Anniversary of the normandy invasion, which is taking place this summer, and we thought it certainly fitting to commemorate that event and us putting on these old uniforms, wearing old equipment, it certainly gives us a better perspective and appreciation of what the greatest generation went through. And if we can impart even a small inkling of that to passers by and families who come visit this place, then we feel that weve done a fairly good job. The unit that we portray is the Fourth Infantry Division, and its a unit thats sometimes overshadowed in the realm of world war ii history, but nonetheless, it was one of the spearhead units that was involved in the normandy invasion. It was some of the first amphibious troops who were ashore, and they waded ashore on utah beach. Unbeknown unbeknownst to many of them at that time they had actually landed on the wrong sector. They had landed about a half a mile offcourse and there was a little bit of uncertainty, perhaps hesitation as to what exactly they should do, but the assistant Division Commander, Theodore Roosevelt jr. , son of the president who was the oldest american participant in the invasion said very defiantly, were going to start the war right here, and indeed that is what they did. They carried the fight inland into the normandy countryside where they really began to tally up casualties. The unit fought all throughout mainland europe. They were the First American troops into paris. They were the First American troops into germany, but unfortunately it inflicted a very grim toll. The unit and its entirety throughout the war suffered about 250 casualties. There was just a perpetual stream of wounded, killed, and then their replacements and sometimes replacements after that were being killed and wounded as well. It was an absolutely devastating affair, but many of the men in the unit had the Firm Conviction that they needed to do this because there was really no other choice. This was the price of stopping fascism and its spread, and as many world war ii veterans say to this very day, its something that had to be done, and 75 years later thats something that they still firmly believe in. Of course, Theodore Roosevelt jr. Had a long military lineage in his family. His father, of course, stormed up San Juan Hill in 1898 during the spanish american war, and then a number of years later, Theodore Roosevelt expected all of his sons to serve in world war i, and Theodore Roosevelt said of his sons, he said i would look upon them with shame if they didnt serve in the same way i would look upon my daughters with shame if they didnt have children. So those were kind of the two expectations for Theodore Rooseve roosevelts kids, and junior really lived up to those expectations. He served in world war i. He was in fact, a political rival with cousin Franklin Rose vel roosevelt during the great depression. Theodore jur. Wanted to get int the military again. Initially he served as a commander in the first infantry division, and he served in the big red one, which was one of the few Battle Tested divisions to go into normandy. However, roosevelt didnt gain a lot of acclaim or trust in the eyes of omar bradley or george patt patton. Theodore roosevelt jr. Had a very laid back command persona and that wasnt up to snuff for somebody as spit and polish as patton was. Om omar bradley thought he got a little too comfortable and laid back with some of the soldiers. And there wasnt the rigid discipline. He was removed from command in the first infantry division. He wasnt down and out, and he landed a spot as the assistant Division Commander in the Fourth Infantry Division in the months immediately prior to the normandy invasion, and roosevelt pleaded with his commander, genere monday tubby barton, that was his name, his nickname, and he was just unceasing. You know, he wanted to go ashore with his men, and barton finally acquiesced and barton realized at that moment that this is probably going to be the end of this general. His health was failing. He was suffering from chest pains, and he wasnt telling anybody about it. He had very bad arthritis. His mobility in some cases was very limited, but nonetheless, he went ashore with the Fourth Division and one of the secondary waves on june 6th. He had a cane in one hand. He had a revolver, a pistol in the other, and he stayed with his men through, you know, thick and thin. He rode around in his jeep which was called rough rider which was named after his fathers unit. Unfortunately, though his poor health did catch up with him. Only a few weeks after the invasion he suffered a fatal heart attack and he also becomes one of the highest ranking americans to be killed in france as the invasion was ongoing as well, and he rests in the normandy American Cemetery to this very day right next to the remains of his brother quinton who was killed in the first world war. So right now we would like to walk us or walk you through our camp here a little bit and perhaps offer a little bit of perspective on the gi experience. So well start here around the back. Now, often when americans think of the second world war, they think of helmets. They think of weapons. They think of sherman tanks, but war is this stuff, too. It is the subtle, small stuff. As they were out in the hedge rows of france in 1944, and these units of food that would come for breakfast, dinner, and supper were really the staple of the gi diet, and often there would be a small can of food inside, some crackers, some bubble gum, and in other instances they would even include cigarettes, which was actually part of the ration. If they were lucky, they might be able to acquire a radio along the way, but you know, when folks look at this sort of stuff, it offers them a moment of empathy, you know. When you look at Something Like tooth powder or soap or a razor blade, these were the things that, you know, we would see on our fathers and grandfathers, you know, bathroom shelves, you know, as we were growing. Its often the common everyday stuff that fascinate mis me and sometimes fascinates visitors as well. So well talk a little bit more about magazines, about the press, about newspapers at the time as well at one of our later stops. So well head over here to our recreation of a rather small gi encampment, and as you can see our members here are having lunch, chowing down in a very authentic way. Also very authentic to nap as well, a very common staple of the gi experience there, too. And you know, on average an american soldier was about 22 years of able, weighed about 150 pounds. He had gone will ythrough the g depression. He was used to sacrifice and perhaps being short on supplies, and unfortunately that Economic Hardship well prepared a lot of American Youth for the forthcoming struggles in this global war. Among some of the most iconic features of the american uniform is the helmet itself, and for all intents and purposes, this was the home of the american gi, and it was a multipurpose tole. It would be used not only for protection against raining fragments, shells, this is an original helmet. I do not know who used it. But, i carry it on in his memory, nonetheless. What manufacturers would do with this pod, in order to diminish the shine and enhance the camouflage of it, they would actually mix sand within the green paint and that rough texture that you see on the helmet would diminish the shine and offer some additional camouflage. There are a lot of other things that a soldier could do with this, as well. He could use it as a digging tool. If he wanted to, he could take out the inside liner and he could use it as a pod. If you are looking enough to find an egg, he could cook it inside of that. Also, you could use it as a washbasin, hold it right underneath you, be able to shave your face, use it as a chair, use it as a pillow, one of the really notable phrases of the second world war, a well known memoir, a helmet for my pillow. Finally it could be used as storage, and away. Something that was really popular among the troops, small compact books that were called Armed Services missions. American publishers gave these out by the tens of millions during the war. American soldiers love of reading and literacy, that they would later use after the war to use the g. I. Bill and attain Higher Education was really instilled during that time. They could shove those books in here, but what they did most, they would put photographs inside. This is actually a photo of my grandmother, gertrude. And what she looks like during the world war ii years. Like many Young American women, she married a world war ii veteran when he came home from the service. I carry this photo, not only in honor of her, but in honor of the man that she married at the end of the war. That is my way of paying small tribute to some of my family history. If i could have an and one grant , i will show them the this was the primary weapon of an american soldier that was fighting in europe. This could be slid back like this. You could put a, an eight round block there within the rifle. General patton said that this was the weapon that would help when the, during the second world war. It is quite hefty and heavy, all things considered, but it really made a major contribution to the american war effort. Indeed, it was used on through the korean war and even in some circumstances, the vietnam war. There are some militaries to this very day that have surplus of these and still use them in their active military. Thank you very much. As we browse the camp here and look at all the equipment, it really gives us a sense of the thing that these soldiers carried. When the first of the initial waves of normandy took place, a lot of these combatants had 70 90 pounds of gear on them. A lot of this was named as operation overlord. In my mind they could be named operation overload. I talked about that when a young family comes and we might dress up in a dday kit to give them a sense of the weight of war. It is something i do in the classroom. It really weighs down on them. To think that they were wearing 80 pounds of gear, they are being heaved off the Landing Craft into seven feet of water while people are shooting at them and then they need to waddle up several hundred yards of beach that has landmines and obstacles all throughout it, you take that into consideration , it gives you a humbling perspective on what the dday experience was. Not only for americans but also for the british, french and canadian troops. They stormed the shore that day, as well. We do well to consider this weight of war and the things that they carried as we think about this 75 years later. The americans tent that the u. S. G. I. S used was called the shoulder tent. In many ways, it symbolized the notion of teamwork, the very essence of camaraderie. There would be one half of a tent and each soldier would have one half. In order to have a full tent, you needed to team up with a battle buddy. There were a lot of different variations on this and how they used it. The tents got as large as creativity and materials would allow american soldiers. Sometimes they would get 68 of them together to make really big tents. Then you could pile a lot of guys into it. In the fall or winter, all those additional people inside a tent will offer additional body heat, might keep you a little bit warmer. Unfortunately for a lot of guys, they moved so frequently and so quickly that a lot of times they did not even have the opportunity to set up a tent or an encampment perhaps like we have here today. As the advance into europe was monotonous, strenuous, brought about some of the most enduring hardships that could be imagined. There is one story of an american lieutenant that we often like to share with visitors and students. The Fourth Infantry Division soldier by the name of george wilson. He wore the same pair of socks for five months. He never once had the opportunity to take off his shoes and wash his feet. Come spring of 1945 when he finally had an opportunity to bathe, he went to take off his socks and it peeled the skin off his feet. When we think of world war ii, we think of combat, larger planes, tanks, but really it is a small Human Interest stories like that which will illustrate the g. I. Experience more than anything else. They are short on supplies, they go into wintertime combat without the proper clothing or equipment and it was certainly no vacation. The story of artifacts, of course, is nothing without the story of people. When visitors come into our various displays, would like them to reflect upon that human element, as well. Here on this board, we have a few tangible reminders of all of that. Perhaps most notably, our copy of a dday diary that was kept by a lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry Division. This gentleman pictured over here on the right. His name was sidney months. He and his men operated an 81 millimeter mortar. One of which we will be showing you here in a moment. They landed on utah beach. Some of the words he has to offer about his experiences are quite profound. He talks about his men and his comrades falling to his left and his right. His scavenging the beach for pieces of ammunition and equipment that he can pick up and that he knows he will need later along the way. Once more, that personal element , it really helps bring history to light. That is really one of the fundamental reasons of why we are out here, to impart this knowledge to younger generations who maybe have an opportunity to speak with a world war ii veteran. Another notable individual that we see on here, another lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry Division. His name was bill chapman. Like sydney, he operated, he and his men an 81 millimeter mortar. He offers all sorts of unique perspectives theres a book that was recently written about him. Later on in the Fourth Infantry Division, they served in a place called the harkin forest. For those that were lucky enough to survive it, they called it the death factory. It was like a perpetual Conveyor Belt of men being sent to the front lines, almost needlessly or heedlessly. Mr. Chapman was one of the lucky survivors of that carnage. Has a lot of these servicemembers were working their way across the european continents, some things that gave them some added inspiration or information was things like this. This is a reproduction of Stars Stripes which was the official army newspaper. It is still in publication to this very day. This issue is a copy from june 7, 1944. There were two really big events that happened there. In the first week of june, one of them is a bit overshadowed. Just two days before the invasion of normandy took place , the city of rome was also laura, liberated. There was a mad dash for the headlines. Who would grab the most attention, who would grab the most news, unfortunately for those serving in italy, the Commanding Officer was a bit jealous by the level of headlines the normandy invasion grabbed. Indeed, there were about 150,000 troops involved in those opening phases. Soldiers got somewhat fragmentary reports here in this early at addition to my talking about the invasion. Periodicals like this really underscored a bigger point about why americans believe they were fighting this war. They saw freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and really the sanctity of journalism and literacy as a fundamental element of why they were fighting this war. Their access to information, their access to books, they truly believed that was part of the democratic notion that represented their country. In some ways, those notions are outlined in the speech that general eisenhower issued to his troops on the eve of the day. It is a very short, concise address. This was issued by the tens of thousands in leaflet form to the troops. He also delivered a radio address where he outlined this, as well. In many ways, it could be considered the 1944 equivalent of the gettysburg address. Eisenhower saying we have a fight to continue, it is a horrible fight, but it must go on because the consequences of not doing so or losing it are almost too horrific to take into contention. Much like how slavery needed to be destroyed, fascism in the form of slavery that came with it was also something that needed to be defeated. So, his men took this message to heart. Eisenhower developed a really strong esprit de corps with american soldiers. He cared about them and he knew it. That was one reason why they fought so hard and so diligently on his behalf. Of course, the harder they fight the war, the sooner the war will be over. Another element i would like to show you is a weapon that we have over here. This is an 81 millimeter mortar. I mentioned this a little bit in some of our talks prior to all of this. My good friends mike and andy are going to tell us a little bit about that. Hello, everybody, i am here to talk to you about the 81 millimeter mortar. This was actually designed by the french in the 30s. The u. S. Army got a hold of it, they really liked the idea because up until that point, mortars were not really transferable. Once they got into place, they sat there. World war i was a lot more stagnant than world war ii, also, they knew that they wanted have a more mobile war and this fit the bill. The germans had a similar weapon and fired an eight symbol, centimeter mortar. We could fire their rounds out of ours, but they cannot fire their rounds out of ours. We designed this on the street from the french version. We also designed a 60 millimeter version. Three men would carry this in different pieces you can see here. You have the barrel, the bipod and the base laid down here. Each piece weighs about 43 pounds. So, one guy would carry each piece and then you have a bunch of guys carrying all the ammo that you see here to my right the smaller rounds here, these are the m 43 rounds. These are semiwaterproof. This round could go about 3300 yards and it was used for anti personnel, and highlight vehicle. It is what the crew would use. You have increment charges in the end and that is what produces the blast that propels the mortar round out of the two. The second this touches anything, it will explode once it leaves the tube. The big around we have here bigger around we have here, is the m 56. It had a delayed fuse. That is good for shooting at buildings, bunkers, any fortified structure that the germans might have been in enters through the roof and its like a millisecond before it explodes inside the building. This had a shorter range about 2400 yards. They also had a similar round, it was called the m 57. It was the White Phosphorus used to obscure vision for the enemy. It also created casualties. Once that hits the air, it burns and burns and burns. They used it to create casuals, casualties, too. We have a life belt inflated. When the troops landed on d day, some of them would put some of these on the packages of ammo so that when, if the fact that they dropped the ammo in the channel, it would float and they could retrieve it easily. They would also be issued these shorter pads to carry the heavy loads and ammunition on their shoulders. Back to the gun. A gun like this would be used in all kinds of operations. Battalion commanders and infantry regiments. They called this hip pocket artillery. They could go anywhere in the battlefield and shoot whenever they needed it. At times, they would consolidate many groups together for a lot of density of fire. Other times they would dispatch two motor guns themselves. This Weapon System was carried by an eight man squad. You had your gunner, two assistant donors, a squad leader and the rest carried the ammunition. These would go through a lot of ammunition if they wanted. 18 rounds a minute was the maximum they could fire before it overheated. We hope that offers a little insider perspective on some of the daily trials and tragedies and triumphs that American World war ii soldiers went through. As we have been talking here, a number of world war ii veterans have actually come into our camp. They are the reason why we are out here. We are here to listen to their stories firsthand and impart them to other generations. We certainly encourage viewers to do much of the same thing. We think you for coming to visit our encampment today. I want to get a picture here good man what regimen were you in . 18, six. That is my reenactment group. Begin let me get a picture. He saw the raising of the flag on iwo jima. I am dick donald. I was a firstclass soldier. Our ship was damaged the night before by a kamikaze attack. The last Aircraft Carrier was sunk alongside our ship. We had to put the bow in on the beach. Watching those marines with those flamethrowers in the tunnels, it is amazing marines never got along well in the war. It was always a fight. But we learned to love the marines in that day. And then all of a sudden come up goes that flag. I was 19 at the time and for the First Time Since the invasion, it hit me why we kids were willing to die for that magnificent flag and we did. And we did. Two thirds of us never left the island. Only two guys from the flag raising walked off the island. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for coming to visit us today. This is a special edition of American History tv. A sample of the compelling history programs the air every weekend on American History tv like lectures in history, american artifacts, real america, the civil war, oral histories, the presidency, and special event coverage about our nations history. Enjoy American History to the now and every weekend on cspan 3. Wednesday, American History tv looks at the 80th anniversary of the stonewall riots. History mark stein joined us from the stonewall amount, National Monument in new york citys Greenwich Village to talk about the protests starting in june 1969 which became a turning point for guy rights in the u. S. The stonewall riots starting at eight p. M. Eastern here on cspan 3. This Holiday Weekend on American History tv, saturday at 10 pm on real america, the 1970 film, honor america day, the july 4 celebration of the National Mall featured comedian bob hope and the reverend ellie graham. Without freedom of the press, and open communication system, we dont sleep under the rug. If racial tension exists, in france occur, the whole world knows about it. Instead of an iron curtain, we have a picture window. Sunday at 6 pm on american artifacts, living history hobbyist hall portrays a soviet cavalry officer and discusses the soviet unions role in world war ii. One month before dday, we had been occupying 65 , maybe, of the best german troops fighting us. If we had not done that, if they had not failed, if we had failed at moscow, stalingrad, all of those trips could well have been on the normandy beaches and it could have been a different outcome. So, the strata has to be told is of the significant contribution to the war. Watch this on American History tv on cspan 3. The house will be in order. For 40 years cspan has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court and Public Policy events from washington, d. C. And around the country so you can make up your own mind. Created by cable in 1979, c span has been brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. Cspan, your unfiltered view of government. Hughlett surprised winning author Rick Atkinson discusss the dday legacy. He is the author of the guns at last light the war in western europe, 19441945. The final book in his world war ii trilogy. The Atlanta History Center and the World War Ii Foundation hosted the event. It is just over an hour