Angels of Mercy: Two Screaming Eagle Medics in Angoville-au-Plain on D-Day

by Paul Woodadge

The story of two 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle Medics on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. In Angoville-au-Plain, a small village between Utah Beach and Carentan, two medics treated over eighty casualties - American, German and French inside a 12th Century church. The book covers these events and also the history of the village throughout WWII.

Genres: World War II, History

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Robert Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in 2007 my friend and I toured the Normandy Beaches with a company called Battlebus owned then by the author Paul Woodadge. It was at this time that I first heard the story of the two medic's Robert Wright and Ken Moore of the 101st Airborne who manned the church at Angoville-au-Plain in the first day's of the D-Day landing. We visited the church and heard this tale of heroism by these two ordinary young men, saw the still blood stained pews in this tiny church. It was amazing to realize that these two men treated almost 100 people made up of American soldiers, German soldiers and French civilians. This is a tale that Paul Woodadge has put together from first hand accounts of the individuals involved plus excellent historical research. Paul Woodadge has not only told the story from the soldiers perspective, but also from the Norman civilians point of view who were caught in the crossfire of one of the greatest battles of WWII. Highly recommend this little known story of the D-Day invasion.

[Michel]

This is a first class, formidable read.

Woodadge appears to be a gifted story-teller, and the book has a very clear to follow set up.
Starting with a "big picture" of the village and its history and supported by some very clear maps, the author sets the surrounding for a great story.
The story itself is told from many different angles, and all of them being it military or civilian, very gripping.
The small biografies of many participants, and the wealth of pictures make for a book that was almost impossible to put down.

In his foreword Woodadge explains his plan that this is part 1 of a series to be, and I for sure hope that he will achieve that.

[Donald Bogert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy choice and easy read. Should be a standard for people visiting Normandy, who are into WWII history and wanna walk outside the beaten path. There is still so much small unit history to discover in this world where everybody is looking for heroes. The true heroes are not the ones in the movies with shields, hammers, capes and gadgets... True heroes were walking among us, only to fade away over the last two decades... WWII veterans. Forever linked to history. This book is about two of these men, and you will feel priviledged to get to know them.

[Zachary Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal book about June 6 1944 at Drop Zone D, Angoville au Plain, and 501st Parachute Infantry history. In those early days of the invasion Ken Wright and Robert Moore performed one of the most incredible feats of bravery in the midst of a continuous hell. Setting up an aid station in the church at Angoville the two paratrooper medics, along with a pair of German fallschirmjager treated over 80 casualties in the church, American, German, and French alike. It’s a remarkable true story about one of the most pivotal events of WWII.

I visited Angoville in 2019 and was able to see the Drop Zone, Delauney Farm, Les Droueries, and the blood stained pews of the church.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. There was more content on the war in the area than on the 2 medics. I did enjoy it though and seeing actual pictures of the real people and places involved brought the story more into perspective. Anyone interested in WW2 should red this.