In my review of The Sinking of the Bismarck, I explained that I have decided to read more of my Landmark Books. And, specifically, to make my way through the Landmarks that are available on audio. In this way, I can listen while I catalog books and feel like I am getting two things done at once.
If you are curious about how to find out which Landmark books are available on audio, head over to Biblioguides and download their Landmark PDF or, if you have a BG account, go into the Landmark series page and do an advanced search for audio. It will take you to the books that have been recorded, and each of those will take you to the direct link for the download. I am thrilled that more and more Landmark books are being recorded!
“Whatever the answer was about to be, it was an individual man-by-man answer . . . In that sense, the modern battle was precisely like every ancient battle; it depended on the bravery of the few who led the way.”
I saw “Saving Private Ryan” as a teen. Once you have seen that film, you will never forget what the beaches of Normandy looked like. And if you are like me, you may try to avoid reading a lot more about the invasion because of how tragic it was. Bruce Bliven’s The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944 helped me. There is nothing that can make this story less tragic, but there is much that can help us celebrate the heroes who made sure that the losses were not in vain.
Very much like reading Wyatt Blassingame’s Combat Nurses of WWII or his Medical Corps Heroes of WWII, this book made me cry tears of pride for the men who stormed those beaches. The first half of the book sets the stage and focuses on the insane bravery of the First Wave (as it should). The last half of the book highlights individual heroes who refused to admit defeat even when everyone around him was stalled, pinned down, and about ready to give up.
“Except for the easy landing on Utah, the first minutes of the assault were generally worse than the worst the leading assault sections had let themselves imagine . . . When the second wave of assault boats reached the beach, starting at seven o’clock, it found that little or nothing had been accomplished. No one had advanced beyond the beach shingle . . . Nearly forty per cent of them had been killed or wounded . . . And almost all of the survivors of the first wave, scattered along the beach shingle, had forgotten about the attack. Their only idea, of necessity, was staying alive.”
So many things went wrong. The heavy advance bombings which were supposed to help paralyze the Germans did much less damage than was hoped. The planners of this attack had hoped that they had sufficiently confused the Germans about the when and where of the landing. They were counting on hungry and second-rate German soldiers, but what they found were excellent marksmen who were well-armed. The weather was horrendous and the Allies on the boats were seasick and cold through. The fog and smoke obscured the beach landmarks and many landed in the wrong place. The waves were so strong that the boats had to land further out than planned and many men had to climb through water, wasting precious energy. And so, when the second wave came, little progress had been made, 40% of the landing parties were dead or seriously injured, and everyone was dispirited. This caused a standstill. And because the second wave was witnessing so much devastation, they became paralyzed and dejected. But, some heroes emerged.
“The miraculous part of the story, as the military historians later found out, was how the attack got started again. In the crisis a handful of heroes came forward. They were men who decided that, however hopeless the battle seemed, they themselves would try to do something. Any action, they thought, was better than none. Each man, at the moment of his heroic decision, acted alone. It might have been easier for him if he had known there were others like him . . . They only knew that, where there were, the attack was stalled. Each man decided, independently, to do his best whether or not, in the long run, his best could make much difference.”
Isn’t this the message we want our children to know from that battle? Isn’t this the lesson that these heroes would want our children, our society, our Nation, to remember? Heroism because it is right, regardless of the cost or the outcome. I cannot even type this without crying.
Starting in Chapter 12, we get powerful accounts of men who were bound and determined to do the right thing, no matter how terrifying, or useless. These men were the best of us. I thank them for their courage under fire. I want their stories to live in the minds and hearts of my children.
Here is a link to this book on Biblioguides.