The Great Hour Struck

About the Book

As the inferno of World War II engulfs 101st Airborne Division paratrooper Lieutenant Sam Henry, the scholar-turned-soldier is thrust on a collision course with the embodiment of beauty-and the horrors of combat.

Training and awaiting D-Day in England, Sam's can-do Yank confidence suffers the harsh realities of a war-weary nation under siege as well as a tyrannical platoon leader. His fascination with the beautiful British schoolteacher, Maggie Elliott, sustains his hopes and softens the bite of military life but cannot erase the dread of Sam's upcoming mission.

When that fateful day arrives, June 6, 1944, Sam embarks on one of the most dangerous missions of the war. But the massive parachute night drop behind Hitler's Atlantic Wall disintegrates into pockets of fractured units and individuals locked in kill-or-be-killed close combat chaos, testing Sam's optimistic intellectualism to the breaking point. His personal mission becomes nothing more than getting his beloved men out-alive.

Yet, with the D-Day airborne objectives nearly secured, an unforeseen clash against a Russian Front hardened storm trooper, Helmut Behr, threatens to destroy Sam's sanity-and his life.

"Evocative and haunting. Varner's action scenes are fantastic he really brought me into D-Day." -Jefferson Scott, author of the Operation Firebrand series

About the Author

Gary Varner (www.garyvarner.net) is an award-winning writer and life-long student of World War II. When not writing or exploring WW II battlefields, Gary thrives on international humanitarian aid adventures, road-trips, strong coffee, good books, and hanging out with his family. Born and raised Californian, Gary now calls Missouri home.