Drawing D Day

Drawing D-Day: An Artist's Journey Through War offers an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind testimony in words and images by a soldier and artist who participated in one of the most famous military operations of World War II. On June 6, 1944, Ugo Giannini landed on Omaha Beach with a platoon of military police assigned to accompany the U.S. Army's 29th Infantry Division. Only six of the thirty-seven men in the platoon made it to the beach. Told that he was needed on the bluff above the shore, Ugo climbed the Verville Draw, jumped into a crater made by naval bombardment, and spent that day and part of the next as an eyewitness to the invasion. Remarkably, he began to draw. These are the only known drawings from that historic day. Drawn in pencil and pen, in a gritty, realist style, the images depict heavily burdened infantrymen trying to stay afloat in seawater, crawling on the beach, and dead among the ruins of a bombed-out village. The illustrations, interwoven with Ugo's letters to his family and girlfriend, portray the horror of war in a deep and personal way. Abstract paintings at the end of the book, composed forty years later, make a powerful statement of the enduring power about war on an artist-soldier's psyche.

“Drawing D-Day powerfully and poignantly reflects back on the watershed event of the 20th century in a way that is unexpected and completely unique.” — Jeffery R. Fulgham, CFRE, Vice President, Finance and Development, National D-Day Memorial Foundation Drawing D-Day: An Artist's Journey Through War offers an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind testimony in words and images by a soldier and artist who participated in one of the most famous military operations of World War II. On June 6, 1944, Ugo Giannini landed on Omaha Beach with a platoon of military police assigned to accompany the U.S. Army's 29th Infantry Division. Only six of the thirty-seven men in the platoon made it to the beach. Told that he was needed on the bluff above the shore, Ugo climbed the Verville Draw, jumped into a crater made by naval bombardment, and spent that day and part of the next as an eyewitness to the invasion. Remarkably, he began to draw. These are the only known drawings from that historic day. Drawn in pencil and pen, in a gritty, realist style, the images depict heavily burdened infantrymen trying to stay afloat in seawater, crawling on the beach, and dead among the ruins of a bombed-out village. The illustrations, interwoven with Ugo's letters to his family and girlfriend, portray the horror of war in a deep and personal way. Abstract paintings at the end of the book, composed forty years later, make a powerful statement of the enduring power about war on an artist-soldier's psyche.

On June 6, 1944 the greatest armada in history stood off Normandy and the largest amphibious invasion ever began as 107,000 men aboard 6,000 ships pressed toward the coast. Among this number were 18,000 Canadians, who were to land on a five-mile long stretch of rocky ledges fronted by a wide expanse of sand. Code named Juno Beach. Here, sheltered inside concrete bunkers and deep trenches, hundreds of German soldiers waited to strike the first assault wave with some ninety 88-millimetre guns, fifty mortars, and four hundred machineguns. A four-foot-high sea wall ran across the breadth of the beach and extending from it into the surf itself were ranks of tangled barbed wire, tank and vessel obstacles, and a maze of mines. Of the five Allied forces landing that day, they were scheduled to be the last to reach the sand. Juno was also the most exposed beach, their day’s objectives eleven miles inland were farther away than any others, and the opposition awaiting them was believed greater than that facing any other force. At battle's end one out of every six Canadians in the invasion force was either dead or wounded. Yet their grip on Juno Beach was firm.

An authentic account of one of the most pivotal battles of World War Two. The World War Two invasion known as D-Day was one of the largest military endeavours in history. It involved years of planning, total secrecy and not only soldiers but also sailors, paratroopers and many specialists. Acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the contributions of key players in D-Day in a masterful tapestry of official documents, personal narratives and archival photos to provide an action-packed and authentic account.

A chronological account of D-Day is told through the experiences of people who directly experienced its events, from a French baker who led British paratroopers to a German hiding spot to a telegram boy who delivered a "death message" on the fateful day. By the author of The JFK Assassination.

Caldecott Medalist Allen Say presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan's premier cartoonist DRAWING FROM MEMORY is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn't understand his son's artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his "spiritual father." As WWII raged, Allen was further inspired to consider questions of his own heritage and the motivations of those around him. He worked hard in rigorous drawing classes, studied, trained--and ultimately came to understand who he really is. Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, DRAWING FROM MEMORY presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. With watercolor paintings, original cartoons, vintage photographs, and maps, Allen Say has created a book that will inspire the artist in all of us.

The viral phenomenon #DrawWithRob is now a brand-new activity book for you to draw with Rob at home! As seen everywhere on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, TV, and more, from the creative genius and bestselling author Rob Biddulph!