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 in a retrieval system, ortransmitted, in any form orbyany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, orotherwise, without the priorwritten 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 Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts forbulkpurchases in the U.S. bycorporations, institutions, and otherorganizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 1 1 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA02142, orcall (800) 255-1514 or (617) 252-5298, [email protected]. 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