Len Lomell

D-Day Hero (American War Heroes)

By: Steven M. Gillon

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

The exhilarating, inspiring story of Len Lomell, an Army Ranger who on D-Day almost single-handedly knocked out the big German guns before they could fire on the American invasion force, and whose later exploits spanned the most dramatic battles of World War II.

Len Lomell was drafted to the United States Army in 1942, became an Army Ranger, and was soon sent to England to prepare for the D-Day invasion. At Point du Hoc, Lomell and his men were given a daunting mission—to scale the steep cliffs and disable the big German guns at the top, guns that could otherwise destroy the rest of the D-Day landing fleet. Despite incredible odds, it was a mission that Lomell completed almost single-handedly.

In this stirring, action-packed book, Gillon details the incredibly heroic actions on D-Day—and throughout World War II—that ultimately won Lomell the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star. Lomell was later praised by Stephen Ambrose as the single most important person in the success of D-Day after General Eisenhower.

With propulsive writing, nuanced research, and multiple personal interviews with Lomell, Gillon brings an unforgettable WWII hero to life, finally giving him the recognition he so richly deserves.

©2023 Steven M. Gillon (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Riveting .... Gillon’s book, Len Lomell: D-Day Hero (Dutton), makes clear [that Lomell’s] battlefield exploits were among the most heroic—and important—in U.S. military history." —NJ Monthly

Great series

The American war hero series is excellent. Len Lomell is no exception. It’s the perfect length to give his heroics on D-Day and other battles their proper due. Not just like Lomell himself, or so the reader learns, the book doesn’t linger there. It gives you the complete picture if the man without too much detail, making tangents impossible. The entire series is perfectly concise. Oh to have such men on this generation alive today. How they are missed. Excellent all around.

Woke ending

Would be 5 stars, it was a great book about a great man but near the end they try to equate him as "being woke before woke was a thing" simply by being a good person with no prejudices. Ludicrous...