Next, Rick Atkinson discusses the significance of the invasion of sicily and the Italian Campaign on the eventual liberation of europe in world war ii. This one hour and 40 minute event is part of the New York Historical society distinguished speakers lecture series. Thank you so much for inviting me to be with you and for joining me on this gorgeous new york morning. This is the third presentation i have given in this fantastic auditorium in just over a year and all i can say is you folks are gluttons for punishment. We will talk about the Second World War this morning. I was just in normandy for the 70th anniversary of dday in that campaign certainly has taken center stage this spring just as it has in our National Narrative about that liberation of europe. This morning, we will try to bring the italian war back into focus a bit. I have two confessions. I have not seen the movie payzant. Campaignlk about the in italy up through the fall of was june 4, 1944. The war goes on, but for t
To be married and we had three children. Of course, theres one. Another question for the panel . This question is for mrs. Olson and mrs. Snyder. I heard the toughest job is an army wife. How do you feel about that . Do you feel that . Or a marine wife. When he got home, we were married in three weeks after he got home. The war was still going on, he got to come home because of what he had been through, so thats why we were sent to camp leje e lejeune. We lived there on base for almost a year almost two years i think, we lived on base and it was one of the most fun times of my life. I could walk to the ocean, the grocery store, even though we lived in a what today they call a travel trailer. Thats what all the married marines lived in. I had to learn to cook on a camp stove, i had to pump up a little tank on the front of it. I had some wonderful times. I had marine friends and families, the whole base was family mostly and we had some lifelong friends we made there. Actually, it was a
Out is that the germans at salerno used experimental glider bombers, Remote Control glider bombers and that almost caused the operation to be a failure for the United States. Yeah. And so did the german do you know if the germans used those same tactics in any other phase of the war . The germans were fiendish in coming up with new gadgets and one that they used against us for the first time was a glide bomb called the fritz x. And it was a bomb that was dropped from an airplane and then it was guided by the pilot with a little joy stick. And he could guide the bomb very similar to the way bombs some bombs are guided today, actually guided before the new technologies allowed you to use gps systems. But in the persian gulf war for example, very similar. You use a little joy stick and you guide the bomb. It has little rockets on the back to cause it go this way or that way. Guide it down to the target it. Had first been used against the italian battleship roma when it was trying to get a
Speakers lecture series. Its an hour and 40 minutes. Thanks so much for inviting me to be with you and for joining me on this gorgeous new york morning. This is the third presentation ive given in this fantastic auditorium at the New York Historical society in just over a year. And all i can say is you folks are gluttons for punishment. Were going to talk about the second world war. I was just in normandy for the 70th anniversary of dday. And that campaign certainly has taken center stage this spring just as it has in our National Narrative about the liberation of europe since june 6th, 1944, when it permanently eclipsed the dramatic prorks tracted, sanguinary struggle in italy. Well try to bring that italian war back into focus a bit. I have two confessions. First, i have not seen the movie paizon which showed last night. I have not seen it. If you have questions about it, i am not your man. Secondly, ill talk mostly about the campaign in italy up through the fall of rome. The war goe
I think that there needs to be a campaign of writing letters instead of all these emails because they can keep those lett letters instead of they cant keep the emails. Theyre in space. Letters are tangible. And reread them. Thats the wonderful part. And years and years from now, those soldiers can read them and think back. It is very necessary for people to write letters. At 5 00 a booth will open over by the statue where you can make a card to send to a current soldier. We have time for one more question. We have one more. I have to get through the maze. Thank you. What effect or what memories do you have from the rationing that went on during world war ii . I know my mother has talked about it briefly, but she doesnt talk very much about those memories. Well, as kids we didnt notice it so much except for a shortage of bubble gum. [ laughter ] it would pass very quickly if some store got it. Because we did have a farm and access to other farms we were able to get things that probably