It all started in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944. They were the first to fight when the stakes were highest and the odds longest. Meet the remarkable men who carried out D-Day’s most perilous missions: the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; and the French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond. Experience the sheer grit of the Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc and the astonishing courage of the airborne soldiers who captured the Merville Gun Battery in the face of devastating enemy counterattacks. These men would determine the fate of the invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe—and the very history of the twentieth century. And, Alex Kershaw, who has built close friendships with D-Day survivors and written several New York Times best-sellers about World War II, is the one to tell their story.  Plus, stay tuned to Netflix next year. His 2012 book, The Liberator, is being made into a drama series.