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by Joseph Balkoski.
Softcover (6.0×9.0 inches). 410 pages. 2025 reprint of 2004 book.
Just in time for the 81st anniversary of D-Day is a reprint of a look at Omaha Beach during the day of the WWII invasion.
The heart of the book centers on over 500 excerpts of first-person accounts, interview, and official reports. Sometimes one is inserted in a page of text, but often, multiple first-person accounts appear one after another over a couple of pages. These accounts are taken from writings and oral reports as close to the June 6, 1944 date as possible. That way, although an individual first-person account may not know everything, putting a number of them together pieces together a whole picture of the chaos, madness, and courage of the US troops.
On the one hand, this format provides as close to a June 6, 1944 “real-time” narrative as you can get. The excerpt selections are informative, even if the individual can only recount a small part of what he saw and knew. They are carefully stacked in chronological and locational order.
On the other hand, binge-reading first-person accounts can be repetitious — at least to me. After the 20th account of soldiers seeing acts of carnage and courage, I tended to skip every other first-person account. While that does not do justice to the soldiers or the author, I reached my limit about half to two-thirds of the way through.
The book contains 37 black and white photos and 27 black and white maps. Those maps are mostly 1.1 inches equals 400 yards and with enough detail to create tabletop scenarios.
Enjoyed it.
A sister book, Utah Beach, has also been re-released.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
