Customer Reviews

Rudder's Rangers : The True Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion D-Day Combat Action

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As a 5th Battalion Ranger reading Ron Lane's true story, memories of the first days of the Normandy invasion come alive as if they happened yesterday.

As the 2nd and 5th Ranger Bns. interacted on many missions of WWII, this vividly written account of the assault on the French beaches - and the awesome task of gaining a foothold from which to advance into Europe - brings that time alive to all Rangers.

Lt. Col. Ronald Lane captures the emotions and pride of all of us, as he sees that time through the eyes of those he interviewed for his book. As a later Airborne Ranger in Viet Nam, he better understands and narrates the stories of the WWII Rangers and relates them so realistically that they are absorbing and meaningful to soldiers and civilians alike. In this book, you will put yourself into the body of each Ranger making history at that time. USER-LOCATION: REVIEW: As a 5th Battalion Ranger reading Ron Lane's true story, memories of the first days of the Normandy invasion come alive as if they happened yesterday.

As the 2nd and 5th Ranger Bns. interacted in many missions of WWII, this vividly written account of the assault on the French beaches - and the awesome task of gaining a foothold from which to advance into Europe - brings that time alive to all Rangers.

Lt. Col. Ronald Lane captures the emotions and pride of all of us, as he sees that time through the eyes of those he interviewed for his book. As a later Airborne Ranger in Viet Nam, he better understands and narrates the stories of the WWII Rangers and relates them so realistically that they are absorbing and meaningful to soldiers and civilians alike. In this book, you will put yourself into the body of each Ranger making history at that time. END

From the very start of this book, you're pulled in. You're on the English Channel with the young, brave, terrified Rangers as they make their way towards Omaha Beach. You'll hear the whine of the Landing craft engines. You'll watch as the men struggle to keep their landing craft afloat, or as they sink helplessly to the bottom with all their heavy gear, drowned before their mission really started. You'll recoil from the geysers of water shooting into the air from German artillery. You'll duck - knowing it's futile, that once you hear it, it's already past you - as bullet after bullet pings off your craft. It's an incredible ride, and an incredible story. "Saving Private Ryan" was fictionalized, but the first thirty minutes of that movie realistically portrayed the horrors of that day. Read this book to find out the rest of the story, from the men who were there. One of the main persons in this story is Leonard "Bud" Lomell, who has a chapter in the "Heroes" section of Tom Brokaw's best seller, "The Greatest Generation." If you're hungry to find out more about him and the rest of his Ranger buddies - all heroes in my eyes - read this book!

I found this to be an excellent and authoritative book with detailed accounts of the 2nd Rangers on D-Day. I know a number of Rangers veterans who recommended this book to me as a well written and accurate account. This is by far one of the best D-Day books I have in my growing collection. If you are a D-Day buff, then I recommend it to you without hesitation. Your D-Day collection will be incomplete without it!

I am a 1st cousin of Ronald Lane. Ronald passed away just a couple of years ago. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetary with full military honors. In attendance were some of the orignal Rudder's Rangers. Ron was retired from the army. He also graduated from West Point. I read the book. I am proud to be part of his remaining family, and very proud of his work!

Rudder' s Rangers is a wonderful account of the guys who led off the invasion of the European theatre in World War ll .These men risked it all to set the stage for our troops landing on Normandy. Knowing Mr. Lane , this book is well researched and depicts actual events that without his efforts would have gone little noticed to the world unless you attended a war college or are a real student of the last great war. This book explores more detail than the movie Saving Private Ryan, and is biograpical and would make a wonderful sequel to the above mentioned movie. This is a time when we Americans need to remember our heroes , Rudder's Rangers fills that need.

For anyone who is into our history during WWII this book is a must read. From friends and family who are old enough to remember or who have experienced D-Day they have confirmed as to how accurate Rudder's Rangers is.This true account will tug at your heart and illustrate patriotism in the true sense of the word.

Ronald Lane's account of Rudder's Rangers WWII D-Day should definitely be a movie. We never have enough of historically based films.

This book is such a very realistic account of the heroic performance of the Rangers under the command of Col. James Earl Rudder. You can tell that a great deal of effort and research went into obtaining the facts for this historical account of the World War II assault on the German fortification on Pointe du Hoc and Omaha. Many of the Rangers personal versions of their experiences at D-Day are combined in this book which makes it an eye-witness account of sacrifice and uncommon valor. Personal letters and official Army records and files add the historical perspective! This book gives a perception of being there. Maybe it should be a movie!

My father-in-law served with Easy company. His name was Loring "Spike" Wadsworth. If you've seen the opening part of "Saving Private Ryan", it is hard to imagine that anyone had it scarier than those guys on that beach. Until you hear the stories of the men at Pointe-du-Hoc. And then to think that there were one or two battles further in that some of these Rangers felt were even worse! Spike was proud of the 2nd Bn., and the men loved Rudder and would have followed him into the very jaws of Hell; which is in essence what they did. My father-in-law and his comrades inspired me to serve my own enlistment in the Army, and he was mighty proud at my service. Coming from a hero who served with Rudder's Rangers, his pride in me meant more than any service award or medal I ever got. Spike died shortly after attending the 50th anniversary of D-day. Read this book. You will be awed by the strength and guts of these men. I have had the priviledge of having known one of them. Rangers lead the way!

Rudder's Rangers is an excellent depiction of the D-Day invasion of Europe from a special operations point of view. Included in the narrative are anecdotes about the train-up of 2nd Ranger Batt. from the creation of the battalion in 1943 thru the execution of the assault on Point du Hoc on D-Day. The author, a combat veteran, gives the details from a soldier's point of view. Though at times the listing of names of soldiers during the story distracts from the point of the moment, it does provide a level of reality. While the movie, Saving Private Ryan is a fictional account of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, this book provides an insight into the actual brutality of war. Most importantly, it gives the reader a character study of an excellent role model for a soldier in James Earl Rudder. Future and current military leaders will find many learning points in the actions of the commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, LTC Rudder.

The inspirational story of Colonel James Earl and his 2nd Ranger Battalion is exceedingly well told in this book. Rudder, a Texan and reserve officer, epitomizes the citizen-soldier leaders who were instrumental in winning World War II. He was a fighting field-grade officer who led from the front and his courage and leadership elicited a great deal of respect and affection from his troops.

Rangers will be the first to say they were not supermen but rather highly motivated individuals honed to a razor's edge through discipline and hard training. Rudder built his battalion from the ground up and worked them hard. They were the first battalion to be organized and trained in the States (The 1st, 3rd and 4th battalions were formed in England along with the 29th Rangers later disbanded). They trained diligently for one impossible mission; disable the big artillery guns atop the escarpment at Pointe-du-Hoc.

This book reveals the extreme difficulty of that mission and the stark realization that before the mission could be completed, sheer one hundred feet high cliffs had to be scaled under enemy fire. Only an elite group of soldiers led by an inspiring and courageous commander had any hope of achieving this "long shot" mission. But complete it they did and eventually destroyed the guns that threatened both Utah and Omaha beaches. In addition, this book chronicles the next few days after D-Day when the Rangers on the escarpment were repeatedly attacked and surrounded and held on by the slimmest of margins until relieved.

This is a fabulous book, especially for those interested in World War II, United States Rangers and D-Day. It contains a full roster of the 2nd Rangers along with a list a medals and awards presented. Rudder's Rangers was an extremely essential element in the research for my own historical novel.

John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump - A Novel of World War II