same crime 50 years apart.
The present day soldier, Major Sam Call, is at the end of his once promising career. He was a career minded
soldier of honor and integrity who, when faced with a situation of criminal conduct by a senior officer could not
walk away. By openly fighting the system he ended his own career. Now his last assignment is a task far
beneath his rank and position, closing out Fort Sheridan. This installation had been placed on the list of base
closings and Call is tasked to supervise the preparation of military buildings on the post by removing old
furniture, and other contents of the buildings, cleaning them then sealing them for the turn over to civilian
authorities. Sam is an intense man and soldier who loves his wife, his kids and his army with equal intensity. He
is fun loving and in love with Mary, his wife of twenty years, and together have four daughters all of whom Sam
adores. His best friends are Dana and Vickie Jackson. Dana is just about everything that Sam is not. Where
Sam is the tall, picture of a solider, Dana is small, meek, and introverted. While Sam never avoids, and even
enjoys, an ‘in your face’ confrontation, Dana will walk a mile to avoid one. Yet they are the best of friends and it
is a friendship born from conflict together and raised on fifteen years of mutual respect.
Upon arriving on base Sam is intrigued by the graves of nine Germans buried in the post cemetery, and
appalled at the ego and self-serving nature of the new Post Commander. The assignment is terrible but it has
two saving graces, he works with First Sergeant Kent, an ‘old school’ first sergeant of immense presence and he
gets to be near Dana and Vickie who are assigned to a command in Chicago. In the course of clearing the
buildings, one of Sam’s soldiers finds a diary belonging to a Sergeant Jonathan Simon, who was finance NCO
during WWII. The reading of this diary sets Sam off to learn more about what happened on Fort Sheridan during
the war. Sam learns that German POWs were housed at Fort Sheridan from 1944 through 1946 and that the
army contracted out thousands of German POWs to local farmers, loggers and other companies from the Ft.
Sheridan POW system that included over twenty sub camps throughout the mid west.
Through his reading of the diary and his research, Sam soon realizes that millions of dollars that were earned
by POW labor seemed to be unaccounted for. Sam also realizes that SGT Simon knew something was not right
as well and also set off to investigate and Simon’s diary abruptly stops after he informs his commander of his
suspicions. Sam enlists his old friend Dana in what has become a quest for the truth and to find Sergeant Simon
and solve the mystery of the lost money.
Sam uncovers a plot that involved the Post Commander, the army doctor, security and administration, and the
senior German POWs. In 1944 through 1946, while Ft. Sheridan was the home for thousands of German POWs,
it was also the out-processing center for thousands of American soldiers who had done their duty, ended their
military obligation and were now returning to civilian life. Each week, a thousand soldiers came to the processing
center, were medically examined, administratively cleared and returned to civilian life. But some never left the
confines of the base. Judged medically unfit by the post doctor, one selected soldier was kept back for
‘treatment’ while the rest of the group processed out of the army. This unsuspecting soldier had no family, no
one to go home to, and more importantly, no one to miss him. Judged medically unfit, the soldier is moved by
security while “recovering” from his illness. The unsuspecting American soldier is killed and one of the German
POWs apparently dies in an accident. He is also not missed by anyone. The American soldier is buried in the
POW’s place and the once medically unfit soldier becomes well and joins the next group processing out of the
army. With over a thousand American candidates a week, it does not take long to allow a hand full of POWs to
join American society.
Sam searches for the truth and discovers the four key players from the plot, all of whom are now dead. But the
trail leads to one man, Michael Ream, a powerful local Chicago businessman. Sam believes that Ream is
actually the chief POW who controlled the POW labor and enabled the American officers to steal millions of
dollars. Sam is convinced of Ream’s guilt but knows that after forty plus years the likelihood of proving the man
in the grave was not a German POW but actually an unknown American soldier was slim to none. Sam gambles,
and using the press to push the issue into the public spotlight, he forces Ream to challenge Sam with a public
opening of the disputed grave.
The story emphasizes the bond that only real soldiers develop, ‘Leave no man behind’ is not just a phase, but
rather an oath that some live and die by. This is a story patterned around real people, real POWs, and actual
events. It is a story that has lay hidden along with nine other souls for over forty years. It is the story of a young
sergeant who was left on the battlefield of corruption and greed, and of the man who brought him home.
Welcome to the official website of Matt Eberz
Welcome to the official website of Matt Eberz
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