In early 1941 the author joined the National Guard of Virginia when he was 16, never thinking that decision would have a profound effect on his life. At the time, the possibility of combat duty seemed fairly remote, but that all changed on December 7th.

Three years later Slaughter landed on Omaha Beach with the 116th Infantry. But that was only the beginning of a march that would take him to Holland, the Bulge and ultimately, Germany.

In this gripping memoir, Slaughter shares the day-to-day comings and goings of GI Joe from pre-World War II National Guard days through induction, training, deployment overseas, and additional training. All this leads up to D-Day and Normandy on June 6, 1944, where Sergeant Slaughter hits the beach with the men of Company D of the 116th Infantry.

Surviving the Omaha landing is only part of the story. The rest follows the men of Company D across Europe and on to final victory. Later in his life, after his retirement from the Roanoke Times in 1987, Slaughter devoted his time to the creation of a memorial to commemorate the sacrifice of the American soldiers at Normandy. That memorial, the National D-Day Memorial, was unveiled on June 6, 2001, in Bedford, Virginia.

Accompanied by 16 black and white photos, this moving story captures not only what it was like to be a National Guardsman during the war but also what the D-Day invasion looked like and felt like from the perspective of a combat soldier. First published in hardcover in 2007, this book is now available in a trade paperback edition.

Those interested in military history and memoirs will not only find that this book is well written, but also that Slaughter captures the drama of the moment as only one who was there could possibly do. It is a Class A read from start to finish!