Every Man a Hero audiobook

The best of combat memoirs are the ones that do just tell it like it was, and Ray Lambert's memoir of his battle experiences from North Africa, to Sicily, to Omaha Beach on D-Day ranks right up there with the best of battle memoirs. Ray is simple and frank and this is the value of his story. As you read it, you begin to agree with Ray, (almost) every man, really was a hero.Here is a good example of Mr. Lambert's simple and frank style. He tells about the one guy in his unit who was "that guy," incompetent, always on KP duties, Mr. Lambert writes, "To put it in contemporary military terms, he wasn't squared away.I'm being kind."He goes on to say: "I heard later, he eventually became a major. I'd like to believe that means he straightened himself out, but it may be a more accurate assessment of how hard up the army was for officers.Not to mention ample justification for the ordinary enlisted man's view of the officer class, exceptions duly noted."Love it!In this passage he discusses an attack that encountered "light resistance." He writes: "The regiment's casualties totaled twenty-five KIA, with seventy-nine wounded. That is the terrible math of war—even in "light action" or "small resistance," as the fighting at Oran is often described in the history books, real people die."Indeed they do.In this passage, Mr. Lambert discusses why his division (the big Red One) initially didn't fair so well in battle. I think his insight is amazing here. He says: "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 more than shooting someone. It's not something you learn in your head, not a math equation or an instruction about how to wire up a switch. 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."This passage is perhaps the best explanation of the nature of war that I've ever read. It's cold, it's calculated, it's harsh, it's also the truth. This is exactly why we ought to not ever go into war blithely for it is a terrible thing.Mr. Lambert writes elsewhere of war: "On maps, battles are large and small arrows, dotted lines, terse descriptions. On the ground they're flipped over Jeeps and busted tanks. The thick arrow might represent several weeks of fighting, during which a unit might be cycled on and off the front line several times.The maps can't show things like the mud that crusts on your boots or the dirt that coats your skin. It certainly doesn't show the blood that cakes on your trousers after you've cleaned a dozen wounds."Mr. Lambert writes about a court-martial for a GI who deserted: "A lot of things can be forgiven in war, letting the guy next to you down isn't one of them."Mr. Lambert is in the very first wave onto Omaha Beach on D-Day and as a medic he is exposed to enemy fire as he goes around helping the wounded. His description of the chaos on the beach is as good as I've read. Here he writes about the sheer noise of battle:"The noise of war does more than deafen you. It's worse than shock, 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, a demonic parasite pushing at every inch of skin to get out."As vivid imagery as I've ever read about battle.Mr. Lambert is eventually trapped under an LST when the front gangway drops on top of him as he is helping a wounded man in the water. Just before he drowns, and inexplicably, the gangway raises and he is freed, but the gangway breaks his back. This incident ends his war, but it will be a long time before he is completely healthy (or as healthy as he can be). Ironically enough, his brother is also wounded on Omaha Beach on D-Day and the pair are reunited as they are evacuated onto a hospital ship. Both brothers survived the war, having been in battle in North Africa, Sicily, and Omaha Beach on D-Day, which is amazing.A frank, vivid, account of one man's experience as a medic in battle. You can't help agreeing as you read it that all of these men who fought in these terrible battles, who sacrificed so much, certainly were heroes.

With the 75th Anniversary of the D Day invasion coming up, This read fits in perfectly. I have read some great books on the D Day invasion and this is another great read on the topic. The author was a medic in the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One. He was one of the first who hit the beach at Omaha on June 6, 1944 with his fellow soldiers. His eyewitness account of the death and destruction around him is eye opening and tragic. This is one of the most detailed accounts I have read on the D Day invasion. This was an enjoyable read and makes you appreciate those who served our country and the sacrifices that make for our freedom.

I love personal account of history. This book does not disappoint. On of the best!

I am glad that hundreds of people over a few decades finally prevailed upon Ray Lambert to write a book about his WWII experiences culminating in the invasion at Normandy. I also am glad that my reading schedule worked out that I finished his book on the 76th anniversary of D-Day, where Lambert was an Army medic dragging the wounded to shore, treating them, and then retrieving more, for hours, while under intense enemy fire and surrounded by mines. Lambert was 98 years old when this book was published just last year, and by his own count after attending WWII vet reunions, he is one of less than a handful left from the hundreds of thousands who stormed the beaches on D-Day to liberate France. If you want to learn more about why he waited so long to write this book, and why he finally decided to do it, make sure to read the Legacy chapter and the Collaborator’s Note, where Mr. DeFelice describes Ray Lambert and what it was like helping him write this book. Both are touching chapters.There are a lot of books about D-Day, but this one almost certainly will be the last eyewitness account captured in print for posterity, and it is a charming one, if that’s the right word for it. Not that his account of his war experiences is charming, but Lambert writes in such a humble, folksy way, characteristic of his generation, of ordinary people called upon to do extraordinary things, and then not boasting about it after the fact. The author’s collaborator, DeFelice points out in his Note, that even after knowing Lambert for years and working with him on this book, he still learned new things Lambert had done during the war, heroic things, that Lambert simply had never mentioned to anyone before. Although the book title suggests the book is purely a memoir of Lambert’s D-Day experience, the title doesn’t do the book justice, because Lambert was involved in so much more than D-Day. That was the last major operation he served in, not the first. After briefly describing his upbringing and how we ended up in the Army, he tells the story of his unit’s combat in the years leading up to D-Day. Lambert served with General Patton in the campaign to take Northern Africa back from the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, then participated in the invasion of Sicily, starting the campaign to defeat Mussolini, and later to liberate Italy from Nazi control. North Africa and Sicily were incredibly important and successful campaigns, and Lambert was there treating and saving lives every step of the way. Thankfully, his book captures his memories of those two critical invasions, rather than focusing only on his next, and last, campaign - D-Day. There might not have been a D-Day as we know it had the Allies failed in North Africa and Italy, and Lambert gives proper credit to the often overlooked hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought mile by mile from Sicily to Rome to crush Mussolini and liberate Italy from the Nazis, rolling into Rome just days before D-Day. 46,000 Americans died in Italy, and Lambert notes they were just as brave and heroic as those who landed in Normandy, and should be honored equally.There are many eyewitness accounts from soldiers who stormed the beaches or special forces who parachuted behind enemy lines to slow and plague the Nazi response. Lambert’s account is unique because it is the perspective of a medic, landing at Normandy in the same transports as the soldiers but knowing that as soon as the ramp lowered, his friends and unit members would take heavy fire and he would be responsible for saving as many of them as he could, and he would lose many beyond his control. I loved his sub-chapter Every Man a Hero where he says reads the citations for heroism awarded to medics he knew went back into the water time after time to pull soldiers to shore and try to treat their wounds. Lambert did this too, and he makes a somber point that the award citations could be said of every combat medic in action that day. He also reminds us that although hundreds of thousands of Americans participated heroically in D-Day at great sacrifice and cost, only 12 Medals of Honor have been awarded, primarily because there are just too many deserving recipients to count and award them all. Fittingly, and with more than a little karma, Lambert himself is saved by an unknown heroic medic who Lambert can only thank in prayer and by telling his story. Like many soldiers being shipped out to the war, Lambert’s last few hours with his wife resulted in his son being born during Lambert’s first year in combat. By the time Lambert returns home, he has a 3 year-old son he has never met. Lambert’s concluding chapters and one Appendix describe what it was like for many WWII vets to return to “normal” life, and the mental health challenges (PTSD) they faced that were not identified as such until decades later with Vietnam vets, and so there wasn’t any therapy and treatment. Men were anxious, had terrible nightmares, saw faces and heard voices of those who had been killed, and struggled with depression. Lambert does not really accept the premise that his generation was somehow stoic and handled the horrors of war better, but he does agree that his generation understood the simple fact that there was a good and an evil, and if good was going to win in this world, evil had to be defeated. Lambert’s account covers most of WWII and is a great contribution to the eyewitness histories we should all read from time-to-time to remind ourselves of the price others have paid for us to have the lives we have today. Thank you, Ray Lambert, for your service in North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy, and thank you Mr. DeFelice for helping Ray get his story into print for his posterity, and to improve our understanding of WWII and the generation that fought it.Here is a news story about Lambert visiting Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day June 6, 2019, one year ago today: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/730126...

It feels odd to say, but this was an endearing memoir of WWII. Perhaps it's because the author was 98 while recounting this or it could be his overall positive outlook even in the face of mayhem. Whatever the reason, this was a quick and enjoyable read. The depictions of D-Day reminded me of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Now the memories of those exhibits have a more personal story attached to them. I also admired Ray Lambert's reasons for telling his story -- so the next generations will remember and continue to learn from this universal tragedy.

I’ve read a lot of combat memoirs. This is one of the better ones. It’s a fast read and provides a fair amount of context for readers who aren’t that familiar with WW2. Though billed as a ‘memoir of D-Day’ it also covers the author’s time in North Africa and Sicily, two areas of the war that do not get as much coverage as D-Day onward.

We lose WW2 D-day veterans every day, so I found it incredible to have the opportunity to read the memoir of a 98 year old veteran who, until recently, never shared his amazing story of his years in the war, culminating in the D-day landing in 1944. His book begins with a great description of growing up in a poor, rural family in Alabama during the depression. After leaving high school to help support his family, he worked in a variety of jobs to help put food on the table. His job as a veterinarian assistant gave him experience with giving injections, so when it came for him to join the military at the start of the war, he was trained to become a medic. Thus, began his epic journey from his extensive training at home and in England, to his combat service in the invasions of Africa and Italy, ending in the bloody day on Omaha Beach. He and his brother both survived critical injuries on that day and lived very decent, unassuming lives in the aftermath of that terrible conflict. In the very divisive time that dominates our days, it is increasingly important to remember all the heroes that have made the prosperity of our country possible.

A Great war story told by the author. I’m always in awe of what these people had to go through, and then live with the rest of their lives. Such hard memories to live with, and such hard times to live through.

Wow, can I just say how privileged we should all feel when we finish reading this book. This story follows the true bravery of a solider in World War II and tells his first-hand account of what happened. Ray was a medic in the war and saved so many lives. Without giving too much away, as I don't want to put spoilers in my review, Ray's actions earned him some amazing honors/medals in the military. It also goes on to tell his story after the war, which I loved learning about just as much as learning about his experiences in the war. Not many people talked about the struggles they went through after returning from war back then as PTSD was not a diagnosis back in the day. I think it is important to know how these soldiers felt coming back.I also like that the book has several museums listed and their websites for you to see more about World War II. These places have been added to my husband and my bucket list of places to see and learn more about the war. Thank you so much Ray for your service and for sharing your story of your life and sacrifices during the war.

What an incredible life. Thank you Mr. Lambert for sharing your story. As hard as it may have been to share the story of his experiences I am thankful that he did. Well done sir. I have read many books on WWII and this is near the top. I just wish more soldiers would share their stories before they are lost to history. My father in law wouldn't talk about his time in the military so I understand the reluctance. But I wonder in telling his story, if it was cathartic for Mr. Lambert.

Phenomenal memoir by a ridiculously brave man. Ray Lambert humbly recounts his experiences as a medic in WWII taking part in landings in Africa, Sicily, and of course at Omaho Beach on DDAY. Ray does his best to describe in detail the horrors of landing on the French shorline that fateful day. While the details are terrifying, the acts of heroism by Ray and dozens of other men during the war provides hope and inspiration for the furture of the human species. A must read for anyone who is emotionally moved by those men who sacrificed their lives to fight and defeat the greatest opression the world had ever seen.

A first hand account of not only the D-Day invasion, but of the path this humble and ordinary man took that led him to the beaches of France. The importance of his memoir is immeasurable. I highly recommend this book. The greatest generation indeed!

Exceptional read that I struggled to put down. One of the best autobiographical accounts of D-Day that I have read.

Ray Lambert wrote this book about his WWII service like he was talking to you--it was straight forward and easy to follow and he gave context and military definitions to the events and subject matter. The book as a whole gave the reader not only a good idea of the kind of man Ray is, but also a great overview on the war in North Africa, Sicily, Day & Normandy, the 1st Infantry Division, and the medic corps as a whole. Ray was a medic and was part of the first wave on DDay. His medic perspective gives the reader a perfect first person viewpoint of looking into the action. I especially appreciate the history of the Big Red one in North Africa and the Pacific, which I wish McManus' book on the 1st. Div. had. Perhaps the most touching thing about this book is Ray's humility and deference to those he served with. Ray is a hero of heroes and so was everyone he served with--from Tunisia to France--and it was really emotional to hear him talk about what he did and who he did it with.A great first hand account of the war and certainly of DDay.

This was a 5 🌟 MEMOIR which was just released before the 75th anniversary of D-Day. This is a history book in a way but do not go in expecting more than what this is. Ray Lambert is a well know hero who was a medic who served on several fronts during WWII, he fought in Africa, Sicily and on D-Day to name some of his major locations. Ray’s Rock on Omaha Beach is named for him as he went back into the water to gather the wounded and shelter them behind this rock. He received many medals for his fearless work to save his fellows during multiple battles. This book is written in his voice and gives his opinions, two examples stood out for me. One is his description of the sound of war which I found very moving in how it made me feel his experience. The other is how he describes General Terry Allen, who he revered as a fantastic leader, and his contrasting description of General Patton who he respected as a military mind but had some personal issues with in regards to his leadership style. This shows that his honest opinions are represented. A lot of history is obviously represented but it is all from his point of view. This was a very moving read and I enjoyed reading from a medics viewpoint which was a departure from some other perspectives I have read before.

First hand narrative by Mr. Lambert, a medic in the 1st Infantry Division -Big Red. Humane, glorifies the selflessness with which the front line men fought in the decisive battle of WWII.Yes, honor to the men that stopped the fascists from taking over Europe and perhaps the whole world had they not been defeated in D-Day, June 6, 1944. The boldness of the action, the odds against which they had to struggle, the mistakes but most important the human desire to help your fellow human being.The last great war fought by the USA on the winning side.I hope this serves us as a reminder of the horrors and sacrifices made by humble men and women in the name of Freedom. Lest we forget that war is the ultimate recourse against tyranny.