As we've noted, today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. And for most, the Allied

Invasion of Normandy is an event in history. But a new book transports us back eight decades

ago, hearing directly from those who lived history.

Garrett Graf is the author and I spoke with him recently about when the sea came

alive.

Garrett welcome back to the news hour.

Thanks for being here.

It's a pleasure.

So this is now the work of 18 months that you spent, assembling what's the largest

most comprehensive compendium of first-person testimonials from this historic day and

event.

You've compiled oral histories before, like your wonderful book on 9-11 in particular, why did you

think this format was necessary now for this story?

This is a moment where we have, for all intents and purposes, every first person memory that

we are going to have of D-Day.

And so for me, this was a moment to try to retell the story of D-Day

in the voices of the participants themselves

as this event slips from memory into history and to try to make

it come alive for a new generation that are not as familiar with the story of D-Day.

When the sea came alive, tell me where that comes from and why you chose that as the title.

So the title actually comes from a German defender at Omaha Beach, and it's his reaction to waking up that morning in the bunker and looking out at what is all of a sudden to him this sea packed with the

allied ships as the invasion arrives off the coast of Normandy and I think to me what the title captures in some ways is the audacity of this operation.

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