Interview The First Wave

Alex Kershaw

At 12:15 a.m. on June 6, 1944, Capt. Frank Lillyman jumped out of a C-47 Skytrain over Normandy. Moments later he became the first American paratrooper to set boots on the ground in France for the historic assault of “Fortress Europe.” British writer Alex Kershaw’s The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II details the experiences of Lillyman and the other Allied soldiers who first engaged the enemy during the monumental assault of Nazi-occupied France. Through exhaustive research and interviews the New York Times best-selling author has crafted a riveting narrative of the pathfinders, commandos, Rangers, assault troops, pilots and coxswains The Bedford Boys The Longest Winter Escape From the Deep The Liberator