WAR, THE: EPISODE 4: PRIDE OF OUR NATION (TV) {LETTERBOX}
Summary
Part four of seven. One in this series of documentaries which uses archival footage and photos, present-day interviews with veterans, and celebrity readings of soldiers' letters and related material to tell how citizens in four American towns -- Luverne, Minnesota; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and Waterbury, Connecticut -- experienced World War II.
As the program opens, Quentin Aanenson of Luverne recalls saying his goodbyes to family members before flying off for assignment in Europe. He tells how he informed his sister that he would probably be killed during D-Day maneuvers. Joseph Vaghi of Bethel, Connecticut, endured a similarly tearful farewell with his parents before departure. However, he says that he proceeded "without fear."
Under General Dwight Eisenhower, plans were made for a massive assault on the French coast, with paratroopers and planes preceding a flotilla of ships, with American forces scheduled to land at Utah and Omaha beaches on June 6, 1944. Paul Fussell of Pasadena tells about the experience of killing from an infantry member's viewpoint. Dwain Luce of Mobile explains his role as captain of the 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion -- whose participation in Phase One of D-Day was deemed crucial to the plan's success. Upon landing in France, Luce struggled to hold his ground at Sainte Mare-Eglise against the Germans, meanwhile waiting for the Americans to land on Utah Beach. He recalls the situation as being "a mess ... terrible."
Later that morning, Aanenson was among the 11,000 war planes flying into the Normandy area via Omaha Beach, which marked his first combat mission. Vaghi was on one of the 5,300 ships crossing the English Channel for Normandy, as he was assigned to get men and supplies onto Omaha Beach. Infantry member Walter Ehlers of Junction City, Kansas, says that Vaghi, who was also on his first mission, wasn't afraid because he didn't realize what was ahead of him. Ehlers, who was also among those directed to Omaha Beach, explains why a series of misguided military plans turned the locale into the most dangerous landing for Americans. He tells of his shock at seeing so many of his colleagues' corpses in the water and on the shore. Vaghi says it was "a killing zone" as the men were continually fired upon and had nowhere to take cover.
Later, after American ships disobeyed their orders and began firing at the German artillery, Americans finally were able to move inland and attack German strongholds from the side and rear. After six hours of fighting, German resistance began to weaken. By the end of the day, approximately 2,500 American soldiers had been killed, including Ehler's brother, Roland. The narrative then tells how the news affected towns like Waterbury and Luverne, as well as the reactions of soldiers in the South Pacific. There, plans turned toward invading Saipan and Guam. Ray Pittman of Mobile was among those preparing to attack Saipan. He tells how Japanese gunfire kept the Americans pinned down on shore after their landing.
In Santo Tomas, a Manila-based concentration camp in the Philippines, Sascha Weinzheimer of Sacramento tells of the deplorable conditions, and how she was forced at age eleven to pose for a propaganda photograph with her brother to indicate how "charitably" inmates were being treated. Glenn Frazier of Mobile tells what it was like to be a prisoner-of-war in the Philippines, with his family assuming that he was dead. He also tells of getting gangrene after a Japanese soldier put a bayonet through his knee in punishment for not stepping high enough during marching drills.
In France, days after the Omaha Beach invasion, Aanenson was overwhelmed by the number of American corpses he was still retrieving from the surf. Once returning to the air, Aanenson helped U.S. forces to dominate the skies. Conditions were worse on the ground. Newsman Ernie Pyle documented the troubles encountered by U.S. soldiers as they tried to advance through the heavily-fortified Normandy countryside. Luce states that one "had to respect" the German forces for being "so damned good at causing us so much trouble." Nurse Emily Lewis tells of trying to help the many maimed and wounded troopers. To keep the Allies' efforts from stalling in France, General Omar Bradley directed his men toward less dense countryside in the village of Saint-Lo, about fifteen miles away.
Back in Mobile, Katharine Phillips tells how life was put "on hold" for everyone as the war continued. She says her life couldn't resume until the safe return of her brother Sidney. Meanwhile, the Battle of the Philippine Sea was taking place, in which Japanese ships tried to reinforce troops on Saipan, but were intercepted by American planes. Maurice Bell of Mobile tells of being part of that battle, and finding satisfaction when the Japanese fleet had to retreat. On Saipan, remaining Japanese troopers opted to die fighting rather than surrender. Marine pilot Sam Hynes of Luverne talks about the Japanese fighting ethic, and how they were far tougher soldiers than the Germans or Italians. Pittman tells of many civilians in Saipan committing suicide by jumping off cliffs, fearing that they would be "eaten" by Americans.
Daniel Inouye of Honolulu, Hawaii, recalls how, after finally being allowed to join the army, he felt "pleasure" at his first killing. Though Rome had fallen to the Allies, the war in Italy continued, spearheaded by a troop of Japanese-American soldiers which included Sacramento residents Robert Kashiwagi and Susumu Satow. They tell of a pivotal battle in which they came under German fire. Inouye then tells of how he violently overreacted to a surrendering German soldier, later forcing him to seek out a chaplain's counsel. Barbara Perkins of Sacramento discusses the difficulty of keeping track of loved ones overseas. Burt Wilson of Sacramento recalls how, as a child, he saw countless families suffer after getting telegrams detailing a loved one's death.
In Germany, Saint-Lo soon fell to the Americans, with Allied victories in France subsequently mounting and causing Germans to retreat to their homeland. By August, after four years of German occupation, Paris was finally liberated by the Allies. Includes three program-sponsored commercials.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: September 26, 2007 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:06:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 101229
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: World War II
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 2007
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Anheuser-Busch beer
- TV - Commercials - Bank of America banking
- TV - Commercials - General Motors products
CREDITS
- Ken Burns … Executive Producer, Producer, Director
- Pam Tubridy Baucom … Coordinating Producer
- Lynn Novick … Producer, Director
- Sarah Botstein … Producer
- Delfeayo Marsalis … Producer
- Karen Kenton … Producer
- Peter Miller … Co-Producer
- David McMahon … Co-Producer
- Meghan Horvath … Associate Producer
- Taylor Krauss … Associate Producer
- Dayton Duncan … Consulting Producer
- Vivian Connolly … Animation Producer
- Ben Spivak … Animation Producer
- Geoffrey C. Ward … Writer
- Wynton Marsalis … Music by
- Keith David … Narrator
- Tom Hanks … Voice
- Kevin Conway … Voice
- Rebecca Holtz … Voice
- Samuel L. Jackson … Voice
- Robert Wahlberg … Voice
- Quentin Aanenson
- Maurice Bell
- Omar Bradley
- Roland Ehlers
- Walter Ehlers
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Glenn Frazier
- Paul Fussell
- Sam Hynes
- Daniel Inouye
- Robert Kashiwagi
- Emily Lewis
- Dwain Luce
- Barbara Perkins
- Katharine Phillips
- Sidney Phillips
- Ray Pittman
- Ernie Pyle
- Susumu Satow
- Joseph Vaghi
- Sascha Weinzheimer
- Burt Wilson