What Was D-Day?

Wow.

What a story!

Guys, I know all of you like the Who Was... and the What Was... series of books. And with good reason. They're informative, they're interesting and they're quick reading. They tell really good stories from true life and the writing always makes the story flow so well that you want to keep reading to the end without stopping. Well, this one, What Was D-Day by Patricia Brennan Demuth, is even better than most of the others because of the story it tells. It's about an amazing and incredible event. D-Day. The invasion of Europe in World War II. And most of the people who participated weren't that much older than a lot of you boys!

We all know who Hitler was and why we had to liberate Europe from him. But he had no intention of letting the good guys stop him. Of course, he knew that one day we'd come ashore fighting, so he built bunkers, laid mines and put up barbed wire over many beaches in what he called "Fortress Europe" to halt the inevitable invasion at the start. BUT---he didn't know where or when that would be. That's where this incredible story begins. There was a lot of planning involved, including a lot of ways to fool the Nazis. Wait until you read about the inflatable "tanks" or the spy named Garbo! Then the day came--and it seemed that everything that could have gone wrong went really wrong. The whole invasion--and the chance to liberate Europe--seemed doomed until some brave men took desperate chances. Read the stories of First Lieutenant William Moody, who climbed up a steep cliff using only his bayonet, or General Norman "Dutch" Cota who left the safety of his ship to personally lead the troops to the enemy positions.

This is a great story and deserves to be remembered, especially today, June 6, the day that it happened. If you've never read about D-Day, prepare to be moved by this heroic story. Or if you've heard or read about it for a long time, you'll still learn things you never knew. Just like I did. This is one truly terrific read and you won't forget it. In fact, you'll understand these group of soldiers became known as the Greatest Generation.