Every Man a Hero

Lambert, Ray. Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War. New York: HarperCollins 2019. Print

First Sentences:

Colleville-sur-Mer is a picturesque village in northern France, blessed with a lovely beach on the English Channel....

I've seen it that way myself. But for me, a far different scene is never far from my mind. 

Description:

Ninety-eight-year-old Ray Lambert may be one of the last surviving American soldiers who landed at Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944. While normally not outgoing about his wartime experiences, he finally decided that the history of that day should be told from a first-hand account. Thus he wrote, along with co-author Jim DeFelice, the brilliant Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War.

For many years, I kept the story of that day to myself. Largely, this was because I chose to move on...I also felt my story was not worth telling. I landed at Omaha, but thousands did...I did what I was called to do...I was always an ordinary man...

In this compelling autobiography, U.S. Army Staff Sargent Ray Lambert takes us from his early days growing up on a farm in rural Alabama through his enlistment and training as a medic to his front-line landings at North Africa, Sicily, and finally Normandy, France. 

One hundred sixty thousand men, five thousand ships, and thirteen thousand airplanes took part in an assault that ultimately decided the war. It was one of the bloodiest days in one of the bloodiest conflicts mankind has ever fought.

His job at these sites was to be among the first to land on the beach, establish some sort of shelter (like a large rock) to act as a triage location, then plunge back into the water to drag injured soldiers to shore and the shelter. Back and forth he slogged, bullets whizzing around him or actually hitting him as he continued to aide incapacitated men.

Lambert gives some back story about army life, commanding officers, strategies, and the mindsets of an "ordinary" soldier. Lambert describes, in the terse sentences below, his feelings when facing the experienced, war-tested Germans for the first time, an enemy who "knew how to kill" and "weren't reluctant to do it."

One of the biggest factors, in my opinion, was our inexperience. Not only did we not really know war yet, we didn't know how to kill....It's knowledge you need to get into your bones, into your heart. It's a harsh thing, but without it, you and your friends are dead, your battle is lost, and what you came to fight for is forfeit.

Lambert was definitely a hero and leader in these historic events, winning a Silver Star and multiple Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts. At Normandy on D-Day, he admitted to saving over a dozen men, and almost died from wounds and having a landing craft ramp drop onto his head. Yet throughout the book he defers praise for his actions and repeatedly refers to "every man was a hero."

A lot of things can be forgiven in war; letting the guy next to you down isn't one of them.

We learn from Lambert about Bangalore torpedoes, ("long, slim pipes that contained explosives and were slipped in or under barbed wire, then exploded to clear a path"). We learn that GIs carried Browning Automatic Rifles, the first ever light-weight machine guns. 

And we watch through Lambert's eyes the actual events leading up to, during, and after the landing at Omaha Beach.. We feel his surprise when he and his thirty seasick fellow soldiers in the landing craft realize that the early parties sent to clear land and ocean mines as well as barbed wire had all been killed before they could do their job. They now understood they would be landing in heavily defended, explosive-ridden beaches. But they also found out that the dreaded major German artillery weapons were away from the beach that day being serviced and, once located by American troops, quickly destroyed.

It is a riveting account of a dreadful day fought by ordinary men trying to turn the course of the War. Your heart is definitely in your throat as the seconds tick away until the landing craft's ramp drop and everyone piles out into the freezing water under a hail of gunfire. You are almost there with Lambert as he describes the scenes through every sense. You can feel the pounding of explosions

...more physical than something thumping against your chest. It pounds your bones, rumbling through your organs, counter-beating your heart. Your skull vibrates. You feel the noise as if it's inside you.

It is a harrowing, thrilling, and gut-wrenching account. A must-read for anyone even remotely interested in the turning point of the War and the men who planned and carried out the fighting.

Every man on that beach was a hero. Each one braved incredible gunfire, artillery, mortar shells, obstructions, mines. Each man had his own story. This books tells mine.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Hochschild, Adam. To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.   

Incredibly detailed, fascinating, horrifying, and inspiring history of World War I, the events and personalities that led the world into war, the battles and armies themselves, and the aftermath. Unforgettable. (previously reviewed here)