Of the tens of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen who took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, only 235 were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Medal of Honor for acts of extraordinary heroism. For the first time, the stories of the incredible acts of courage are told through the eyes of those who witnessed them. In addition, a number of first hand accounts of that day by the recipients themselves are also included. This book puts these first hand witness and recipient accounts into the larger context of the invasion. The book includes over one hundred photos of the battlefield, weapons, and equipment, with over forty rare images of German fortifications and weapons found on Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and Omaha Beach. Detailed maps of German defenses on Utah and Omaha Beach in the book are drawn from defense overprint maps used to plan the invasion. The award citations of all of the recipients are included in the book, along with 268 photos of the recipients-many of which were taken at the ceremonies as they were awarded the medals-putting faces with the names and actions of these incredibly courageous men. Recipient units include the 1st Infantry Division, the 4th Infantry Division, the 29th Infantry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 5th Ranger Battalion, the 70th Tank Battalion, the 741st Tank Battalion, the 743rd Tank Battalion, the 58th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, the 62nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, the 146th Engineer Combat Battalion, the 299th Engineer Combat Battalion, Naval Combat Demolition Units, the 1st Naval Beach Battalion, the 6th Naval Beach Battalion, the 7th Naval beach Battalion, and numerous other naval and army units. This is the first in a series of books about American heroes of World War II written by Phil Nordyke, the author of six highly acclaimed books about the World War II 82nd Airborne Division. Using awards files, interviews, memoirs, and after-action reports, Nordyke has successfully woven these accounts of incredible heroism into the D-Day timeline, creating a powerful and compelling narrative which puts the reader into the middle of the action.
