The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice | Alex Kershaw

The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice | Alex Kershaw | Not Your Ordinary WWII Book

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The Bedford Boys: ...

	The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice Alex Kershaw Da Capo Press, 2004 - 328 pages average customer review:based on 36 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

June 6, 1944: Nineteen boys from Bedford, Virginia--population just 3,000 in 1944--died in the first bloody minutes of D-Day. They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches in Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia town died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost--it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget. The Bedford Boys is the true and intimate story of these men and the friends and families they left behind.Based on extensive interviews with survivors and relatives, as well as diaries and letters, Kershaw's book focuses on several remarkable individuals and families to tell one of the most poignant stories of World War II--the story of one small American town that went to war and died on Omaha Beach.

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The Town That Lost It's Sons

Few dates in history have seen more tragedy than June 6, 1944. Thousands of American families and even entire towns grieved their losses after D-Day, but none more so than the tiny town and 3,000 inhabitants of Bedford, Virginia, who lost 19 of its' sons that fateful day and 3 more before the war would conclude. BEDFORD BOYS: ONE AMERICAN TOWNS ULTIMATE D-DAY SACRIFICE, by Alex Kershaw, tells their story. This book, unlike most others on the account of D-Day, tells the story of the Normandy invasion from the viewpoint of the families left behind.

Much of the book chronicles the lives of the young men prior to the invasion. Particularly, the year they spent together station in England, preparing for the invasion. Kershaw recounts their stories through photographs, letters home, and interviews with survivors and family members.

When the day of the invasion arrives, Kershaw gives concise narrative as to how some of them survived, and how so many of them perished. Their story is riveting. You will laugh at their antics, and mourn at their sacrifices. This is a very well written account and should serve to remind all Americans of the cost of freedom.

They went into battle as the Boys of Bedford, and boys they were, indeed, but in my eyes, they will forever be the MEN from Bedford, Virginia.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

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Not Your Ordinary WWII Book

This is not your ordinary WWII book. I've read many books on WWII and on the subject of D-Day. This book stands out as unique as it shows the human side of war from not only the soldier's perspective but also from the point of view of families that were left behind as well as the aftermath of war in the years that followed.

If you are looking for a book that focuses on the "nuts and bolts" of the Normandy invasion then this book may not be your best bet. The Omaha Beach action only last a few chapters in the book. However, I would recommend this book in spite of that. It will afford you a unique perspective to the landings. After reading it, I felt how tremendously difficult it was for that first wave on the toughest sector of the landing areas. I am still amazed any of those brave men made it off the beach alive at all.

If you are looking for a well written book on how war affects families and in this case communities, then this book is a must! Kershaw writes extremely well and the flow of the narrative reads like a novel. This is the second of his books that I have read (The Longest Winter being the other). Both books are highly recommended.

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Freedom's Price in Microcosm

This book deeply affected me as I read it. I wept continously as I read some parts of it. By writing from the perspectives of the surviving soldiers, as well as the fallen and all of their loved ones, Kershaw takes you back in time and sets the stage for the Normandy invasion: preparations, going ashore, fighting in France, the homefront, and the war's aftermath. As I sat in my home which was built in 1940, I tried to imagine what occurred there on June 6, 1944 with the radio reports and the neighbors talking amongst themselves about those historic events. Only great writing can produce those kinds of thoughts!
I highly recommend this book to all.

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A true landmark!

I read a lot of American history - especially about WWll but this book is special. Living here in the Heartland of America, I see National Guard units all around me going off to Iraq! There is something particularly sad about eager young men joining their friends for service in case of a "national emergency" and learning that they must fight an unknown enemy far from homeGod bless ALL the "Bedford Boys" in 1944 and the "Bedford Boys" in 2007!!

Another tale of the Greatest Generation

I live about 20 Miles from the D-Day Memorial in Bedford and I can't help but to shiver everytime I look down and see the erie statues of the landing. After reading this book anyone can understand why this great monument is located there. The book reintroduced the world and the community to the men who fought there. Unfortunately, almost all of the local survivors have passed since the release of this book. These men were true heroes, but they rarely spoke of their exploits - it was too painful I'm sure. Read this book Now! It gives a rare human look at war and should give us all an appreciation of what our grandfathers did for us.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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