Praise for D-Day Journal
On 6 June 2004, the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day, while serving as the 35th Chief of Staff, Army, I was privileged to be the speaker on Pointe du Hoc. While there, I had the special honor of meeting many courageous veterans of the remarkable events that occurred on that spot. Among them was a quiet man of military bearing, accompanied by his son and daughter, both of whom also had served the nation in uniform. We talked about soldier things and posed for pictures, but the circumstances reminded me of a scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. He was (former) Lieutenant Frank Kennard of the 2d Ranger Battalion, still proud and erect, but humble... much like my own father, who was a veteran of three wars. Ill always remember that day as one of my best, most pure and honorable in uniform. Now, through the efforts of his son, John V.O. Kennard, we are all provided some rare insights into one of the most famous fighting formations in our history... the U.S. Army Rangers. Told in his own words through personal letters and contemporaneous journal entries, we get the candid views of a combat soldier... the fear and apprehensions, occasional humor, factual first person observations, and many important, still relevant lessons from difficult times so long ago.
Their story, and others like it, should be told and retold lest we forget, thus causing our children and grandchildren to re-learn them. Rangers Lead the Way!
GENERAL PETER J. SCHOOMAKER, USA Ret., 35th Chief of Staff, United States Army
Just when readers think they have seen the last of authentic first-hand accounts about the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach, along comes a new book based on previously unpublished letters written by a soldier who was there. Now comes the account of Lieutenant Frank L. Kennard, adjutant of the legendary 2nd Ranger Battalion to wars end in Czechoslovakia. Literate and observant (Yale, BS, in economics), Kennard was selected for the job by his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder, and stayed near him almost constantly. The one exception adds to the uniqueness of his account; Kennard did not participate in the initial assault to scale the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, but was moved there by landing craft from Omaha Beach on June 7th, arriving in time to help defend the Pointe against repeated German attacks. The quality of this book is enhanced by the skill of Kennards son, John V.O. Kennard, who compiled and annotated passages for historical context and clarity.
THOMAS M. HATFIELD, PH.D, author of Rudder: From Leader to Legend, College Station, Texas A&M University 2011, Texas Historical Commission Advisor Dean Emeritus and director Military History Institute Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin
John V.O. Kennard has assembled an eminently readable first-hand embodiment of our nations greatest generation! A conversational journey of his father, Lt Frank Kennards, service as battalion S1 and adjutant of the famous United States Armys 2nd Ranger Battalion Rudders Rangers as told through a series of personal letters Lt Kennard wrote to his family during the war. An enthralling read, which illustrates his fathers qualities of character, perseverance, and genuine courage as a selfless US Army Ranger volunteer, who charged off his landing craft onto Omaha Beach on the 6th of June 1944, into the most violent, deadly and chaotic world anyone could imagine. Lt Kennards personal letters to his family personify a rare emotional intelligence as he masterfully navigates the moral imperative to communicate his wartime journey, well-being, and love for his family while also insulating them from the relentless, ugly, visceral realities of war. I have had the honor to stand on the hallowed ground of Omaha Beach and have walked across the surreal, cratered, lunar-landscape of Pointe Du Hoc. As a career USAF F-16 fighter pilot, each and every step was brimming with emotions, the most powerful being respect and gratitude for the selfless sacrifices made by countless heroes like Lt Frank Kennard, and his 2nd Ranger Battalions band of brothers. It is an honor to know his son and his granddaughter, who live their lives with the same discipline, patriotism, audacity and love of family their patriarch embodied. John Kennards story of his fathers service is a beacon for our un-bridled American values; family, freedom, service to a greater good, and the indomitable grit of the human spirit!
CHRIS P. WEGGEMAN, lieutenant general, United States Air Force
D-Day Journal is unique in that it relates one mans actual experiences in a fascinating journal which captures the terror and yet courage of soldiers who served in the famous 2nd Ranger Battalion from D-Day to the end of the war. These short but compelling insights and eyewitness reports allow the reader to believe he or she is actually there, each day, as a member of the elite Boys of Point du Hoc. As those of us who served in combat in Vietnam recall, it brought back vivid memories of our rapid transition from boys to men. It is a great read. You wont be able to put it down. Very simply... it is a terrific book on one of the most critical moments in our countrys history.
C. ROLAND (ROLLIE) STICHWEH, West Point graduate, 1965; twice named most valuable player in the Army-Navy game; decorated combat veteran
A vivid firsthand account of American Ranger actions in the invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944, assembled from the letters home and after action reports of the men who fought, by a valiant young Ranger officer who was a leader among them. A story of battle, hardship, valor and victory.
COL. ROBERT W. BLACK, author of The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in WWII
D-Day Journal
by John V. O. Kennard
Copyright 2018 by John V. O. Kennard
ISBN 978-1-63393-735-2 D-Day Journal Softcover
ISBN 978-1-63393-736-9 D-Day Journal Ebook
ISBN 978-1-63393-737-6 D-Day Journal Ebook
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.
All pictures, unless otherwise noted, are either in the public domain,used with attribution, permission or from the personal collection of the author.
All opinions expressed in this book are solely of the author.
Printed in the United States of America
Published by
210 60th Street
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
800-435-4811
www.koehlerbooks.com
Dedication
Dedicated to all the soldiers of the 2nd Ranger Battalion who led the way to liberate Europe; especially to those heroic Rangers who, at one moment and place in time, from France to Czechoslovakia, gave their lives so that we, their children and grandchildren, might live in freedom.
So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
