WAR, THE: EPISODE 2: WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH (TV) {LETTERBOX}
Summary
Part two 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, Olga Ciarlo of Waterbury recalls how her middle brother, Corado -- nicknamed "Babe" -- was drafted in 1943, which led to "very hard times" for her family, having followed the recent death of Olga and Babe's father. Throughout his service, Babe continued to write letters to Olga and his mother detailing his exploits. In Mobile, Katharine Phillips tells how she was always encouraged by the uplifting tone voiced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his radio broadcasts.
Ward Chamberlin of Waterbury tells how the army's expertise dramatically improved once they began their campaign in North Africa. The fighting became more intense as Americans were forced to battle the forces of German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, a.k.a. The Desert Fox. Charles Mann of Luverne tells about taking part in battles against Rommel. Paul Fussell of Pasadena recalls the specific hardships faced by Americans in the infantry. However, when Allies' supplies outlasted those of the Axis, Rommel pulled back. Meanwhile, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in General George S. Patton, who experienced immediate success by surrounding the German and Italian armies in Tunisia. Mann recalls almost dying after being wounded in the fighting there. After three months of combat, the Axis troops surrendered in North Africa.
Meanwhile, American factories were experiencing a resurgence of business, as in Mobile, where the output of World War II supplies kept work thriving. Clyde Odum of Mobile describes the intensity of the days at the plants. Emma Belle Pitcher of Mobile recalls how she became adept at being able to fix machinery, which led to her working in a factory and making airplane parts, then becoming a supervisor. However, John Gray of Mobile tells how being a black man in the community still meant facing many problems with white citizens.
Sascha Weinheizmer of Sacramento recalls how, as a youth, she and her family joined her father in a prisoner-of-war camp in Manila, where they spent years experiencing "horrific" treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors. She states, however, that the prisoners formed their own community, rules, and regulations to govern themselves. In Sacramento, American born Robert Kashiwagi recalls being brutally discriminated against due to his Asian ancestry. He tells of tough conditions in the internment camps to which all Asian-Americans were relocated. Though agreeing that conditions were "rough," Asaka Tokuno of Sacramento tells how she and her family "made it work."
Sam Hynes of Luverne talks about the specific trials of being an Air Force pilot, and that many of his friends were killed in the air throughout World War II's duration. Earl Burke of Sacramento tells of getting a telegram stating that his brother had been killed in an air crash while stationed in Puerto Rico; Burke then enrolled in the army. While taking part in raids in B-17s over Germany, Burke bombed German submarine facilities in Nantes on the French coast. He recalls that most of the citizens of Nantes were killed, but the submarines remained intact due to faulty equipment to determine target locations. Two consequent bombings of a ball bearing factory in Schweinfurt, Germany, proved equally ill-fated, with Burke being injured in the second mission. Nurse Emily Lewis recalls seeing the scores of dead airmen that took part in the followup flight; she also outlines the challenges of treating the many wounded.
Jim Sherman of Luverne reflects on the joys and bittersweet feelings that occurred whenever a soldier returned home on leave. He also explains how a colored star was put in the window of a residence to signify it as the home of a soldier, or the home of a now-deceased soldier. In addition, rationing of food, gasoline, and other "luxuries" soon began -- as well as black markets to secure all of the goods.
Glenn Frazier of Mobile tells what it was like to be a Japanese prisoner-of-war near Osaka, forced to obey orders though issued in a language not understood. He recalls the unsanitary food and conditions in the jail, as well as forced labor, beatings, and contracting double pneumonia.
The narrative resumes with Patton taking American troops through western Sicily, then meeting up with the squads of Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery. Dwain Luce of Montgomery tells how the men were always cheered by a visit from Patton, described by Luce as "one of our favorites." Shortly after an Allied victory was declared in Sicily, National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was deposed by his own generals, after which Italy declared war on Germany. In another three months, Naples had fallen to the Allies. Babe Ciarlo was among those pressing on to Rome, 150 miles away.
When Burke was wounded a second time by shrapnel, his arm was saved when a physician applied maggots to eat the poison in his system. Fifteen months later, he recovered and returned to his parents in Sacramento. In the meantime, the Allies were now making plans for their long-delayed assault on the Continent, intent on invading France once securing a victory in Italy. Includes three program-sponsored commercials.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: September 24, 2007 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:54:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 101213
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: World War II
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 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
- Adam Arkin … Voice
- Bobby Cannavale … Voice
- Kevin Conway … Voice
- Rebecca Holtz … Voice
- Eli Wallach … Voice
- Earl Burke
- Ward Chamberlin
- Corado "Babe" Ciarlo
- Olga Ciarlo
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Glenn Frazier
- Paul Fussell
- John Gray
- Sam Hynes
- Robert Kashiwagi
- Emily Lewis
- Dwain Luce
- Charles Mann
- Bernard Law Montgomery
- Benito Musolini
- Clyde Odum
- George S. Patton
- Katharine Phillips
- Emma Belle Pitcher
- Erwin Rommel
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Jim Sherman
- Sascha Weinheimer
- Asaka Tokuno