My own army experience led me to be under U.S. command. Having many officers who were World War II and Korean Veterans was the essence of my knowledge of World War II. Many of these men were my guides when I had the great honor to drive them around Europe. After that stint in the army when I heard so many stories of the Second World War, I began guiding people on tours of the battlefields and other places of interest concerning that war. I was licensed in 2000 as an official guide and lecturer and have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of veterans. The stories I heard from my family and from the army officers I chauffeured are the foundation of this book. I have supplemented the stories with facts I garnered over twenty years ago when I began conducting the tours and giving lectures. The numbers I have used do not necessarily come from official sources but from a large number of essays, historical television shows, and oral testimony from veterans I have met as I guided them in and around Normandy. My book is a compilation of a thirty-plus year interest in and fascination with military history. The stories I use serve to illustrate the facts, thus allowing the reader to empathize with the reality of war on individual soldiers and civilians. Back then I never thought of writing a book, but this story is too interesting and too enlightening not to tell.
Rotary Club of Roswell
Bill Johnson Community Activity Building
10495 Woodstock Road
Roswell, GA 30075