It was used by them from 1943 afterwards. About what, you can only speculate. They talked about the minutiae planning for dday. They certainly talked about the planning for the end of the war, the surrender of germany and the recorded conversations we have about what was going to be told to stalin and how this was going to take place. Referring to dday, do documents indicate what was discussed in this room or this location preparing for that invasion . There is very little in the site itself that indicates much of a dday connection. The site has been kept pretty much as it was and as it was used on the last day of the war. So, what you see is what tended to be in place in august 1945. It is easy in some ways to relate it physically to the end of the war. More than any other, but in practice, the site itself had quite a heavy involvement in dday. The back of the building, parts that are no longer open to the public, there were adjuncts to the cabinet war rooms where for instance, it was a section fondly known as london control section, one of those polite names that covers one of these rather sort of less polite activities, in this case deception. They were heavily involved in the deception operation to mislead the germans as to where the landings were going to take place. A certain part of france. The germans were being misled to believe they would land in scandinavia. How is the information discussed here . During that time customer example there is no question that this was absolutely topsecret. When you get down to the map room, there are a few hundred people. The map room itself was accessible to no more than 40 or 50 people. In the map room, where they charted the movements of the war and the maps around the walls and the thoughts on the situation really across the globe the chiefs of staff, the prime minister, this sort of information passing through there what we know is now called topsecret, the absolute top greater secrecy in any top grade of secrecy you can imagine. What about the prime ministers room down here . How often did he use that . There was a room for Winston Churchill in 1940. It has probably the most comforts of any part of the site. It has Fine Furniture and carpeting walltowall. There is a bedroom. He used it fairly infrequently. Probably five or six times. He was not a man who enjoyed being belowground for too long. And it must be said, fairly limited toilet facilities, which was an aspect of this site that churchill did not like. There was an office right next door to the map room. Churchill was a man who looks of the war in terms of maps and had maps anywhere he went. Almost ironically, when churchill had the reinforcements put in place around the building in late 1940, as soon as these reinforcements were complete, he decamped to the area just above them, set up a suite of offices on the first floor that had no reinforcements at all. Use those as a base and then move to train there and here onto regular basis. Youre watching American History tv. All weekend, every weekend on cspan 3. To join the conversation, like us on facebook, cspanhistory. [music the national anthem, played by a brass band] [applause] please be seated. Chaplain . 70 years ago today, the eyes of the world were upon the soldiers, sailors, and air man for battle. As they did on that day, at the behest of their commander, we once again beseech the blessings of almighty god on this great and noble undertaking. Let us pray. Creator god, we pause this moment to recognize your presence here, and to seek your blessing on this gathering of men and women, who represent the greatest of generations, a generation who showed us fidelity, knowing full well and firsthand the very high cost of freedom, and the true meaning of valor. It is in a spirit of love and community that we gather yet again on this day of days to remember the lives lost and the lives forever changed. In doing so, may we also remember your great love for us. May we remember that there is no greater demonstration of love than choosing to lay down your life for another. Thank you for all those who made that choice, and the many more who are willing to do so if called upon. May we remember that even in our darkest of days you promised to sustain us, to give us strength, and to provide us with a deep and abiding peace. May this ceremony preserve the memory of those who died, and may it kindle anew in each of us a similar love for one another, for our nations, and the cause of freedom and peace throughout the world. I ask this in the fullness of your name and for your glory. Amen. Thank you, chaplain. Our cohost for todays ceremony is the National Park service, caretakers of the memorial, and we are honored to have with us today the deputy superintendent of operations for the National Mall and National Parks. Karen . Thank you. Good morning. On behalf of the National Park service, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the world war ii memorial on the 70th anniversary of dday. I would like to offer a special welcome to our distinguished guests, members of the diplomatic community, members of the armed forces, and most of all, our veterans, along with family and friends. I would like to thank the friends of the National World war ii memorial, our partner in sponsoring this event. It is our pleasure and an honor to work with you, and ensure that the sacrifices and accomplishments of the millions of americans who fought that war will never be forgotten. Today, we pause to remember the day that the allied armies joined in battle on the beaches of normandy to reclaim liberty in europe, but most importantly, to remember the man who were the men who were there. They were there to free a continent and to stop one of the greatest forces of evil the world has ever known. More than 9000 of them did not make it home. What many of us forget is that they were young men, 18, 19, 20, who left home for a foreign land and took on awesome responsibility beyond their years. They knew they faced almost certain death, yet went without hesitation. Their bravery is staggering. Their actions brought about the beginning of the end of that terrible war. They got the job done. Today, we are privileged to have some of those young men who were there with us they may not have the same spring in their step as they did then, but they remain heroes to anyone who loves freedom. We in the National Park service are committed to making sure those that visit this memorial remember them, perhaps not by name, but by spirit. Because of their courage, their willingness to fight and maybe die, our freedom endures. One of my greatest pleasures as deputy superintendent here at the National Mall is to be able to welcome the honor flights that come here to this memorial. It makes me proud to see young people, just like today, who come here to meet, greet them as they arrive, and bear witness to to these brave americans. It is our responsibility as a nation [applause] it is our responsibility as a nation to never forget their sacrifice. As the daughter of a veteran of the battle of the bulge, i am personally honored to be entrusted with its care. Thank you. Thank you, karen. Very well said. A Lieutenant General has faithfully served our country for more than half a century, first as an army officer for 35 years, now as a distinguished public servant. The friends of the National World war ii memorial is proud to have him serve as chairman. General . [applause] good morning. On behalf of the friends of the National World war ii memorial board, it is a great honor to welcome you to the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of dday. Dr. Symonds, thank you for serving as our master of ceremonies. We look forward to hearing your comments about operation overlord, dday. It is also very special to have Susan Eisenhower with us. Susan, thank you so much for being here. Toby roosevelt, we look forward to your comments, and hearing you read your greatgrandfathers very moving prayer. Thank you for being here. We welcome the ambassadors, the distinguished embassy staff, the defense and military attaches from our allied nations. It means a great deal to our veterans that you came to help us honor them today. We also give a very special welcome to honor flight foxtrot, from rhode island. Welcome to your memorial. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we have come here to remember one of the great battles of world war ii. The dday landings in normandy, which began the liberation of europe at the beginning of the end of the war. We also remember the men and women coming off todays battlefield in iraq and afghanistan. Like you, what a magnificent job they are doing and have done. Our world war veterans fought the most destructive war in history. They not only saved this nation. But with our allies, they literarily saved the world. This magnificent memorial pays tribute to the more than 16 million americans who served during world war ii, their families, and those who served on the homefront. We will never forget the 400,000 americans who never returned home. In those numbers, we include the great losses we suffered on that cold, wet, and windy day, on june 6, 1944, in normandy. Many of the friends have been involved with this memorial from inception to construction, to dedication. And we are privileged to continue to work to ensure the legacy, the lessons learned, and the great unity that existed in this nation and around the world, and the sacrifices of all those who served are never forgotten. To accomplish this mission, we worked very proudly with the department of defense and the National Park service, who take such good care of this magnificent memorial. This is truly a sacred place to come to visit, to remember, and to reflect, and to commemorate the defining moments of world war ii, as we are doing today. Would all our world war ii veterans please stand or raise your hand, so that we can thank you, to your memorial . Would you please stand and raise your hand . [applause] our nation owes you a debt that it can never pay. When these veterans came home at that we just honored, they took off their uniforms, they rolled up their sleeves, and together, they built this strong, free, and beautiful america that we are proud to call home. Again, thank you for coming to help us honor our world war ii veterans, and to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the longest day. As we honor those who charged the beaches of normandy, climbed the cliffs, and parachuted and glidered in behind the lines, we remember the words of Winston Churchill, who made these comments early in the war, but they are very appropriate for this commemoration. Never in the field of Human Conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. God bless our veterans. God bless those serving today. God bless their families and our allies. God bless america. Thank you for your service. [applause] thank you, general, not only for those remarks, but for the service that you have given our country and continue to give as chairman of the friends. We now have the privilege of hearing from the United States army band s [music amazing grace] [applause] thank you, gentlemen, and thank you for being with us today. We appreciate it. It has now been 70 years, three score years and 10, a biblical lifetime, since the summer of 1944. For many living in the 21st century, the events of the Second World War have grown hazy, blurred to black and white images of tanks and artillery, glimpsed perhaps on latenight tv. For others, world war ii is a chapter in the history books. As such, some may conclude it was just another war bigger, bloodier than those we watch on the evening news, but another war just the same. And that is not the case. The Second World War was not in any way typical or representative of other wars. This war was not the product of a dynastic struggle, policy disagreement, or a border dispute. The enemy in this war, especially the enemy in europe, was genuinely terrible, even monstrous, and its triumph would have ushered in a new dark age for all humanity. The stakes could not have been higher. This enemy had to be defeated. At the beginning, it was by no means certain. There were many crucial turning points in this conflict. Midway in the pacific, el alamein in north africa, and in the ardennes, in the final march in 1945. It was on the beach of normandy, 70 years ago today, that the history of the world tipped most decisively. The allied invasion of the normandy beaches was the single Largest Military undertaking in American History, and very nearly in world history. It was certainly the largest amphibious operation ever attempted. Some 6000 ships, ships of all kinds, from battleships to troop carriers, from destroyers to liberty ships, from pt boats to command vessels, filled the bay of the seine off the normandy beaches. There were the Landing Craft, identified by the alphabet soup of acronyms lcis, lcts, and crucially, the lsts part of an armada so complex as to be barely imaginable to us today. It was an armada not easily conjured into existence. Men and women on two continents worked 60hour weeks in double and triple shifts aroundtheclock for more than two years to create it. In remembering dday, therefore, we should remember too those who built the ships and the planes and the tanks and the trucks and the jeeps, and the other tools of war that made the invasion possible. This armada on the sea was supported by an armada in the air that was nearly as impressive. More than 2000 bombers took off from british airfields on june 5 to blast the targeted beaches. Other planes carry british and american paratroopers, or towed lines of plywood gliders, cut loose over Enemy Territory to slip silently down through the impenetrable darkness, to an uncertain landing. The size of this undertaking, the size of the invasion, is so enormous that it has given birth to a latter day assumption that allied success was inevitable, a product of careful planning and the overwhelming size of the armada. And yet ships and planes and plans, no matter how numerous, no matter how detailed, do not win victories. People do. In the end, it was the man in the warships, the man in the Landing Craft, the man in the airplanes and gliders, who sees who seized the toehold in france that was the first step on the road to berlin. Some 132,000 men landed in german occupied france on that first day, and some of them confronted circumstances hardly imaginable to us on this beautiful sunlit june morning. There were those who landed early, carrying 60 pound satchels of c2 explosives, whose job was to clear the mined obstructions so the infantry could cross the killing zone. There were those who landed a half mile from their landing site and had to adjust onthefly to circumstances they did not expect. There are those who dropped from the sky in pitch darkness behind the lines, and found themselves alone in a hostile and uncertain environment. And those who climbed the nearly vertical cliffs, hand over hand, while germans above them sprayed machine gun fire from the slope, and dropped hand grenades over the side. Nor should we forget the French Resistance fighters, who risks who risked not only their lives, but the lives of their family members, to help isolate the beaches and distract the germans. The ships, the planes, and the careful planning was essential, but in the end, it was the people who did it, who built the ships and planes, who sustained the economy on the home runs, home fronts, who volunteered to clear the mines or a sale the cliffs, who gave themselves up to a cause greater than themselves. They are the people we are here to honor today. Ladies and gentlemen, i have the distinct honor to present ms. Susan eisenhower, who also serves as chairman of the eisenhower institutes leadership and Public Policy program. She is, of course, the granddaughter of general eisenhower, commander throughout the north african and European Campaign against hitlers germany. Susan . [applause] it is a great honor to help celebrate the 70th anniversaries of the dday invasion. I would like to recognize craig symonds, name asterisk the master of ceremonies. It is an honor to be here with you, sir. With karen, the deputy superintendent of operations. My friend Elliott Roosevelt the third. Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps and military attaches of our allied friends. And most of all, the veterans who are here with us today. It is my distinct honor to read my grandfather Dwight Eisenhowers order of the day on dday. Some of you veterans may well remember this note will stop and to offer a few read comments. The order of the day, dday, june 6, 1944. Soldiers, sailors, airmen of the allied expeditionary force, you are about to embark on a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. In the company of our brave allies and brothers on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the german war machine, the elimination of nazi tyranny over the oppressed people of europe, and security for ourselves in the free world. Your task will not be easy. Your enemy is welltrained, wellequipped, battle hardened, and will fight savagely. This is the year 1944. Much has happened since the nazi triumphs of 1940 and 1941. The United Nations have inflicted great defeats in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has reduced their strength in the air and capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us overwhelming air superiority and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. Freemen aro victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck. And let us all beseech the blessings of almighty god on this occasion. Signed, general dwight d eisenhower. [applause] today we mark the anniversary of operation overlord. It was the largest Amphibious Assault in history, a vast undertaking. More than 7000 ships and landing supplies,000 tons of airmen, paratroopers, and support. 200 thousand naval personnel, 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel from southern england to liberate europe from nazi domination. The surprise attack extended coast. 15mile the variables were staggering. The allies needed full moon, low tide, moderate waves. The fate of occupied europe, the defeat of the enemy, and the survival of juice in concentration and death camps ews in concentration and mps. H ca this and the us a printed unprecedented scale the operation prompted eisenhower to raft a note you would release to the press if the invasion were to fail. Troops. Myhdrawn the decision to attack at this time in this place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air, the navy did all bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone. Mine alone. Release this to note. The invasion was a success. The heroism, the valor, the great city, and the sheer determination of fighting men and support personnel security beachhead and turned the tide of the war. One cannot read of the invasion and see the photographs of that fateful day without seeing the faces of young men doing doing odds duty wondered at the of ever coming home. What courage it took to confront ones mortality in such a way. In addition to the servicemen, there were among others preachers who said prayers to those dying on the beaches, the red cross and other medics who tended the wounded under dire conditions, and even small bands of photographers who were all but unarmed. They were brave in ways we cannot imagine. Each person along the chain of command played his role and had to summon courage that perhaps he never knew he had. The execution, the unrelenting bravery of hundreds of dozens of men and women changed the course of history. Have the operation failed, the world would have been a very different place. Invasion, myr the grandfather returned to normandy. On his visit to the american quiet,y, the scene was serene. Gazing at the crosses and the stars of david lined up in perfect rows, he said when i look at these graves, i think of is parents whose only son buried here. Because of their sacrifice, they dont have the pleasure of grandchildren. Because of their sacrifice, my grandchildren are growing up in freedom. And then he said, i devoutly hope we will never again have to see such things as these. Today, i gathered here say it is our duty for those who gave their lives in the veterans the with us today to keep story of dday ally for our grandchildren. To imbue in them i hope that together, people from different allies, can our stand together for a common cause. Dday tells us in doing so, we can accomplish more than we ever thought possible. We are indebted to those brave men and women who secured the victory. We must repay them by preparing future generations to be counted on when the moment comes for us to act. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you, susan. I am honored to introduce our final speaker today, elliott toby roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt the third. He served as a Fighter Pilot in the air force reserve. Completing service, he entered business in his families investment firm. He earned a ba degree from Stanford University with honors and an mba from Harvard Business school. He is married with a oneyearold son who is in the audience and a three week old daughter who is also here. His beautiful family is in the front row. Thank you for being with us today. Toby, the podium is yours. [applause] i would like to say thank you to the friends of the National World war ii memorial for being with me here today and to the audience for being here to commemorate the 70th anniversary of dday. On june 6, 1944, i, of course, had not been born. My father was seven years old, and it is likely that if he had not yet gone to bed on a ranch in southwest texas, he listened to his father pray for the country he loved. The landing at normandy represents the pledge of liberty to the world, where people reaffirm that great cost reaffirmed at great cost the ideas upon which this country was founded. At a time in the outcome of the great contest to sustain those values hung in the balance, the president of the United States chose not to make a speech, but with the people of the United States, to make a solemn request of the almighty, a request and humble at knowledge meant of the limits of man and on mans dependence on a just, all powerful, loving god. For those like me who have always lived within the light of that worse transcendent outcome, it is all too common to never have grasped or never have been taught the central character of world war ii. The United States and its allies faced a real here and now today existential threat. If we had lost, we would live under the jackboot of naziism, a fear those born later would never know. Despite this countrys great strength, as an embodiment of those ideas, the United States remains a delicate experiment. One of the many wonderful aspects of our democratic capitalistic system is that no matter what each of us does, simply by working and competing hard, each of us contributes to this countrys vibrancy and strength. However, we compared to the sacrifices of the men and women who hit the men who hit the beaches of france that day and in other places like them in that war and other wars hum a few of us have given as much other wars, few of us have given as much for the freedoms and protections we take for granted and that many throughout history have never known. When we were born, these were simply handed to us. At 3 30 p. M. Eastern time june 6, the invasion of normandy was officially announced. As word spread, factory whistles blew, church bells rang, spontaneous gatherings took place, and throughout the day, churches and synagogues swelled as people took to me in prayer. That evening, the president went on the air. The white house had earlier distributed his prayer in order that the audience could pray alongside their commander in chief. An estimated 100,000 people did so. An estimated 100 million americans did so. If you will excuse the lack of victorian accent, allow me to repeat those words. My fellow americans, last night, when i spoke to you about the fall of rome, i knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far. And so, in this poignant hour, i ask you to join with me in prayer. Almighty god, our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true. Give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again, and we know that by thy grace and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until the victory is one. Is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flames. Mens souls will be shaken with the violences of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. Some will never return. Embrace these, father, and receive them. Thy heroic servants, into thy kingdom. And for us at home fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them help us, almighty god, to rededicate ourselves and renewed faith in the in this hour of great sacrifice. Many people have urged that i call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, i ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking thy help to our efforts. Give us strength, too. Strengthen our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the Material Support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our current edge on to our courage to our sons wherever they may be. And lord, give us faith. Give us faith in the, faith in faith in ouree, sons, faith in each other, faith in our united crusade. Lets not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moments let not deter us in our unconquerable purpose. With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancy. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace and a peace invulnerable to the ski s of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of honest toil. Thy will be done, almighty god, amen. [applause] that morning, though no one knew it yet, a new, much brighter day broke for generations born and yet unborn, including a sevenyearold grandson in texas. As Rick Atkinson described, as the invasion fleet steamed east through the darkness toward the waiting dawn, for this moment, Mother Nature set aside her famous in difference. Hallelujah sang the sea, hallelujah, hallelujah. To the world war ii veterans here today, we are so lucky for you. May we now and in the future live up to your standard and delivered up to what you have and live up to what you have conferred upon us. Thanks. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated as we prepare for the wreath laying ceremony at the freedom wall. Only wreath presenters will approach the wall. We would like to recognize another honor flight. The honor flight from kansas city, world war ii veterans, thank you for being with us here today. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we will now hear a poem written by an Oscar Awardwinning film narrator, mr. Thomas, called omaha beach. When we went in, the beach had been taken, the dead forsaken. We were dropped in water up to our shoulders. We waded in. The group of green soldiers on the beach on the landing had to reach. They were the ones who went in first. Among them machinegun fire and shells. They went to watery graves, sinking beneath the waves. The water was red, red from the dead. Red from the dying. Imagine me crying. Those who made the land were not able to stand. They rose screaming in pain. Screaming for help in vain. Hill. Advantage was on the they murdered our men at will. The rain of death from the cliffs never stopped, but we just kept coming in from the sea, wave after wave, as far as you could see. Sheer courage and determination, not believing they were done, dictated the victory that day. Others in the future will say, when they stand on that mighty height and look down on that thin strip of beach, theyll say, i dont see how they ever did it. They fought for every inch of it, up the sides of that fortified wall, over the tops of those cliffs so tall. Ill never forget that beach. Ill never forget the men, in the ships, in the air and on the land, and in the water. And those who died in the sand and in the water. They lie now beneath thousands of white crosses and stars of david above the beach, those wonderful soldiers who died so young. They died so we could be free. How can we ever forget what they did . We honor them this day. We salute them, and we humbly beseech, dear god, bless the men who died on omaha beach. Jack reed, a cameraman for the news of the day newsreel was assigned to cover the dday invasion in 1944. He shot color film in england, france and germany while on the job. The National Archives restore the film, together with a 1976 audio recording of a lecture he gave while showing the film. It was his last lecture before he passed away. The film and audio were donated to the National Archives in 1984 by jacks son. Soon, we were down at the docks, and there we found units of the 104th airborne carrying everything they could carry by hand. Boarding Landing Craft that were so heavy laden they had to be pushed off the truck to the docks in this manner. These men were taken to larger aircraft and boarded for the invasion. These are units amusing themselves, and i dont have to tell you who this man is imitating. He was a notre dame football player, and i was told that he was killed in the action. Had arse, every ship mascot. This one was no different. The boys provided for their mascots welfare with the making of a life preserver, just like the ones they had themselves. Then one afternoon, bluetooth lieutenant patent briefed the crew. They told us that we were going to set up that afternoon. And they cheered. Because this was the job they had been waiting for and they wanted to get it done. This was a tremendous site to see, ships from one end of the horizon to the other. They tell me it was well over 1000 ships. We thought it was just another exercise, but when we continued on into the night, we knew it was the real thing. At one time, we had a scare, and they threw some bombs into the channel. They exploded, but we never saw any at all. Here are some ships close to the beach where they made a right angle turn and headed to land. These are some scenes i took with my camera was reduced to 16 millimeter. This particular scene was taken by an automatic camera aboard a british Landing Craft and they were the first men to land. The reason it was taken by an automatic camera was because they wanted to have a record of what happened should the landing fail. At least they would have a record of what happened if they could recover the camera. This is the way we went to sure a sure. You notice the men did not a sure after being aboard a Landing Craft for five solid days. They just walked slowly and cautiously, fearful of bombs and mines sown in the area. You notice they have the rifles wrapped in cellophane, but this was the way we had to go ashore, and id neednt tell you that a lot of the boys didnt make it. Here is a famous scene in blackandwhite film of two men being shot down before your eyes. Erp Carolyn Wes Haines carrying our own equipment. The ship is grounded on the beach. The ship is grounded here are pete carroll and wes haynes carrying our own equipment. The ship is grounded on the beach. We were attacked by enemy fire, and in the previous shot you can see a bomb lands not too far from where we were. There it is again. The bulldozers were trying to clear roads to let our tanks and jeeps move forward. Even though it was june, the area was quite cold, as it usually is in that part of normandy. Of course, the men dug their foxholes a little deeper and we had the fortune of finding a concrete wall that help service protection. Even now, we are taking some of our wounded back to the beach to be transferred back to england, but when the tide went out, the ships could not come in close, for those that ran aground had to wait for high tide to go out, if they were not hit. We spent the night in a foxhole. Soon we showed some of the first prisoners in the area, late in the day, captured close to the beach, sent back to england because there was no room to keep them there. Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the allied expeditionary force. You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the german war machine, the elimination of not of nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is welltrained, wellequipped, and battle hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the nazi triumphs of 19401941. The United Nations have inflicted upon the germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have been given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The freemen of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck. And let us all beseech the blessing of almighty god upon this great and noble undertaking. Each week, and american americavs reel brings you films that made history. We feature George Stevens. He was with the invading army 70 tors ago on june 6, 19 44 document dday. Stevens assisted in production of the film be true glory, and thelso captured evidence of concentration camps. First we talk to mark harris. The book is titled five came back the story of hollywood and the Second World War, and one of the directors featured by mark harris is George Stevens. Each of these directors had Different Reasons for going in. For stevens, who, like all of the directors, was old enough that he couldve gotten a civilian exemption from the war, he really wanted what he called a seat on the 50 yard line of history. He felt it was a patriotic duty to go. He had been chafing in hollywood because he felt pigeonholed into making these very light movies when he had wanted to make some films with more contemporary or war related content, and when he was not able to do it at rko or columbia, he jumped at the chance to do it in the army and for the army. Interestingly, of the five directors, stevens is the only one who never made a freestanding documentary during the war that was shown to civilian audiences, but his work in the war, which ranged from restaging battle scenes in north africa to becoming the first major american filmmaker to enter the camps after they were liberated, and his films theyre actually provided evidence for the nuremberg trials, his work in the war was maybe the most wide ranging and in some ways historically significant in terms of the camp footage of any directors during the war. He was a member of the u. S. Army signal corps under the leadership of general eisenhower, who was responsible for the historic invasion on dday 70 years ago this year. Where was George Stevens during that time in june of 1944 . Stevens was right there at dday, overseeing the shooting just as john ford was there overseeing the shooting of the navy. Stevens was there overseeing the shooting done by the army. Of all of the major battles and turning points in the war, dday was the one that allies filmmakers had the longest and best opportunity to prepare for. This was a filming effort that involved hundreds of cameras, both stationary and manned, and dozens of cameramen. As the work progressed, often
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