Los Angeles, CA—In early June 1994, Michael B. Butler, author of History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2, went to London with the intention of attending the D-Day commemorations there and in Normandy, France. However, regarding the main ceremonies in France, he had no pass to a ceremony, impossible to get, and no hotel room in a region sold out for two years. After a week in London, staying with his sister, he attended the June 5 ceremonies at Portsmouth, in Britain, and caught the ferry to Cherbourg, France with a camera and faint hope of achieving his goal.
The tale of Butler's crazy, against the odds 40 hour successful trip to France—with help from two D-Day/Normandy Veterans and a woman from the P&O ferry company—forms the foundation for an intensely detailed history book that is dedicated to 15 family wartime veterans. But the final 50th D-Day section, laced with the author's nice photographs, is only part of what is brought to the reader. On top of the history of World War Two, and centuries before, are chapters about divisions or regiments some of the his family served with. One of those chapters is about his grandfather's World War One service in the 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division, a famous outfit that Generals Douglas MacArthur and William Donovan served with heroic distinction.
Other relatives that served whose stories are told include a B-17 pilot who was lost over Germany in April 1944, one who served in the infantry with 134th Nebraska Regiment, and another with General Patton's famous 5th Armored Division. That is only four of the 15, going back to the American Civil War, to whom the book is dedicated. The war stories of the D-Day Veterans, Pat Murphy and Herbert Johnson, who helped him obtain a ceremony pass are also told.
Other major aspects of the war chronicled are Hitler's 1940 Western Campaign, the Battle of Britian, codebreaking, radar, deception campaigns, D-Day Air Wars, Grand Strategy, Battle of the Atlantic, North African Campaign and the Nazi-Soviet War, where 80% of all German soldiers lost in the war perished.
Michael B. Butler takes the example of historians he admires by compacting lots of info into a comprehensive package. One interesting part is the history covered is that of the Great German General Staff, which has had an enormous impact on military and civilian governance globally for the last 175 years.
Michael B. Butler's Author Page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mbbutler
History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2 available in Amazon paperback (979-8328241489) or Kindle E-Book (B0F4GH8679) and at Barnes & Noble.
www.50thDDay.com
Pat Murphy, One of Michael Butler's D-Day Saviors
Great Uncle Henry Olivas, 5th Armored Division
Uncle Roy Larson, B-17 Pilot, Lost Over Germany April 1944
June 1941 German Invasion of Russia to Stalingrad
German Invasion of Poland, September 1939
Michael B. Butler's second book, released in 2022, is Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice. In 2024-26 three books are slated for release: Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days, 30 Years Later and the two-book history set dedicated to 15 wartime military veterans, many who saw combat, from his family—History Leading to 50th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Book 1 and History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2.