My name is jared frederick, i am an instructor of history at penn state, and i am a reenactor with the furious fourth World War Ii History group. We are here at the u. S. Army heritage Reeducation Center Education Center in pennsylvania. It is a major complex on the Army Heritage trail. Ranging from the 17th century up to the present. My group is here this weekend to discuss the 75th anniversary of the normandy invasion, which is taking place this summer. We thought it certainly fitting to commemorate that event. Us putting on these old uniforms, wearing old equipment, it certainly gives us a better perspective and if we can impart even a small inkling of that the passersby, then we feel like we have done a good job. The unit we portray is the Fourth Infantry Division. It is a unit overshadowed in the World War Ii History. It was one of the spearhead units involved in the normandy invasion. It was some of the first amphibious troops who were ashore. They waited ashore on utah beach. Unbeknownst to many of them, they had landed on the wrong sector. They had landed half a mile off course. There was a little bit of uncertainty, perhaps hesitation as to exactly what they should do. Theodore roosevelt junior, son of the president , who is the oldest american participant in the invasion, said defiantly we are going to start the war right here. They carried the fight inland to the normandy countryside, where they really began to tally up casualties. The units fought all around mainland europe. They were the First American troops into germany. Unfortunately it inflicted a grim toll. The unit suffered about 250 casualties. There is a perpetual stream of wounded, killed, and then replacements, and their placement after that were being wounded and killed. It was a devastating affair, but many of the men in the unit had the Firm Conviction they needed to do this because there was really no other choice, this was the price of stopping fascism and its spread. As many world war ii veterans say to this very day, it is something that had to be done. 75 years later, that something they firmly believe in. Of course Theodore Roosevelt junior had a long military lineage in his family. His father stormed up San Juan Hill in 19 in 1898. Then a number of years later, Theodore Roosevelt expected all his sons to serve in world war i. The arose about him said that Theodore Roosevelt said util roosevelt said junior really lived up to those expectations. He served in world war i. He was a political rival with cousin Franklin Roosevelt during the great depression. The two cousins put their differences aside. A theater junior wanted to get into the military once again. He served as the first commander in the third infantry division. He served in the big red one, which is one of the big Battle Tested divisions to go into normandy. Roosevelt did not gain a lot of acclaim or trust in the eyes of omar bradley or George Patton. Theodore roosevelt junior had a laidback command persona that wasnt up to snuff with summary who was spit and polish as George Patton was. Omar bradley thought he had gotten too comfortable and too cozy with some of the soldiers, and there wasnt that rigid discipline that makes a good soldier a good soldier. He was removed from command from the third infantry division. He landed a spot as Division Commander in the Fourth Infantry Division in the month prior to the normandy invasion. Roosevelt pleaded with his commander, general barton. He was unceasing. He wanted to because sure with his men. 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, he had very bad arthritis. Nonetheless he went ashore with the fourth of the fourth division. He had a cane in one hand, a revolver and a pistol in another. He stayed with his men through thick and thin. His poor health did catch up with him. He also becomes one of the highest ranking americans to be killed in france as the invasion was ongoing as well. He suffered of a major heart attack right next to the remains of his brother, who was killed in the first world war. We would like to walk you through the camp a little bit and offer perspective. Often when americans think of the Second World War, they think of helmets, think of weapons, think of sherman tanks. It is the subtle small stuff, the everyday stuff that soldiers use on an everyday basis. These units of food that would come for breakfast and dinner and supper were really the staples of the g. I. Diet. There would be a small can of food inside, some crackers and bubblegum and in some instances that would include cigarettes. If they were lucky they might be able to acquire a radio along the way. Folks look at this sort of stuff, it offers them a moment of empathy. When you look at Something Like tooth powder or soap or a razor blade, these are the things we see on our fathers and grandfathers bathroom shelves. It is often everyday stuff that fascinates me. It fascinates visitors as well. We will head over here to our recreation of a rather small g. I. Encampment. Our members are having lunch, chowing down in an authentic way. And american soldiers about 22 years of age. He had gone through the great depression. Wait about 150 pounds. It was used to sacrifice and be short on supplies. The hardship 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. It would be used not only for protection against raining fragments, shells rocks, what have you, a could be used for more things. This is an original helmet. I dont know who used it, but i carry it on in his memory, nonetheless. What manufacturers would do with these still pods, in order to diminish the shine and enhance the chemical, they would mix sand within the green paint. That rough texture you see on the helmet would diminish the shine and offer additional camouflage played camouflage. There are other things a soldier could do as well. He could use it as a digging tool. If he wanted to he could take out the inside liner and use it as a pot. If you are lucky enough to find an egg, you may be able to cook it inside of that. You could use it as a washbasin, hold it underneath you, be able to shave your face, use it as a chair, as a pillow. One of the notable phrases of the Second World War was, helmet for my pillow. Finally, to be used as storage in a way. Something that was popular among the troops were small compact books that were called Armed Services additions. American publishers give these out by the tens of millions during the war. American soldiers love of reading and literacy that they would use after the war to attain Higher Education was really instilled during that time. What they did most as they would put photographs inside. This is actually a photo of my grandmother gertrude and what she looked like during the world war ii years. 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 the man she married at the end of the war as my way of paying small tribute to some of my family history. If i could have an m1 m1 garand please. This is the primary weapon of an american soldier fighting in europe. You could put an eightround block there in the rifle. General patton said this was essentially the weapon that would help when the Second World War. It is quite hefty, quite heavy. It really made a major contribution to the american war effort. Indeed it was used in the korean war and in some circumstances the vietnam war. There are some militaries that have a surplus of these in the active military. As we browse the camp here and look at the equipment, it gives us a sense of the things the soldiers carried. When some of the first initial waves of the normandy invasion took place, a lot of these american combatants had 70, 80, sometimes 90 pounds of gear on them. The codename for the operation was known as operation overlord. It could have been operation overload. Because these guys were packed down like mules. When i talk about the classroom and when a young family comes in, and we dress up a kid in a dda kit to give them a sense of the war, it really lit really weighs down on them physically and psychologically. To think they were wearing 80 pounds of gear. They were being heaved there is 70 feet of water off. They need to waddle up several hundred yards of beach that has landmines and obstacles. It really gives you a humbling perspective of what the dday experience was. You are well to consider this weight of war and the things they carried. As we think about the 75 years later. The american tents that u. S. G. I. Used was in many ways it symbolized the notion of teamwork and the essence of camaraderie. It would be one half of a tent and each soldier would have one half of a tent. You needed to team up with a battle buddy so he could bring his other half. There were variations on this. Sometimes they would get six or eight of them together. If youre in the fall and the winter all those additional people will offer additional body heat. Unfortunately for a lot of guys they move so frequently and quickly that a lot of times they didnt even have the opportunity to set up a tent or encampment perhaps like we have here today. The advance into europe was mountainous and strenuous. It brought about the most enduring hardships that could be imagined. There is a story we like to share with visitors and students. George wilson 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 pealed the skin off his feet. We think of combat, we think of tanks. Its small Human Interest stories like that that illustrate the g. I. Experience more than anything else. Short on supplies, they go into wintertime combat without proper clothing or equipment. It was certainly no vacation. The story of artifacts is nothing without the story of people. When visitors come into our various displays we like to reflect on human elements as well. We have a few tangible reminders of all of that. Most notably are copies of a dday diary that was kept by a lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry Division. This gentleman pictured on the right, his name was sidney. He and his men operated and 81 millimeter mortar, one of which i will be showing you here in a moment as they landed on utah beach. He talks about his men, he is scavenging the beach. Hes looking for pieces of ammunition and equipment needed later along the way. That personal element, it really helps bring history to life and thats one of the fundamental reasons of why we are out here. We see ourselves as an important conduit of sorts in transferring on this knowledge to other people. Another notable individual we see on here is another lieutenant who is named bill chapman. He operated, he and his men and an 81 millimeter mortar. He offers all sorts of unique perspectives and books written about him. Later on in the war, the Fourth Infantry Division served in a forest. They were lucky enough to survive it, they called it the death factory because it was this perpetual Conveyor Belt of men being sent to the front lines almost needlessly or heedlessly. Mr. Chapman was one of the lucky survivors of the carnage. As a lot of the servicemembers were working their way across european continents, something that gave them added information was things like this. This is a reproduction of stars stripes, which was the official army newspaper, still in publication to this very day. This issue is a copy from june 7, 1944. There were two big events that happened there, one is overshadowed. Just two days before the invasion of normandy to place, the city of rome was also liberated. There was a mad dash for the headlines, who would grab the most attention, grab the most news. Their Commanding Officer was a bit jealous by the level of headlines the normandy invasion grabbed. Indeed there were 150,000 troops involved. Soldiers got somewhat fragmentary reports here in this early addition, talking about the invasion. Periodicals underscored the bigger point about why americans believe they were fighting this war. They saw freedom of speech, the freedom of press and the sanctity of journalism and literacy is a fundamental element of why they were fighting this war. They are access to information and 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 general eisenhower issued to his troops on the eve of the day. It is a short concise address. This was issued in leaflet form to the troops. He also delivered a radio address, where he outlines this as well. In many ways it could be considered the 1944 equivalent of the jersey address. Eisenhower saying we have a fight to continue. The consequences of not doing so or losing it are too horrific to take into contention. Much like slavery needed to be destroyed, fascism and the form of slavery that came with it was something that needed to be defeated. His men took this message to heart. Eisenhower developed a strong esprit de core with american soldiers. He cared about them and they knew it. It was one reason they fought so hard and diligently on his behalf. 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 mention this in our talks prior to this. My good friend mike and andy are going to tell us a little bit about that. Here to talk to you about the 81 millimeter mortar. This was designed by the french in the 30s. The u. S. Army got a hold of it. Up until that point, they couldnt really move around the battlefield. Once they got in place they sat there. The mortars could sit there, it wasnt a big deal. The germans had a similar weapon, they fired an eight centimeter mortar. One millimeters smaller than ours. We could fire their rounds out of hours, week they couldnt fire our rounds out of theirs. Three men would carry this in different pieces. You have the barrel, the bipod and the base down here. Each piece weighs 43 pounds. One guy would carry each piece and one guy carrying all the ammo. The small around here, these are the m 43 rounds. This round could go 3300 yards and it was used for antipersonnel vehicle. You have increment charges in the end. Thats what produces the blast that propels the mortar round out of the two. The second this touches anything its going to explode. This bigger round we have here is 56. And the m 56 had a delayed fuse. And that is good for shooting outbuildings, bunkers, any fortified structure that the germans might have been in. It enters through the roof and its a millisecond before it explodes inside the building. They also had a similar round. It was a full White Phosphorus used two obscure vision. Once the White Phosphorus hits the air it burns and burns and burns. They used it to create casualties. We have a life belt inflated. When the troops landed on dday some of us would put these on their packages of ammo so if they dropped the, ammo in the channel it would float and they could retrieve it easily. A gun like this would be used in all kinds of operations, battalion commanders and infantry regiments. They called this hip pocket artillery. They would consult many groups together for a density of fire. This Weapon System was carried by an eightman squad. You had a gunner, two assistant gunners and a squad leader. 18 rounds a minute was the maximum they could afford before it overheated. We hope that offers insider perspective on the daily trials and tragedies and triumphs that American World war ii soldiers went through. A number of world war ii veterans have actually come into our camp. They are the reason we are out here. We are here to hear their stories firsthand, and impart them to other generations. We certainly encourage viewers to do much of the same thing. We thank you for and visiting for visiting our encampment today. What regimen were you in . 26. Thats my reenactment group. He saw the raising of the flag on iwo jima. I was a work a firstclass soldier. Our ship was damaged the night before by a kamikaze attack. The last Aircraft Carrier were sunk alongside our ship. Watching those marines with those flamethrowers mopping up those tunnels the navy in the marines never got along well during the war, it was always a fight. We learned to love the marines that day. I was 19 at the time. And for the first time it hit me why these why we kids were willing to die for that magnificent flag. And we did two thirds of this, never left the island. Thank you gentlemen. Thank you for coming to visit us today. Every july for 25 years, the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee has hosted a civil war reenactment and living history village depicting camp life. We visit a union army surgeon and and ballmer and talk to and embalmer