The battalion of 600 men in the 12th Army Division in which Vahan Hovey served, had been assigned to clean out a patch of woods containing a small contingent of Germans.

Mr. Hovey, now 84 and a resident of Oxford Greens, remembers that it was snowing that day - and cold.

When his superiors told members of the battalion to fix bayonets, Mr. Hovey knew the mission was a serious one.

He just didn't know until later just how serious it would be.

What the Americans faced were 5,000 German troops and 25 tanks, a far cry from the contingent of 90 they were expecting to confront.

The Germans had set a trap for them.

Mr. Hovey was shot in both legs in the first five minutes of combat.

As he lay in the snow and bullets ripped over his head and through his camouflage suit, he burrowed into the ground as far as he could.

"It felt like the hand of God reached out and pushed me into the ground," he recalled.

In a relatively short time, the enemy wiped out 80 percent of the battalion and destroyed or disabled all 20 of its tanks. The unit had little choice but to surrender.

That's when the real fear set in. Mr. Hovey had heard that the Germans, short on space at their medical aid camps, were taking no more wounded prisoners.

As the victors trudged through the battleground checking bodies, their feet crunching the snow beneath them, Mr. Hovey heard shots. He presumed that they were putting to death those who were wounded. Would he be next?

He devised a plan. Obviously it worked, because Vahan Hovey is alive and well today.

He is alive to tell of the shock he felt when the Americans he believed had finally arrived at the battle scene to rescue him turned out to be Germans from another unit.

He lived to recount the story of the American Army staple that saved his life and of the suffering he endured on undergoing surgery for his wounds without the benefit of anesthesia.

He is alive to tell of the unusual medical mystery that made him a curiosity among German medics and of the two German nurses, Helga and Frieda, who took a fancy to him and provided him with food and care.

He is alive to share his story with the world.

The details of his recollections are provided in his first book, "The Hand of God." The book was published recently by Xulon Press, a division of Salem Communications Corporation.

Mr. Hovey said he decided to write his story in 2003 after discovering, when he was cleaning out the attic of his Easton home, notes that he had kept as a prisoner of war.

Inspired by the vivid recollections evoked by those notes, he began writing his war memoirs, completing the first part in nine months.

When a publisher told him the book was too short, he added a second installment, one about his life and accomplishments after the armed services.

Those memories revolve around his education at Texas A&M and Cornell University and his decision to abandon his electrical engineering studies to pursue a degree in business.

"Hand of God, Part II," also tells of his experiences in the Tamiment Summer Playhouse in Bushkill, Pa., a small local theater that launched the careers of many well known entertainers.

At this theater, he suffered a serious accident, which put him in a hospital once again.

Following his recovery, Mr. Hovey launched a music-oriented business in New York City called Tin Pan Alley.

Composing the music and lyrics for various show business acts, he and his business partner, Arnold Goland, went on to achieve significant success in the music industry.

Mr. Hovey's associations included the Benny Goodman family, Connie Francis, the Andrew Sisters and Roy Rogers.

He collaborated with Mitch Miller in writing a song that was recorded by Rosemary Clooney. The song, which sold 80,000 to 90,000 copies, was a follow up to the popular "Come On-a My House."

The partnership with Mr. Goland was dissolved after Mr. Hovey married and his wife became pregnant. Believing Brooklyn was not the best place to raise a family, the Hoveys moved to Connecticut.

Since then, Mr. Hovey has been widowed twice, losing both wives to lung cancer.

He continues to write songs, mostly for a young audience - songs like "Corky the Stork" and "High Fallutin' Rootin' Tootin' Owl."

Some of his children's songs were recorded by the late Dom Deluise in an album titled "Gimme a Smile."

Today, Mr. Hovey serves as the director for the choral group at the Oxford Senior Center.

Mr. Hovey will meet the public and sign his book at several different locations in upcoming weeks.

He will be at the Oxford Public Library at 5:30 p.m. September 29, at the Oxford Senior Center at noon October 6, at the Young at Heart Club at Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield at noon on November 6 and at the Black Rock Congregational Church's Men's Club at 7:30 a.m. November 7.

Copies of "The Hand of God" may be purchased at any of these locations on those days. They may also be purchased on the web at www.thehandofgodbook.com and on www.barnesandnoble.com; www.borders.com and www.amazon.com.