Paul Amrod was born in November 1926 in Saugerties, New York, the tenth of 11 children. His father, a Lebanese immigrant, was in the dry goods business. The Amrod family learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor through a radio broadcast, and two of Amrod's brothers and one of his sisters preceded him in joining the U.S. Armed Services. Amrod enlisted in the Army in Albany, New York on D-Day.

Paul Amrod joined the Army because his siblings had set the example, and his love of country obliged him to do his part. He initially wanted to join the Navy, but did not qualify due to colorblindness. Aged 17 when he joined the Army, Amrod had never been away from home, and his mother cried when he shipped out. [Annotator's Note: Amrod chokes up.] His training took him from Fort Dix in New Jersey, to Camp Blanding in Florida, to Fort Meade in Maryland, to Fort Lewis in Washington State, and to jungle training in Hawaii. Although he could operate all infantry weapons, Amrod ended up a replacement 60mm mortar gunner bound for the 7th Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] on Okinawa. He was saddened at the news of Franklin Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt] death, but he and his fellow soldiers had heard of the cruelty of the Japanese military, and considered Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: President of the United States Harry S. Truman] a hero for his decision to drop the atomic bomb.

Paul Amrod made a combat landing at Inchon, South Korea, where the occupation took place without a shot fired. His division [Annotator's Note: Amrod was a gunner on a 60mm mortar in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] was sent there to insure the Japanese would honor the terms of the peace treaty, then went to help police Kaesong, South Korea where Russian troops were crossing the 38th parallel and committing robberies. During his stay in Korea, he undertook the care of an emaciated horse the Japanese cavalry had left behind, and he began playing baseball.

Paul Amrod arrived on the southern beaches of Okinawa to aggressive Japanese artillery fire. There was still heavy fighting going on in the north, but according to General Douglas MacArthur, the Marines had cleaned up the south. Still, Amrod's division [Annotator's Note: Amrod served as a gunner on a 60mm mortar in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] experienced heavy sniper fire during their patrols. Many civilians and soldiers took refuge in caves, and an interpreter was used to persuade them to come out. Amrod heard of, but did not personally witness any Japanese atrocities on Okinawa; however, the reports of cruelties left him with no qualms over the news that the United States had used the atomic bomb. During one of his patrols, Amrod took a Japanese soldier prisoner, ordered him to undress to insure he had no weapons, and without incident, brought him to the authorities. Amrod attributes his loss of hearing to using the 60mm mortar without ear protection.

Aside from sporadic sniper fire, Paul Amrod's prayers were answered and he had no really close calls. He attributes his good fortune to the great job the Marines did in containing the enemy. He credits the Navy for giving his division [Annotator's Note: Amrod served as a gunner on a 60mm mortar in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] the news of Victory in Japan, because during August [Annotator's Note: August 1945], when the atomic bombs were dropped, ships were celebrating by shooting off bombs in the harbor. He and his fellow soldiers were really happy, and relieved that they did not have to take part in an invasion, but they began to wonder whether they would be shipped to Yokahama, since it was so close to where they were stationed. As it turned out, the 7th Infantry Division went to South Korea. Unlike his Okinawa experience, where he did not have much contact with the civilians, in Korea the natives were very friendly toward the Americans, and expressed their appreciation for what they called their emancipation. He mentioned several old-world customs of the Koreans, and added that although the food was not bad, it was not good, either. Surprisingly, the Koreans did not reciprocate the Japanese cruelty when they had the chance. Also in Korea, he and his fellow Americans had the opportunity to introduce baseball to the masses. He turned down an offer to go on a baseball tour that included a trip to Hong Kong, because he just wanted to take the next ship home.

Paul Amrod observed that the Koreans were never fighters. He thought General John Hodge did his best to warn the Pentagon that the 5-year agreement was not going to work. The Russians were training the North Koreans in combat, whereas the Allies left a skeleton force to maintain the peace in South Korea. When the Korean War started, the North Koreans attacked with Russian planes and Russian tanks, and pushed down to Incheon. Then MacArthur [Annotator's Note: US Army General Douglas MacArthur] pushed them back and wanted to continue beyond the 38th Parallel into Manchuria, but Truman [Annotator's Note: President of the United States Harry S. Truman] didn't want war with China. At the time Amrod landed in South Korea, he knew nothing about the big picture; only that his division [Annotator's Note: Amrod served as a gunner on a 60mm mortar in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division] was to insure the surrender of the Japanese at Incheon. There, the Japanese were compelled to relinquish their rifles and swords. Amrod took a rifle but wishes now that he had taken a sword, because it might be worth something today. He has no idea if the Japanese soldiers were sent back to Japan, or what became of them. But, he stressed, the Americans were not afraid of doing their jobs. Amrod learned little about the Korean customs, except for how the women had to be treated, and that vendors in the market place should be treated fairly. It was only a short time between his leaving South Korea and the start of the Korean War, and he feels the current dictator of North Korea is a dangerous man. Amrod spent two years in the Army, 18 months of which were served overseas.

When he was in high school, Paul Amrod played baseball as a catcher. In the service, he learned he was not major league material. Among his teammates in the service were good players from the Yankees, the Senators, the Dodgers, and from West Point but none was a catcher so Amrod got to play. Once he saw their curve balls, he knew he had to find something else to do with the rest of his life. He had discussed the future with one of his buddies who planned to get a degree in physical education to become a coach, and Amrod thought that sounded like fun. He was discharged in November 1946, at the rank of Private First Class, and when the Army tried to sign him on for the reserves, Amrod said he was absolutely not interested. He used the G.I. Bill to complete his undergraduate studies in three years. Amrod loved working with young people, and while always holding down a coaching job, he went on to achieve a masters' degree and a doctorate, and held leadership positions in physical education and guidance counseling in both the New York and New Jersey school systems.