The Boys of Pointe du Hoc

The heavy U.S. and British warships poised in the English Channel had eighteen targets on their bombardment list for D-Day morning. The 100-foot promontory known as Pointe du Hoc -- where six big German guns were ensconced -- was number one. General Omar Bradley called knocking out the Nazi defenses at the Pointe the toughest of any task assigned on June 6, 1944. Under the bulldoggish command of Colonel James E. Rudder of Texas, profiled here, these elite forces, "Rudder's Rangers," took control of the fortified cliff. The liberation of Europe was under way. Based upon recently released documents, the first in-depth, anecdotal remembrance of these fearless Army Rangers, is told in tandem with the making of Reagan's two uplifting 1984 speeches, considered by many to be among the best orations he ever gave. - Publisher.

First sentence: One brisk morning at the White House in early October 1981, as President Ronald Reagan was preparing for a state visit from French president Francois Mitterrand, his deputy chief of staff, Michael Deaveir, informed him that the French government was eager to present him a prestigious decoration when the two leaders met in historic Yorktown, Virginia.

Year

2005

Language

English

Publisher

Harper Perennial

Editions

3

Pages

288

ISBN

9780060565305

Data source: Wikidata