May 18, 2019 - Mr. Jack Kennard

In this lecture based on his book, D-Day Journal: The Untold Story of a U.S. Ranger on Omaha Beach, Mr. Kennard uses his father’s journal to present D-Day from the view of 22-year-old Lieutenant Frank L. Kennard. The lecture follows the first person perspective from the 2nd Ranger Battalion and also features data from oral histories of four other men. Despite losing most of his equipment and half his men, Lt. Kennard and the remaining Soldiers made their objective at Pointe du Hoc and achieved their mission to take out the big German guns overlooking the Normandy beaches on that famous day. Author John Kennard was a commissioned Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Armor Corps and served in Germany until he was promoted to Captain and deployed to Vietnam in 1970. His own military experience enhances his ability to re-tell his father’s story using Lt. Kennard’s personal letters and journal which recounts his experience not just on the day of the battle, but the training before and the thoughts after.

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