D-day Survivor

by Baumgarten, Harold

• ISBN13: 9781589804210
• ISBN10: 158980421X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-01
• Publisher: Pelican Pub Co Inc

Summary

It was the bravery and heroism of the 116th Infantry that began one of the longest days of combat in American war history. In the face of heavy fire and despite suffering the loss of eight hundred men and officers, the 116th Infantry overcame beach obstacles, took the enemy-defended positions along the beach and cliffs, pushed through the mined area, and continued inshore to successfully accomplish their objective.Dr. Harold Baumgarten, a multidecorated survivor, gives his eyewitness account of the first wave landing of the 116th Infantry on D-Day, June 6, 1944. As the spokesman for soldiers who perished on the sand and bloody red waters of the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach, it is his mission to make sure these men are never forgotten.

Table of Contents

Preface	11	(4)
Growing Up The Early Years	15	(12)
The U.S. Army Basic Training	27	(8)
The Stonewall Brigade The Real Training	35	(10)
Omaha Beach Defenses The Killing Field	45	(6)
The Javelin Our Mother Ship	51	(6)
The Trip to the Beach Along with Strangers	57	(8)
The Landing When Will I Die?	65	(6)
Getting off the Beach I Wanted Revenge	71	(4)
The Beach Why Not Quit Fighting?	75	(6)
Vierville-sur-Mer Twenty-nine, Let's Go	81	(6)
The Rescue and the Aftermath Will I Be Made Whole Again?	87	(18)
Chance Meetings It Was Meant to Be	105	(6)
Back to School I Had to Get on with My Life	111	(12)
Reunions They Were Still Alive	123	(16)
Guilt Why Me?	139	(4)
The Fiftieth and Fifty-fifth Anniversaries of D-Day Years Go By	143	(16)
The National World War II Museum They Will Not Be Forgotten	159	(12)
National D-Day Memorial Remembering the Bedford Boys	171	(6)
USO Trip to Bosnia Morale Building	177	(8)
Opening of the Pacific Wing National World War II Museum	185	(6)
Death of Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose A Tragedy for the World	191	(4)
Speaking Engagements 2002-2003 D-Day Must Not Be Forgotten	195	(18)
The Sixtieth Anniversary of D-Day A Media Blitz	213	(18)
Family My Legacy	231	(6)
Companies A and B, Twenty-ninth Infantry, 116th Regiment Moving Ever Forward	237	(6)
Afterword	243	(2)
Acknowledgments	245	(2)
Bibliography	247	(2)
Index	249