D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography [Hardcover]

Harold Baumgarten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

A member of the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, veteran Harold "Hal" Baumgarten gives his firsthand account of the June 6, 1944, landing on Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. A multidecorated hero, Baumgarten was wounded five times before being evacuated. In 1991, he served as a consultant for the filming of the WWII movie Saving Private Ryan.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

"There was no way to anticipate the horrors of the holocaust that awaited us on the Dog Green Sector." --Dr. Harold Baumgarten

From the Inside Flap

"He is the real thing; I am just an actor." --Tom Hanks, actor Remarks regarding Dr. Harold Baumgarten Opening of National World War II Museum, New Orleans "His story is amazing." --Dr. Stephen Ambrose, author and historian "Dr. Harold Baumgarten is a national treasure. Besides possessing a photographic memory, he has the ability to rise above truly painful recollections and personal loss to record a story that few others at Bloody Omaha are even able to discuss." --Paul DeGaeta, reporter, Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Front flap) On the morning of June 6, 1944, Dr. Harold Baumgarten landed in front of the Vierville draw at the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach along with the 116th Infantry Regiment/29th Infantry Division. During one of the most famous battles ever fought by U.S. armed forces, Baumgarten was wounded five times in a thirty-two-hour period and barely survived. Any one of the pieces of shrapnel or bullets could have killed him; however, fierce tenacity to keep pushing ahead finally got him off that beach. Baumgarten believes that his life was spared so that he could give a face to the brave young Americans who lost their lives that day. Determined to make his autobiography a testament to these men who gave this nation their ultimate sacrifice, Baumgarten ensures that the buddies he left lying face down on the bloody sands of Omaha Beach will never be forgotten. (Back flap) After the war, the multidecorated veteran received a bachelor's degree from New York University and a master's and medical doctorate from the University of Miami. Dr. Baumgarten is a renowned speaker and internationally recognized historian who has written several books on D-Day and whose story has been featured in nearly forty other books on the D-Day invasion. Articles in People, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, and various newspapers and magazines throughout the United States have referenced Dr. Baumgarten's experience. He was featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, interviewed by Tom Brokaw on NBC, and has made countless television appearances on CNN, CBS, the History Channel, and throughout France, Austria, and Germany. Dr. Baumgarten was a guest speaker at the opening of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans in June 2000. On December 5, 2005, he was awarded a Special Certificate of Congressional Recognition for his service in World War II, and on July 15, 2005, he received the Knight of the French Legion of Honor, France's highest award, bestowed by Pres. Jacques Chirac.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158980421X
• ISBN-13: 978-1589804210
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best first-person Omaha Beach account, November 27, 2006

By 

Paul Woodadge "Battlefield Tour Guide" (Normandy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

There are many books on Omaha beach that talk about the overall strategy, the failures and victories and talk about the leaders and commanders. There are also military-study type books that break down the action sector by sector and unit by unit. However there are surprisingly few accounts by men that landed in the first wave. This is I suppose because of two factors: 1) the high percentage of casualties on D-Day amongst the first-wave, and 2) the fact that many of the survivors cannot talk about the events of June 6th - the memories they have are of the carnage and horror and possibly lacking in detail.

Harold Baumgarten is therefore pretty unique, he is an Omaha beach survivor possessed with a photographic memory AND a compelling drive to tell others the story of the young men who landed on D-Day. Through his words the reader gets to hear first-hand about the training, formation and actual D-Day landing of his unit (B/116th Infantry) and his personal tale of terrible injuries and his determination to see his mission through and simply to survive. But also he describes the equipment and uniforms worn, the tactics employed and talks about the German defences. But above all he tells of the brave young first-wavers, with his skillfull writing these men he fought alongside are not just names, they are people, we learn where they are from, what they were like and hear about their fate - some sad, and some happy.

After D-Day we hear about Harold's slow recovery and his personal mission to aid family members of those who fell, his becoming a doctor, and ultimately his re-visiting of Omaha and his current role as one of the few spokesmen left of the "greatest generation".

This book is humbling, rewarding, upifting, informative and fascinating

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Life Story of a D-Day Hero, June 21, 2007

By 

Mr. Truthteller (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

As the title of this book indicates, the author was a survivor of D-Day, the massive Allied invasion of the beaches at Normandy, June 6, 1944.

But the author was more than just a survivor. He was a member of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division that was in on the first wave in one of the bloodiest sectors of any beach that deadly day: Dog Green Sector, Omaha Beach.

Before the author even disembarked from his landing craft, the one next to his was blown up, showering the author and his comrades with pieces of wood, bits of metal, and human body parts. As he left his landing craft, the water was already a churning sea of red blood. He was wounded four times that day by both bullets and shrapnel as he and the survivors of his unit slogged forward to establish a beachhead and began to scale the heavily, and easily, defended bluffs. (The murderous fire he had to undergo just to get onto the beach was so bad one bullet passed through his helmet and another hit his rifle.) Later, as he was being evacuated, he was wounded a fifth time, presumably by a German sniper.

As he reflected on why he survived when so many others died, the author came to believe that he had a two-fold mission in life: first, to tell the story of the carnage his fellow soldiers underwent, and the courage (often unappreciated or untold) many of them displayed, to make the world a better place; and second, to become a doctor and save lives. The author succeeded admirably on both accounts.

As an autobiography, the book covers more than just D-Day and includes the author's story of his induction into the U.S. Army (he was drafted at the age of 18 and could have gotten out of the draft because he was a student and one of his professors was on the draft board but he chose to go ahead and serve his country), his training and the training for D-Day and his life experiences after the invasion, including his recovery from his wounds and becoming a doctor.

Highly recommended reading. A fascinating story well told.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "His" story is so much more than surviving D-Day., April 3, 2007

By 

Margaret E. Schoch "Normandy 44: Models, Hist... (Wattrelos, France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

Over the years "revisionism" has become the norm in writing about history. In this book we have a precious gift in the words of someone who was actually there. Dr. Hal Baumgarten managed to write an autobiography that includes the lives of so many others than himself. It is a book for any young person seeking the story of a great man to admire. As adults reading this book we can only be humbled and proud of this survivor, who inspires us to reflect on all we do in honoring those who rendered to us our present day freedom. This is an extremely human book written by a true humanitarian.