By Edward Prados, ISBN 0-89141-648-X $24.95
The least documented aspect of the invasion of Normandy is the contribution of the U.S. Navy. Although the Navy played a large number of important and interesting roles, most sources tend to gloss over what they did. Unfortunately, this book is a disappointment and does little to add to our base of knowledge. Essentially a collection of memoirs from various Navy veterans, there are a few gems which make the book worthwhile for die-hard Normandy enthusiasts. However, there is nothing explaining what the Navy actually did at Normandy. Even worse, the personal statements have not been well chosen or edited. There are far too many short statements that essentially say: “I was at Normandy, it was tough, a lotta guys died.” Other sections contain information that I remain sceptical of. How could anyone have included the tale of the Seabee who claims that George Patton (personally) had him weld steel “hedgerow cutters” onto the front of jeeps. Could he have meant wire cutters onto jeeps, or hedgerow cutters onto tanks? Sorry, but this one tale is so cluttered with erroneous and misleading information that anyone with the slightest military background should have flagged it as being untrustworthy. That’s probably the worst offender, but there are other questionable moments. It appears that everything was accepted verbatim from the vets without double-checking for accuracy. Oral histories are a fuunny thing. Without doing the research behind the statements, bad oral statements can sometimes distort our view of what really happened. To be fair, there are a handful of new memoirs that contain some good information. I’m also pleased to see that finally someone else has recognized the role of the Beach Battalions at Normandy. Its about time that someone did some good solid work on the Navy’s role in Normandy. The material is readily available in the National Archives, many of the veterans are still available, and the public seems to devour anything to do with D-day. Sadly, this book should have been an important step forward, but falls short of the mark. Order it here
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