June 6, 1944. Pointe du Hoc. A hundred feet of cliff, and the enemy at the top.

The 2nd Ranger Battalion drew the hardest assignment of D-Day. Three companies under Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder were to land at the base of Pointe du Hoc, climb roughly 100-foot cliffs under fire using rocket-fired grapnels, rope ladders, and extension ladders borrowed from the London Fire Brigade, and destroy the 155mm guns believed to be on top.

They climbed. At the top, the casemates were empty; the guns had been moved inland. A Ranger patrol found them in an orchard and destroyed them with thermite grenades. Then the Rangers held the point for two days against German counterattacks. Of roughly 225 men who landed, about 90 were still able to fight when relief arrived.

The rest of the battalion landed on Omaha Beach, in the most heavily defended sector of the most heavily defended beach. The motto “Rangers lead the way” was born on Omaha that morning.

What you’re getting:

• Battalion sniper — scoped M1903 Springfield, helmet unit insignia, feather in cap, assault vest, Ranger diamond sleeve patch. The ‘03 stayed in service long after the Garand arrived, because for a sniper, accuracy mattered more than rate of fire.
• Captain — Thompson .45 submachine gun, captain’s helmet marking, unit insignia, sleeve patch, assault vest. The close-quarters weapon for clearing bunkers and trenches.
• Medic — M1 Carbine, Red Cross armband, medic insignia, medical and field dressing pouches, helmet unit markings. Most US Army aid men went in unarmed; some carried a carbine anyway. All of them ran toward the gunfire.
• B.A.R. gunner — full-color Browning Automatic Rifle with bipod, M5 assault gas mask bag, B.A.R. magazine pouches, helmet unit insignia, Ranger diamond. The squad’s base of fire.
• Rifleman — M1 Garand with bayonet, bandoliers, M1943 field jacket, M5 assault gas mask bag, Ranger diamond patch
• 100% pad-printed — zero stickers