Intense combat at the battle at reservoir where he was captured. Watch korean war oral histories tonight beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan 3. Enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan 3. My name is jared frederick. Im an instructor of history at penn state al tuna and also a reenactor with the living history group. And we are here at Army Heritage days at the u. S. Army heritage and Education Center in carlisle, pennsylvania. And at this event, it is a major complex. Were here on the Army Heritage trail. One can find reenactors or living historians from all different time periods, ranging from the 17th century up to the present. My group, though, is here this weekend to discuss the 75th 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 for what the greatest generation went through. And if we can impart even a small inkling of that to passersby and families who come visit this place, then we feel weve done a fairly good job. The unit 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 involved in the normandy invasion. It was some of the first amphibious troops who were ashore and they waded ashore on utah beach. Unbeknownst to many of them at that time they had landed on the wrong sector. They had landed about half a mile off course, and there was a 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. The First American troops into germany. But unfortunately it inflicted a very grim toll, the unit in its entirety throughout the war suffered about 250 casualties. There is just a perpetual stream of wounded, killed and then their replacements and sometimes replacements after that were being killed and wounded as well. So 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 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 spanishamerican 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 i would look upon them with shame if they didnt serve in the same way i would look upon my daughters if they didnt have children. So those are the two expectations of Theodore Roosevelts kids. And junior lived up to that expectation. He served in world war i. He was in fact a political rival with cousin Franklin Roosevelt during the great depression. But when world war ii started, the two cousins put their differences aside. Theodore jr. Wanted to get into the military once 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 paton. Theodore roosevelt jr. Had a very laid back command persona and that wasnt up to snuff with somebody who was spitting polished as george paton was. And omar bradley thought he got a little too comfortable and perhaps too cozy and laid back with some of the soldiers and there wasnt that rigid discipline that makes a good soldier a good soldier. So he was removed from command in the First Infantry Division that he wasnt down and out and he landed a spot as the First AssistantDivision Commander in the Fourth Division in the months prior to the normandy invasion. And roosevelt pleaded with his commander general raymond tubby barton. That was his name. That was his nickname. And he was just unceasing, and, he wanted to go ashore with his men. And barton finally acquiesced, and barton realized at that moment 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 in 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, of course, 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 on going as well. And he rests in the normandy American Cemetery to this very day right next to the remains of his brother, quintan, who was killed in the first world war. So right now we would like to walk us walk you through our camp here a little bit and perhaps offer a little bit of perspective on the g. I. Experience. And well start here around the back. Now, often when americans think of the Second World War they think of helmets, they think of weapons, think of sherman tanks, but war is this stuff, too. It is the subtle small stuff, the every day stuff that soldiers used on an every day basis. And they certainly werent eating five star meals as they were out in france in 1944, and these units of food that would come for breakfast, dinner and supper were really the staple of the g. I. Diet, and often there would be a small can of food inside, some crackers, some bubblegum and in some 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 razer blade, these were the things that, you know, we would see on our fathers and grandfathers bathroom shelves, you know, as we were growing up. Its often the common everyday stuff that fascinates 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 g. I. 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 g. I. Experience, too. And on average an american soldier was about 22 years of age, weighed about 150 pounds. He had gone through the great depression. He was used to sacrifice and perhaps being short on supplies. And unfortunately that Economic 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. And for all intents and purposes, this was the home of the american g. I. , and it was a multipurpose tool. It would be used not only for protection against raining fragments, shells, splinters, rocks, what have you, he could also use it for a lot more things. And this is an original helmet, and i dont know who used it. But i carry it on in his memory nonetheless. What manufactures would do with the steel pots, 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. Now, 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 pot because after all it was a steel pot. If you were lucky enough to find an egg you might be able to cook it inside of that. And 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 really well known memoir helmet for my pillow. And then finally it could be used as storage in a way. Something that was really popular among the troops were small compact books called Armed Service editions. And american publishers gave these out by the tens of millions during the war. And 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 i think was really instilled during that time. So they can shove those books in here. But what they did most is they would put photographs inside, and this is actually a photo of my grandmother, gurtrude, and what she looked like during the world war ii years, and 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 she married at the end of the war. And its my way of paying small tribute to some of my family history. And if i could have an m1 grand, please, ill show them that. Thank you. 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 8round block there within the rifle. And, you know, general paton said that this was essentially the weapon that would help win the Second World War. Quite hefty. Quite heavy all things considered, but it really made a and, indeed, it was used on through the korean war and even in some circumstances the vietnam war. And 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, you know, just kind of browse the camp here and look at all of the equipment, it really gives us a sense of the things that these 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. And the code name for the operation that they were participating in was known as operation overlord. In my view, though, it could have well have been named operation overload because these guys were packed down like mules. And when i talk about this in the classroom or sometime when a young family comes in we might dress up a young person in a dday kit to give them a sense of the weight of war, so to speak, and its something i do in the classroom, too. And, you know, it really, you know, weighs down on them, both physically and psychologically. You know, to think that they were wearing 80 pounds of gear, theyre being heaved off the Landing Craft into seven feet of water, while people are shooting at them, they then need to waddle up several hundred yards of beach that has land mines and obstacles all throughout it. And when you take that into consideration it really gives you a humbling perspective on what the dday experience was, not only for americans but also for the british, french and the canadian troops that stormed ashore that day as well. So were well to consider this weight of war in the things that they carried, you know, as we think about this 75 years later. The american tents that usgis used was often called the shelter half tent. In many ways it symbolized the notion of teamwork, the very essence of camaraderie because there would be onehalf of a tent, and each soldier would have onehalf of a tent and in order to have a full tent you needed to team up with a battle buddy so he could bring his other half and then you could share one and there were a lot of different variations on this and how they used it and the tents often got as large as creativity and materials would allow american soldiers and sometimes they would get six or eight of them together to make really big tents because then you could pile eight guys into it. If youre in the fall or in the winter, all of 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 didnt even have, you know, the opportunity to set up a tent or encampment like we have here today. You know, the advance into europe was monotonous, it was strenuous and it brought about some of the most enduring hardships that could be imagined. Theres one story of an american lieutenant that we often like to share with visitors and students, and theres a lieutenant in the fourth Infantry Division by the name of george wilson. And he wore the same pair of socks for five months, and he never once had the opportunity to take off his shoes and wash his feet. And 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 of his feet. And so, you know, when we think of world war ii, we think of combat, big planes and tanks. But really its, you know, small Human Interest stories like that that illustrate the gi experience more than anything else. Theyre 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. And when visitors come into our various displays we like them to reflect upon that Human Element as well. And here on this board we have a few tangible reminders of all of that, perhaps most notably are copies of a dday diary that was kept by a lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Division. This gentleman pictured over here on the right, and his name was sydney monts. And he and his men operated an 81 millimeter mortar, one of which well be showing you here in a moment as they landed on utah beach. And some of the words that 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. Hes scavenging the beach, looking for loose pieces of ammunition and equipment that he can pick up that he knows that he will need later along the way. And, you know, once more, that personal element, it really helps bring history to life. Thats really one of the fundamental reasons of why we are out here, to impart this knowledge to younger generations that may never have the opportunity to talk to a world war ii veteran. We see ourselves as an important conduit of sorts in transferring on this knowledge to other people. Another notable individual that we see on here is another lieutenant in the fourth Infantry Division whose name was bill chapman. And like sydney monts he operated an 81 millimeter mortar. And, you know, he offers all sorts of unique perspectives. Theres a book that was recently written about him. And, you know, later on in the war, the 4th Infantry Division served in a place that was called the hurtkin forest and for those that were lucky enough to survive it they called it the death factory because it was just like this perpetual Conveyor Belt of men being sent to the front lines, almost needlessly or heedlessly, and mr. Chapman was one of the lucky survivors of that carnage. Now as a lot of these Service Members were working their way across the european continent some things that gave them some added pep or inspiration or information was things like this. And this is a reproduction of stars and stripes, which was the official Army Newspaper and its still in publication to this very day. And this issue is a copy from june 7th, 1944. And there were two really big events that happened there in the first week of june. One of them is a bit overshadowed. Because just two days before the invasion of normandy took place, the city of rome was also liberated, and so 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 and general mark clark, commanding officer, was jealous by the level of headlines that the normandy invasion grabbed. Indeed there were 150,000 troops involved in the opening phases. Soldiers got somewhat fragmentary reports here in this early edition, talking about the invasion. But periodicals like this underscored a bigger point about why american believed they were fighting this war, and 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 believe 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 dday. 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 even to take into co comprehensi comprehension. Much like how slavely 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 decorps with common american soldiers. He cared about them, and they knew it. That was one reason they fought so hard and so diligently on his behalf, and of course, too, 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. And this is an 81millimeter motor. I mentioned this prior to our talk in all of this, and my good friends mike and andy are going to tell us a little bit about that. Hello, everybody. Im here to talk to you about the 81millimeter mortar. This is actually designed by the french in the thirt30s and the army got ahold of it. They liked the idea because up to that point in world war i, mortars couldnt be moved around the batfield. Once they got into place, they sat there. World war i was a lot more stagnant than world war ii so the mortars could sit there, but in the future, they wanted a more mobile war, and this fulfilled the bill. If our a1 millimeter mortar, the germans had a similar weapon. It fired a mortar one millimeter smaller. We couldnt fire our rounds out of theirs. Big win for the u. S. Army. We designed it almost straight from the french version, and we made a smaller mortar that was even more transportable than this. Three men would carry the mortar in three different pieces. You can see here, you have the barrel, the bipod, and the base plate down here. Each piece, each piece weighs about 43 pounds, so one guy would carry each piece and then a bunch of guys carrying all the ammo, you can see to my right, the smaller rounds here. These are can you hold that for me these are the m43 rounds in a tube thats waterproofed, semi waterproofed. This round could go about 3,300 yards, and it was used for antipersonnel, antilight vehicle. This was the workhorse of the mortar rounds that a crew like this would use. You have increment charges in the end. Thats actually what produces the blast that propels the mortar round out of the tube and a super quick fuse, so the second this touches anything, its going to explode once it leaves the tube. The bigger round we have here, this bigger round we have here is the m56, and the m56 had a delayed fuse. And on the delayed fuse, thats good for shooting at buildings, bunkers, any fortified structure that the germans might have been in. So it enters through the roof, and then like a millisecond before it explodes inside the building. This had a shorter range. About 2400 yards. They also had a similar round called the m 57 and it was a White Phosphorus used to obscure the vision of the enemies and also once it hits the air, it burns and burns and burns. And they used it to create casualties, too. You might see on this round here on this box of rounds, we have a life belt inflated. When the troops landed on dday, they would, some of them put some of these on their 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. And they would also be issued with shoulder pads to carry the heavy loads and ammunition on their shoulders. So back to the gun. A gun like this would be used in all kinds of operations. The battalion commanders and infantry regiments or commanders in infantry units call this hip pocket artility becaulery becau could go anywhere on the batt battlefield and shoot wherever they needed it. At times, they would consolidate many groups together for a lot of density of fire, and other times, they would dispatch one or two mortar guns by themselves with units. This Weapon System was carried by an eightman squad. You had your gunner and two assistant gunners, a squad leader, and the rest all carried the ammunition. These would go through a lot of ammunition if they wanted to. 18 rounds a minute was the maximum amount they could fire before it over heated. I hope it offers insider perspective on some of the daily trials and tragedies and triumphs that American World war ii soldiers went through, and as we have been talking here, a number of world war ii veterans have come to our camp. Theyre the reason were out here. Were here to hear their stories firsthand, impart them to other generations, and we encourage viewers to do much the same thing. We thank you for coming to visit our encampment today. I want to get a picture. What regiment were you with . 26th. Blue stater, huh . Oh, yeah. Thats my reenactment group. Blue stater . Yeah. Were not here today. Let me get a picture. He was on the destroyer, and he saw the raising of the flag on the iwo jima. Im dick donald. I was a first class soldierman. Our ship was damaged the night before a kamikaze attack. The last Aircraft Carrier in the world was sunk alongside of our ship. And then we had to limp in to iwo jima, put the bowl on yellow beach, and watching the marines with the flame throwers mopping up the tunnels. The navy and marines never get along, its always a fight, but i learned to love the marines that day. Then suddenly, the brightest sun, up goes that flag. It was i was 19 at the time, and for the first time, my fifth invasion, i had seven altogether, 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. Two thirds. Only two guys from the flag raising walked off that island. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for coming to visit us today. Weeknights this month, were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight, at 8 00 eastern, a look at korean war oral histories. Veteran carl house recounts his part in the amphibious landing, a victory for u. N. Forces which turned the tide early in the war. He also talks about the surprise chinese counterattack and intense combat at the battle of chosin reservoir where he was captured. Watch korean war, oral histories, tonight beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan3. Enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan3. Have you watched lectures in history lately . Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, on American History tv on cspan3, go inside a Different College classroom and hear about topics ranging from the american revolution, civil rights, and u. S. President s, to 9 11. Thanks for your patience and for logging in to class. With most College Campuses closed due to the impact of the coronavirus, watch professors transfer teaching to a virtual setting to engage with their students. Gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union, but reagan met him halfway, reagan encouraged him. Reagan supported him. Freedom of the press, which well get to later, i should just mentioned, madison originally called it freedom of the use of the press, and it is indeed freedom to print things and publish things. Its not a freedom for what we now refer to ininstitutionally as the press. Lectures in history, every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Lectures in history is also available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. Every july for the past 25 years, the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee has hosted a civil war battle reenactment and living history village depicting camp life. Next, we talk to reenactors about Victorian Era marriage expectations and civil war brothels. My name is Sheryl Williams and im portraying what it would have been like to be a victorian prostitute. At the time of the civil war, th