Harold Baumgarten
was drafted at eighteen years old, and his first assignment was with the 116th
Infantry Regiment/29th Infantry Division. On the morning of June 6, 1944,
Baumgarten landed in front of the Vierville draw at the Dog Green Sector of
Omaha Beach. In the hours that followed, he was wounded four times as he worked
his way up the bluffs at Omaha Beach. While on a stretcher awaiting evacuation,
Baumgarten was wounded a fifth time, a nearly fatal wound. As one of the few
survivors of this momentous day in history, he wrote his autobiography so that
the brave young men who lost their lives on Omaha Beach would always be
remembered. In this survivor's story, we see firsthand the tenacity of a man who
pushed ahead until finally he made it off that beach to tell his story.
After the war, the
multidecorated veteran received a bachelor of arts degree from New York
University and a master's and medical doctorate from the University of Miami.
Dr. Baumgarten is a renowned speaker and internationally recognized historian
who has written several books on D-Day and whose story has been featured in
forty other books on the D-Day invasion.
Dr. Baumgarten's
exploits have been reported in People, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today,
and various other newspapers throughout the United States. He has also been
featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition and by Tom Brokaw on
NBC. Besides his countless television appearances that include interviews on
CNN, CBS, The History Channel, and networks in France, Austria, and Germany, he
was a guest speaker at The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans in June 2000. |