Five Men

by Bill Sharp

An historical novel that chronicles the lives and times of five men from different walks of life: cowboy, police officer, merchant marine sailor, shipyard worker, and truck driver. Ordinary jobs? Yes, but intriguing events happen within these occupations. In the summer of 1944, shortly after D-Day, these five men come together as soldiers in an infantry platoon fighting German troops in Normandy, France. In bitter battles, it tells of the brutality of war and the humor, camaraderie, and fears of infantrymen in close combat.
The book is a gripping, accurate portrayal of civilian and military life before and during WWII.

420 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2021

About the author

I lived in the small towns of Lacombe and Barrhead, Alberta. After high school I moved to Edmonton where I worked for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in their management trainee program, and at the same time I enlisted in the Canadian Army Reserves. In 1968, I joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and subsequently served in nine detachments located within Metro Vancouver and in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. All of my forty-three years in the RCMP were in uniform general duty (except for a month on traffic). COP is about my forty-three years in the RCMP.

Reviews

[Robert Mackay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Men by Bill Sharp is a great read. I highly recommend it in particular for the thorough historical research that the author has obviously done. That research helps set the scene for the story. More than five men's lives are illuminated, as the characters follow their own desires and dreams. They wend their way through little-known action in the Russian far east during World War One to patrolling with the RCMP on the prairies and Canada's north to the bloody fields of Normandy and beyond.

[Jim Bledsoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best novel I've read about World War Two, (maybe the Young Lions just edges it out) and I've read quite a few over the years. The five characters read like real people - not unrealistic super heroes that are in a lot of novels, especially war novels. The book is about one-third while the five men are civilians and two-thirds while they are serving in the army. The character building while they are in pre-war occupations is superb, as it is all through the book. The author is very descriptive, historically accurate, and each character is interestingly unique.

[Murray Rasmusson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Lots of adventure . Strong character development as we follow the lives of five brave young men from Western Canada who end up in Normandy together in 1944. The attention to detail of dates and places and characters lends a strong sense of realism to the story.

[John Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read about the lives of five men in the years leading up to World War 2 and then as infantry soldiers fighting in Normandy. They appear to be ordinary people but their story becomes extraordinary as they share the brutality and complex emotions fighting for their lives in a foreign country. Well researched and written by author Bill Sharp.