This book brought tears to my eyes and left me speechless. This is by far one of the best WWII related books I've read. It's powerful and heart-wrenching, and it had a profound impact on me. Kershaw does a wonderful job of helping the reader get to know each of the "Bedford Boys". You end up feeling like you've known them for years, and as a result, the story is that much more captivating and unbelievable. Kershaw really helps the reader to better understand what the soldiers went through...and what they're families went through. His story of D-Day is fascinating - I could not put this book down, and after I finished, I went on to do more reading/research on D-Day. I even ordered more of Kershaw's books. He gives a lot of background and history, but this book is not dull or difficult to follow at all.

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If you're interested in history and WWII, this book is very good. It's about a group of men from the same area in the Bedford area of SW Virginia who all died on D-Day.

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Very interesting.The Washington Post states it best "A powerful reminder of the human cost of war."

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This is more than another WWII story it circles your whole being by involving the history of the town of Bedford, VA and its families who raised the men that were the first to be slaughtered on the beach of Omaha on June 6, 1944. You get a look of how the metal in these men was forged into fighting men possessing strong determination, love of country, and bond of brotherhood which caused them to face the German machine guns and body ripping shrapnel. We realize these weren't professional soldiers, but hometown boys that played baseball, dated the girls they knew from childhood, worked on the local farms and in the stores of this small town who wanted to live like you and I. They would rise to the call of their nation when called to defend it if it cost them their lives. Some had premonitions about their death, but this didn't deter them of their duty and desire to return to their families and loved ones in the little town of Bedford, VA. The author also allows us a tragic glimpse into the lives of those who shall never see them again. Kershaw at his best, I recommend it with vigor.

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Very good account of the town of Bedford Virginia's local National Guard unit that was a part of the initial assault on D-day. Author writs about the early formation of the unit, the background of the young men and their families that comprised Company A, 116 Regt, 29the Division. if you are at all interested in first hand accounts of the Longest Day, June 6,1944 than you need to read how Bedford lost almost all of its sons, husbands and brothers that were part of Company A in the first minutes of the invasion.

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A great book. Difficult for me to read because I kept crying! I will always appreciate what those boys did on Omaha beach.

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