The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice

326 Pages·2003·53.293 MB·English

by  Alex Kershaw

ONE AMERICAN TOWN'S ULTIMATE D-DAY SACRIFICE
THE
BEDFORD
BOYS
ex Ker
$25.00 US / $39.00 CAN
The poignant story of the
boys from Bedford who
landed on the beaches of
Normandy-and the small
town they called home
On June 6, 1944, landing craft dropped the
—
boys from Bedford, Virginia population 3,000
—
in the shallow water off Normandy's Omaha
Beach, part ofthe first wave ofAmerican soldiers
to hit the beaches on D-Day. Within minutes
nineteen were dead. No other town in America
suffered a greater one-day loss. Later in the
campaign, three more sons of Bedford died of
gunshot wounds.
—
It is a story7 that you cannot easily forget and
one that the families ofBedford will neverforget.
It was, and still is, Bedford's longest day.
Here for the first time is the intimate true story
ofthese youngmen, theirfriends, and theirfam-
—
ilies from the girlfriends they left behind to
the buddies they made in basic training, from
anxious barracks in England to the bloody
beaches of Normandy. Based on extensive inter-
views with survivors and relatives, as well as on
diaries and letters, The Bedford Boys focuses on
some 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.

The
Bedford Boys

The
Bedford Boys
One American Town's Ultimate
D-Day
Sacrifice
ALEX KERSHAW
V4
DA CAPO PRESS
A Memberofthe Perseus Books Group
©
Copyright 2003 byAlex Kershaw
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication maybe reproduced, stored
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permission ofthe publisher. Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
Designed hyBrent Wilcox
Set in 11-point Fairfield Light byThe Perseus Books Group
Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the LibraryofCongress.
First Da Capo Press edition 2003
ISBN 0-306-81167-7
Published by Da Capo Press
A Memberofthe Perseus Books Group
http://www.dacapopress.com
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9—07 06 05 04 03
3 1 1
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
The Bedford Boys xi
Maps
xiii
D-Day, H-360
1 1
2 Going to War 7
3 Moving Out 23
4 Cruel Seas 41
Own
5 England's 53
6 "29, Lets Go!" 67
7 Slapton Sands 81
8 The Sausages 93
9 The EmpireJavelin 1 1
10 The First Wave 121
11 Dog Beach 129
12 "Medic!" 139
1 Every Man Was a Hero 149
14 Bedford's Longest Day 165
15 Bocage 173
16 The Longest Wait 189
17 His Deep Regret 197
18 Coming Home 209
19 Memorial 225
VI
CONTENTS
Vlll
The Bedford Boys and D-Day 239
Bibliography 241
Notes 243
Index 263