host: we've got 10 more minutes with our guest, alex kershaw p we have -- alex kershaw. e have bill next from mount pleasant, south carolina. caller: good morning. i would just like to say thanks to c-span for a great program. mr. kershaw, my question to you supposedly general eisenhower, at the time, wrote a letter in the car about bringing troops off the shores because the invasion had failed. i wondered if you could comment on that. thank you so much. guest: i think if you want a moment that epitomizes great leadership from any american in world war ii, and from one of your greatest presidents, onenhower, it was on this, d-day. he had a note in his back pocket. it was found it several weeks later. it had been written by eisenhower before he gave the order to go. it said our men, our troops, our sailors, our men have done their very best. they showed the very most courage -- or words to that effect. unfortunately, the invasion is failed. and i alone take responsibility. that sense that he was going to take it all on his shoulders, not only giving the decision to go, but

host: alex kershaw? guest: yes, we have to remember that utah and omaha dominate the american narrative, but juno beach for the canadians, 900 americans killed, more than 900 in omaha, but over 300 canadians were killed at juno beach, the second deadliest beach on d-day. and we have to remember something very important about the canadians, our neighbors, great allies, very strong allies, they were all volunteers. every single guy, every single canadian that stepped out of a landing craft onto juno beach, every canadian that jumped out of a dakota on d-day was a volunteer. they do not have to be there, so that makes their courage special, i think, and unique. allieds a story of cooperation, superb ally cooperation, the pinnacle, you could argue, of allied operation. it was a joint effort. we fought side-by-side and died virginia, and he said he came in on the second wave for the interruption with alex kershaw. your biggest full of first-hand accounts from veterans. what was your primary source, alex kersh

alex kershaw, an honorary division. the 29th alex kershaw is a widely acclaimed and award-winning author of several new york times best selling books about world war ii, including the bedford the, the longest winner, few escaped from the deep, the liberator. a graduate of the university college of oxford, he worked as a journalist for the guardian and other newspapers before moving to the united states in 1994. his latest book, the first wave, was just released last month to mark the 70 for the anniversary of d-day. liberator, is the being made into a drama series to be aired by netflix in 2020. it is our great honor to have with us today mr. alex kershaw. [applause] >> good morning. on behalf of the friends of the national world war ii memorial, welcome to the national world war ii memorial as we remember and commemorate the 75th anniversary of d-day and the battle of normandy, operation overlord. as citizens of a grateful nation, we salute those of the greatest generation who helped preserve freedom around the globe.

our guest alex kershaw is joining us from the d-day memorial in bedford, virginia. announcer: on the 60th presidenty of d-day, george w. bush spoke of the american cemetery in normandy, france. his remarks are about 15 minutes. [applause] pres. bush: mr. president and mrs. chirac, secretary powell and secretary principi, general myers, members of the united states congress, my fellow americans, and ladies and gentlemen: it is a high honor to represent the american people here at normandy on the 6th of june, 2004. pres. bush: twenty summers ago, another american president came here to normandy to pay tribute to the men of d-day. he was a courageous man, himself, and a gallant leader in the cause of freedom. and today we honor the memory of ronald reagan. [applause] pres. bush: mr. president, thank you for your gracious welcome to the reunion of allies. history reminds us that france was america's first friend in the world. with us today are americans who first saw this place at a distance, in the half-light of a tuesday morning long ago. time and providence have brou

without further ado, may i introduce and present to you alex kershaw? [applause] mr. kershaw: good morning. can you hear me ok? actually, that is way too flattering of you, sir. i did actually have a room not far from the shelley memorial, but i won't tell you what we did on top of the shelley memorial. tour foren on a book quite a while. first of all, i want to say that i'm 53 years old and i've been in this country 25 years. my wife is american. my son is american. and, sir, thank you. i spent 53 years of my life growing up in a beautiful, peaceful, and prosperous and democratic europe because of what you did in world war ii. thank you for being here today. [applause] mr. kershaw: i should say that there are several institutions in this wonderful country whose mission statement is to honor the sacrifice and to remember the courage of the so-called greatest generation and the friends of the national world that. memorial act to do their mission is. and successful, and i cannot thank you enough or inviting me here today. you do a wonderful job. -- their mission is pure

alex kershaw, mr. herman -- barbara george, daughter of captain malcolm george.eath is from australia. it is presented by wing commander matthews -- is accompanied by world war ii veterans, mr. dick bailey and mr. george richards peterson. [no audio] presenting the wreath for belgium, captain gregory -- transportation officer, embassy of belgium. he's accompanied by world war ii veteran, mr. donald mickey. [no audio] presenting the wreath for canada is mr. christopher givens and captain christian monahan, royal canadian navy, embassy of canada. they are accompanied by wwii veteran, mr. irvin powell. -- they are accompanied by world war ii veteran, mr. irvin powell. accompanying the wreath for the czech republic, brigadier general john -- embassy of czech republic. accompanying him, world war ii veterans, mr. larry thorpe, mr. charles lawrence wheeler and mr. jose vollaldenado. [no audio] presenting the wreath for denmark, lieutenant colonel william kruger paulson, assistance defense military, naval and air attache, royal danish embassy. is accompanied by wwii vet

our guest, alex kershaw, joining us this morning from the d-day memorial in bedford, virginia. thank you so much for your time. guest: thank you so much for a great honor. >> the beginning of august, what could be confirmed was, towards the middle of the month, the germans started to leave the city. yes. those were the same germans who had signed 25 year leases on their apartments. then, on the 14th, our police went on strike to the next day, the gestapo left. that was a day when a police car opened fire on adjournment attachment on the plaza and began the battle of the city. after that, it seemed as if the flag was flying from the windows. all the flags are made of curtains, all kinds of flags. it did not matter. four days later -- everyone, and of hearts -- as we ran, people were screaming. the french army had arrived. when we got to the plaza, we thought it was true. i kissed my husband, because he was tired. we began to realize how unhappy we had been for four years. and how lucky we were to be mary louise roberts is a history professor at the at the university of wisconsin

we were joined on that program by author alex kershaw from the national d-day memorial. if you want to go back and watch that program and hear more of the stories we have been reporting, you can go to our website. book, the author of the the bedford boys and his newest book, the first wave is out and talks about the first americans and british and canadians who landed on the d-day beaches. alex kershaw is going to be the mc of the program taking place today at the national world war ii memorial on the national mall. that program gets underway when this program ends at 10:00. as we have been showing you live shots from the national world war ii memorial, you can see some of the set up there, preparing for that event. chairs have been set up for that event. others from several including friends of the national world war ii memorial chairman, the superintendent of the national mall and memorial park's and others. that takes place at 10:00 eastern this morning. back to your phone calls. barbara is in miami, florida. good morning. (202)-748-8001 good morning -- caller: good m

we were joined on that program by author alex kershaw from the national d-day memorial. if you want to go back and watch that program and hear more of the stories we have been reporting, you can go to our website. book, the author of the the bedford boys and his newest book, the first wave is out and talks about the first americans and british and canadians who landed on the d-day beaches. alex kershaw is going to be the mc of the program taking place today at the national world war ii memorial on the national mall. that program gets underway when this program ends at 10:00. as we have been showing you live shots from the national world war ii memorial, you can see some of the set up there, preparing for that event. chairs have been set up for that event. others from several including friends of the national world war ii memorial chairman, the superintendent of the national mall and memorial park's and others. that takes place at 10:00 eastern this morning. back to your phone calls. barbara is in miami, florida. good morning. (202)-748-8001 good morning -- caller: good m

alex kershaw joined us live. his new book is "the first wave: the d-day warriors who led the way to victory in world war ii." later you will hear from another author, looking at the impact of the invasion and its aftermath on the french. both she and ealex responded to viewer questions and comments. [video clip]

but as the author alex kershaw wrote, theirs is a story of one small american town that went to war andnor their sacrifice and the sacrifice of all those brave americans who died on that day, this national d-day memorial was constructed here in bedford. it was a tribute to all who gave the last full measure of devotion on the longest day. it is a profound honor for me to stand with you on this day at this memorial. but i think all of you gathered here know the true memorial to the bedford boys and all the courageous americans who charged the beaches of france 75 years ago today is our freedom. the freedom they fought and sacrificed so much to defend. [cheering and applause] so god bless the bedford boys and all the 9,388 americans who lie in that quiet field overlooking the beaches they took 75 years ago today. god bless all the heroes forged on that day of days who fought and came home to the families and the land they love. and on this 75th anniversary of d-day, on behalf of a grateful nation, to those brave veterans gathered here who fought so long ago and to all those looking on fro