This is an encore interview and was first broadcast in June, 2014.
June 6, 2015 marks the 71st anniversary of D-Day, the invasion on the beaches of Normandy that turned the tide of fighting in World War II Europe and led to an Allied victory.
John C. McManus, offers an insider’s look at just one of the five beaches taken by Allied troops in his book, "The Dead and Those About to Die — D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach."
The book centers largely on the exploits of the 1st Infantry Division and includes detailed, personal accounts of some of the soldiers who were part of World War II’s “longest day.” By highlighting their stories, McManus’s book sheds a timely light on the heroism and courage that defined what today is widely described as “The Greatest Generation.”
McManus is one of the nation’s leading military historians. He is a professor of U.S. military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he teaches courses on topics such as World War II and the modern American combat experience. He also serves as the official historian for the United States Army’s Seventh Infantry Regiment.
McManus is the author of 11 books, including "The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II" and "Deadly Sky: The American Combat Airman in World War II." His 2010 book "Grunts: The American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II through Iraq" was named to the U.S. Army’s recommended professional reading list.
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