Omaha Beach and Beyond: The Long March of Sergeant Bob Slaughter | 
| Author: John Robert Slaughter
Creator: Alex Kershaw
Publisher: Zenith Press
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 113245
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0760331413
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421421092
EAN: 9780760331415
ASIN: 0760331413
Publication Date: June 15, 2007
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
“Slaughter vividly conveys the reality of combat during World War II in his book with sweeping passages that literally place his reader on the battlefield beside him.”
Belvoir Eagle
Before D-Day, regular army soldiers called the National Guardsmen of Virginias 116th Infantry Regiment "Home Nannies," "Weekend Warriors," and worse. On June 6, 1944, on Omaha Beach, however, these proud Virginians who carried the legacy of the famed Stonewall Brigade showed the regular army and the world what true valor really was. In this moving World War II memoir, the author captures the day-to-day comings and goings of GI Joe from pre--World War II National Guard days through induction, training, deployment overseas, and more training.
All leads up to D-Day and Normandy on June 6, 1944, when Sergeant Bob Slaughter came across Omaha Beach with Company D of the 116th Infantry. This was the beginning of his long march to final victory in Europe, a march that would take him and his fellow soldiers of Company D, at least those who survived, to Holland, the Bulge, and on into Germany itself.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent Narrative July 21, 2008
Mr. Slaughter has written an excellent memoir of the fighting in Normandy from his landing on Omaha Beach with the 116th Infantry Regiment (29th Inf. Division) through to the fighting for St. Lo and up to 25th July when he is wounded and returns to England. He returns to combat later but the best (and majority) of the book are his detailed descriptions of the action his company saw in Normandy, on the beach and in the hedgerows. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in this campaign.
In addition, there is a collection in the appendix of other eyewitness accounts of this time period that I haven't seen in print before, mostly from fellow soldiers of his regiment or those closely associated with it. This book is also very readable, which can't be said for every personal memoir I've seen, unfortunately. I was delighted to get a copy of this account from one who was there as they are fewer in number every year. His narrative has the ring of truth and reveals details and facts from the sharp end of combat that you can't often find in the accounts of the various Normandy campaign histories. I believe you will also find this a valuable addition to the Normandy/Second World War literature.
 thank you January 8, 2008
I have already added this book to my collection, and damn proud of it too.
Worth a Read September 19, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I just finished reading Sgt. Slaughter's book and I highly recommend it. Much has been written about what it was like to land on Omaha Beach, but very little has been written about the training that the GI's went through prior to the invasion. I particularly liked the anecdotal accounts of Sgt. Slaughter's drill sergeant and the accounts of some unauthorized departures from base (particularly to get a steak dinner!). The descriptions of Sgt. Slaughter's training as a 29th Ranger was very interesting as very little is available about this unit.
This book is an easy book to read (it kept me turning the pages) and tells a very good and compelling story. Through the eyes of the author, the reader experiences a different aspect of war - the compassion of soldiers and the camaraderie forged by war.
A great recouunting of history from the "greatest generation" July 5, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Bob Slaughter has captured a piece of history in a unique and fascinating manner. His recounting of personal and historical events surroundnig one of the defining events of modern time is not only a good documentary but entertaining. Knowing him as a fellow "Stonewall Brigade" member adds even more interest from my perspective. He tells the story from a real life perspective ... how it really was then and what it took to succeed in the mission. Reading this book will certainly give you a great view of what the men and women went through to win the war. He pulls no punches in revealing some mistakes made in planning and execution at every level. Anyone who thinks "freedom is free" should read this to learn the real "cost of freedom."
D-Day Survivor's Moving Story of His Wartime Experiences and Beyond June 23, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Sgt. Bob Slaughter, a D-Day veteran, was the moving force behind the implementation of the National D-Day Memorial and, now at the ripe old age of 82, is the Chairman of the Foundation for the memorial. His book, some 60 years in the making, movingly tells the story of what it was like on Omaha beach, Normandy, 6 June 1944 and thereafter.
The author's story really begins at the tender age of 15 when he convinces his parents to allow him to sign up for the Virginia National Guard. He joined in early 1941 and was in basic training at 16, after his unit was called up for federal service with other local Virginia outfits.
Shortly thereafter, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. America, and the Virginia National Guard, was now caught up in World War II.
After initially guarding the East coast his unit was sent to England. On the way his transport, a converted oceanliner, inadvertently ran into a British warship, cutting it in two and killing several hundred British sailors.
While in England, the author volunteers for a ranger battalion and trained intensively in Scotland but this unit never saw combat, was disbanded, and the men were sent back to their original units.
The author's training then continues in England for the invasion of Normandy. The invasion comes, of course, on 6 June 1944. The author is in on the third wave of landings that day, but the carnage experienced by his unit, D Company of 116th Infantry, 29th Division, on the beaches was no less than many on the first wave. That first day his Company suffered over 40% casualties, about one-third of whom were from his hometown, Roanoke, Virgina. (The D-Day Memorial is in Bedford, Virginia. Bedford suffered even heavier losses during the invasion, 23 alone on D-Day, than Roanoke.) The author's description of that day, as men were crushed by their own landing craft or shot and drowned under the weight of their 60-pound packs, is quite intense and not soon forgotten. Particularly memorable is the author's recognition that, at 6 feet 5 inches, he displayed an especially large and inviting target to the German defenders.
The author's story continues as he survives D-Day, is twice wounded (once in the head and once in the kidneys) but rejoins his unit in the fight across France and into Germany.
After being released and coming home in July 1945, the author describes the personal turmoil and feelings he and other veterans felt after the war. After being trained so long as killing machines, it was not so easy to disengage those instincts. Along with many veterans, the author kept fighting after the war ended, only this time with his fists.
He eventually settles down and becomes a newspaper reporter but, as the years go by, becomes more and more peeved that not only was there no national memorial to those Americans who fought and died on D-Day but the younger generation(s) seemed to know, or care, little about it. After his retirement, he began to spend more and more time on obtaining a memorial. His efforts were finally rewarded after public attention on D-Day was increased as its 50th anniversary approached.
His book is an important asset not just to the history of World War II but also as to the post-war stresses of veterans and a nation's recognition of its heroes.
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