It’s 1939. Life is about to change for twenty-year-old Norman. Britain’s declaration of war against Nazi Germany brings unimagined opportunities for this working-class lad from northeast England. Conscripted into the army for seven years, he learns to drive everything but tanks. He blows up bridges, practices using poison gases, becomes a whizz with a rifle, sails the seas in a troop ship and makes his first flight ever in a plane.

After surviving Dunkirk by the skin of his teeth and building defenses to foil Germany’s expected invasion of Britain, the thanks he gets is a five-year posting to India and Burma—and a five-year separation from his wife and child. Heartbroken, he recalls his dad’s counsel: “You may pass that way only once. Learn what you can from the people and their cultures. Don’t waste time wishing you were back home because if you do, you’ll regret not making the most of your opportunities while you were away.’”

Did Norman follow his dad’s advice? Here’s a clue. When the family learns about his wartime adventures, they rename him Indiana Jones.