Every Man a Hero

A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War

Ray Lambert, Jim DeFelice

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780062947581
• eBook ISBN: 9780062947598
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

An Army medic and Silver Star recipient shares a visceral firsthand account of D-Day in this acclaimed, New York Times bestselling WWII memoir.
At five a.m. on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ray Lambert stood on the deck of a troopship off the coast of Normandy, France, awaiting the signal to board the landing craft that would take him and so many others to meet their fate on Omaha Beach. Spotting his brother Bill, who served beside him throughout the war, they exchanged promises to take care of their families if one of them didn't make it.
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.

Index

The pagination of this digital edition does not match the print edition from which the index was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.

Alexander, Harold, 56–57, 110–11

Allen, Terry

and Operation Husky, 107, 117

reassignment of, 121–23, 267

on replacement system, 250

and return to Algeria, 96

and Tunisian Campaign, 71, 74, 88, 90, 92, 96

Ambrose, Stephen, 256

Anderson, Kenneth, 64, 69

Appleby, Stanley, 142, 156, 196–97

An Army at Dawn (Atkinson), 256

Army Medical Department Museum, 255

Atabrine, 130

Atkinson, Rick, 256

Atlantic, Battle of the, 149

atomic weapons, 150, 214

Augusta, 191

B-29 bomber, 213–14

Baliga, Joe, 156

battle fatigue. See post-traumatic stress disorder

battlefield medicine

conditions treated, 60–61, 65–66, 91, 130–32, 248–49

D-Day training, 147–49, 150–52

equipment for, 245–46

and Geneva Conventions, 42, 68, 78, 156–57

and guilt, 109–10

Lambert’s company man experience, 114–15

Lambert’s training for, 26–27, 28–30, 249–50

and Lambert’s veterinary work, 24–25

lessons of, 61

organization of, 25–26, 49, 66–68, 147–48, 246–47, 262

Patton slapping incidents, 127–29, 251, 267

professional attitude for, 30, 60

and replacement system, 250

treatment methods, 26, 249

venereal disease prevention, 62–63

visibility mission of, xxi–xxii, 66–67, 104, 157

Bedford, 54, 58, 263, 264

Beevor, Antony, 256

The Best Years of Our Lives, 253

“Big Red One.” See 1st Division

blood transfusions, 29

Bouncing Betties (land mines), 89–90

Bowen, George H., 197–98

boxing, 30–31

Braddock, Willard, 156

Bradley, Omar

and D-Day, 127, 185, 191

and Operation Husky, 117, 125

and Operation Overlord, 212

presents medals, 133

and Tunisian Campaign, 70, 86, 265

Bulge, Battle of the, 220

Bullard, Robert L., 22

Camp Devon (England), 145–46

Cantigny, Battle of (1918), 21, 24

casualties

Battle of Gazala, 263

D-Day, 171, 177, 179, 181–82, 210, 268–69

friendly fire, 109

Italian campaign, 213

Operation Husky, 110, 112, 120

Operation Torch, 60

Slapton Sands, 146–47, 267

Tunisian Campaign, 68, 78–79

U.S. World War II total, 269

Civil War, 2

Clark, Mark W., 149

clearing stations, 148, 262

collecting stations, 148, 262

Colleville-sur-Mer, 1

company aid men, 25

dangerous role of, 66, 80–81

Lambert’s experience as, 114–15

visibility mission of, xxi–xxii, 66–67

consumption. See tuberculosis

courts-martial, 144–45

Curran, Una, 49

Dawson, Joe, 144–45, 183, 192

The Day of Battle (Atkinson), 256

D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II (Ambrose), 256

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy (Beevor), 256

D-Day, xix–xxiv, 1...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Maps
• Introduction: 0-Hour+15, by Jim DeFelice
• Prologue: Why We Remember
• One: Early Days
• Two: Echoes of War
• Three: Infamy and England
• Four: Lighting the Torch
• Five: My Life in My Hands
• Six: Husky
• Seven: (Some) Rest for the Weary
• Eight: A Mighty Endeavor
• Nine: Beyond Despair
• Ten: Deliverance
• Eleven: Breakout
• Twelve: The Rewards of Peace
• Thirteen: Legacy
• Collaborator’s Note: Bringing Ray’s Story to the Page, by Jim DeFelice
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: The Combat Medics of World War II
• Appendix B: Battle Fatigue, Psychoneurosis, and PTSD in WWII
• Appendix C: Further Reading
• Notes and Sources
• Index
• About the Authors
• Copyright
• About the Publisher