When not fighting Germans, GIs in "The Big Red One' raised hell, says author at Book Event

“The Big Red One” was the best infantry division in the U.S. Army in World War II, but its members were rabble-rousers when not fighting the Germans, revealed John C. McManus, a leading authority on the Normandy invasion of June 6, 1944, at a National Club book event May 5.

That was only one insight McManus shared about the famed division in discussing his book, “The Dead and Those About to Die: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach." In another, McManus said that although The Big Red One – officially the Army’s First Infantry Division – fought well during the D-Day combat, several things went wrong.

For example, said McManus, most landing boats landed too far to the east of their planned destinations and were not together. As a result, wounded infantrymen had to wait a long time to be transported to the hospital ships.

The event was sponsored by the Club’s Journalism Institute. Bill Hickman, a member of the Book and Author Committee, introduced the speaker.