What do You think about The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice (2004)?
I would have thought that since the publication of Stephen Ambrose's authoritative D-Day, subsequent author's would have little new to say about the epic battle that turned the tide of WWII in Europe. Luckily for us Alex Kershaw has managed to find a new angle.The Bedford Boys focuses on Company A of the 116th infantry regiment, which was among the first units to land on D-Day. Company A was largely composed of residents of Bedford, VA. population 3000 in 1944, 22 Bedford Boys didn't return From Europe.Kershaw relies on first person interviews for the bulk of the book, which gives the combat scenes a visceral quality. Kershaw takes you right down to the water line, as bullets whiz past your ear, and you wait for the ramp to drop. I have read many books on WWII, and these combat scenes are the best I've ever come across.What sets Kershaw's narrative apart however is his ability to juxtapose the combat scenes with scenes from the homefront so as to give the reader a more complete understanding of the true cost of war.The Bedford Boys is my #2 book of 2003, and my #5 book of the decade.
—Mahlon
Bedford was a small town in Virginia who lost 22 men in the Normandy landings, nineteen of them died within seconds of hitting the beach and three more were killed in the next few days. This is a powerful and emotional look at that sacrifice and reality of war.The US came into the war late, Pearl Harbor being the point of no return. National Guard units, such as the one at Bedford, started training for war, were shipped to the UK and it so happened that the men from Bedford, as part of the 116th Infantry, were amongst the first lethal wave of troops to land on Omaha beach. Many of them lasted mere minutes under German machine gun fire that had not been bombed into silence as part of the bigger plan.This book takes us from the formation of the unit pre-war in Bedford (many joined because they needed the money to keep their families fed during times of severe austerity) through the training, D Day itself and then the aftermath. Based on diaries, letters and interviews we very much see the guys as individuals and as we grow to know them, we also know not many of them made it back, I was constantly flicking to the death list at the back and most of them were on it.These were young guys at the very spearhead of the D Day landing and they bore the brunt of it. Their stoic, brave approach was astonishing as was the utter shock in Bedford as they started to realise how many of their sons were not coming back.Brave men and an incredible sacrifice.
—Nick Brett
If you know nothing of the sacrifices of the young people (and their families) who served during WWII protecting our freedoms, YOU MUST read this book. The soldiers, the nurses, the families suffered losses even if they survived. If you know of that sacrifice you will still learn more.This book was hard for me to read at times. A well told true story of families and young ladies losing the loves of their lives. What was harder, a wife or girlfriend losing their love,or a sibling losing their brother?I don't know, but the heart-rending sorrow of a parent losing a son tops anything you can imagine.My oldest brother was MIA, Missing in Action, in WWII during the campaign in The Netherlands in September of 1944 and was eventually declared KIA,Killed in Action,in early 1945. I and my 6 surviving siblings were damaged.My Mom, was strong, she had to be, my Dad was NEVER the same again. He was gassed in WWI and never had much capability to smell or taste after that, but losing his oldest son and a favorite nephew in WWII devastated him.You will feel a part of some of these families when you read this, then VISIT the DD MEMORIAL in Bedford, Virginia.
—Ted Duke
