through to liberate Europe. Keith, being the hero he is, conducted terrain and landscape walksthroughout Normandy for over 40 years always accompanied with veterans, active-dutymilitary, and local French civilians. His love of that terrain and landscape naturally led him toresearch who and why so many rapists and murderers were buried together in Plot E’sunmarked graves. His effort has resulted in one of the most significant D-Day books yetpublished, a treasure for us arm-chair followers to add to our Battle for Normandy shelf.Combining the author’s discussions with veteran and civilian participants in the invasion withhis personal reflections on Operation Overlord, Nightingale offers a unique collection ofperspectives on the “Longest Day”. Interspersed with veterans’ remarks and reminiscences,Keith’s personal essays are inspired by specific discussions or multiple interviews. Takentogether, the cogent human observations of these participants who assisted him furtherexpand and illuminate our depth of understanding of what it must have been like to be pinneddown under intense fire and must do something heroic to get out of it.Of the two books, “The Plot of Shame”, is the tough one to get through. Writes author PaulJohnson in his three-page Introduction, “The cases are violent, disturbing, and often brutal intheir content, therefore, if you find yourself easily offended, this may be an apt point at whichto close the cover. These are not war crimes, but crimes committed in a time of war, for whichthe offenders, having been apprehended and tried were subsequently executed. Their bodieshad had been buried dishonorably, and they did not have had their names recorded andmaintained in perpetuity, but there remains still somewhat of a reverence over their finalresting place, which is something that may not always apply in the cases of the victims.”It seems that the men whose death sentences were carried out were buried near the sites oftheir executions in locations as far afield as England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, andAlgeria. A number were executed on the grounds of Shepton Mallet Prison in Somerset, themajority hanged in the execution block, with two being shot by a firing squad in the prison yard.But, in 1949, under a veil of secrecy, the “Plot of Shame” was set aside in France. It does notexist on the maps of the cemetery, and it is not mentioned on the American Battle MonumentsCommission’s website. Visits to Plot E are discouraged, mainly because the area is concealed,surrounded by heavy thick bushes, with signs reading, “CLOSED”. The U.S. flag is never allowedto be flown there. The graves are nameless, just small, simple stones the size of index cards.Each grave is positioned with its back to the main cemetery. Paul Johnson’s “The Plot of Shame”reveals the whole tragic history of Plot E, each story a tragedy within the greater history ofWorld War II. Considering the full details of the cases, victims, and their rapist-murderers, are
presented without censure, but the reading is hard, very hard.
