The Bedford Boys: A World War II Book About the D-Day Invasion

The Bedford Boys is a powerful World War II story. Alex Kershaw, author of The Bedford Boys, published in 2003 by Da Capo Press, chronicles a heart-wrenching story about twenty-two sons from Bedford, Virginia, who fought and died during the Normandy beach campaign. They were part of Company A, the initial wave of the D-Day invasion. Only a few others from Bedford survived the landing.

The story begins by providing a background about small-town life in Bedford, Virginia in the 1930's. Many of the Bedford boys came from farms. Ironically, they never volunteered for military service. They joined the National Guard in order to earn a dollar a day. However, when President Roosevelt declared war, the boys were adopted into war and transported on the Queen Mary destined for England to begin training for the invasion. Then, they crossed the English Channel.

Once General Dwight Eisenhower gave the order to begin the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, Company A was the first wave of the invasion soon followed by other companies. The landing sequence is a gripping series of events that provided a very vivid and realistic portrayal of how the infantry faced harm's way. Kershaw did an exceptional job in providing some interesting details about the invasion including criticism about the plan's execution of the Omaha beach landing.

The aftermath of the D-Day invasion was as sobering as the invasion itself. After Bedford learned of the casualties, the families went through mourning unparalleled to anything a small town could ever endure again. It's a harsh reminder of how terrible war is and how it shatters families and generations. According to Kershaw, "in a matter of minutes, a couple of German machine gunners had broken the town's heart."

Kershaw did a thorough job in assembling facts. The story comes complete with a systematic set of endnotes for every chapter in addition to noting extensive interviews and research done to complete the story.

I was completely drawn into the battle sequence and pictured myself in Bedford when the terrible news was received about the horrendous casualties sustained during the landing. You could really feel the sense of hardship of what these families went through during the subsequent years of 1944. It makes one think about the realities of war on a lot of different levels. It isn't an anti-war book by any means, but it may give you a deep sense of appreciation of what our men went through in order to sustain the freedom we have today. I couldn't put this book down.