The New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Army Historical
Foundation Distinguished Writing Award
Omaha Beach legend Ray Lambert's unforgettable firsthand account of
D-Day
"Lambert landed on [Omaha Beach] as a 23-year-old Army medic. ... As
the bullets cut down his comrades, he raced repeatedly back into the sea
to drag out wounded soldiers." --New York Times
Seventy-five years ago, he hit Omaha Beach with the first wave. Now
D-Day legend Ray Lambert (1920-2021) delivers one of the most remarkable
memoirs of our time, a tour-de-force of remembrance evoking his role as
a decorated World War II medic who risked his life to save the heroes of
Normandy.
At five a.m. on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ray Lambert
worked his way through a throng of nervous soldiers to a wind-swept deck
on a troopship off the coast of Normandy, France. A familiar voice cut
through the wind and rumble of the ship's engines. "Ray!" called his
brother, Bill. Ray, head of a medical team for the First Division's
famed 16th Infantry Regiment, had already won a silver star in 1943 for
running through German lines to rescue trapped men, one of countless
rescues he'd made in North Africa and Sicily.
"This is going to be the worst yet," Ray told his brother, who served
alongside him throughout the war.
"If I don't make it," said Bill, "take care of my family."
"I will," said Ray. He thought about his wife and son-a boy he had yet
to see. "Same for me." The words were barely out of Ray's mouth when a
shout came from below.
To the landing craft!
The brothers parted. Their destinies lay ten miles away, on the
bloodiest shore of Normandy, a plot of Omaha Beach ironically code named
"Easy Red."
Less than five hours later, after saving dozens of lives and being
wounded at least three separate times, Ray would lose consciousness in
the shallow water of the beach under heavy fire. He would wake on the
deck of a landing ship to find his battered brother clinging to life
next to him.
Every Man a Hero is the unforgettable story not only of what happened
in the incredible and desperate hours on Omaha Beach, but of the bravery
and courage that preceded them, throughout the Second World War--from
the sands of Africa, through the treacherous mountain passes of Sicily,
and beyond to the greatest military victory the world has ever known.
