[applause] we want you to think of some questions, make this an interactive panel. It is not so much me asking the questions. We want you to be able to ask the questions of these legends of world war ii. A quick introduction before the speaking program begins. On my left, james the highest decorated officer in the history of the 82nd airborne division. He fought in italy. He jumped into market garden. Also fought in the battle of the bulge, where he should have won the medal of honor, but due to a army snafu, he did not. He is a great platoon leader from world war ii. A guy who i am happy to call a friend. The gentleman to his left is Lieutenant Colonel cole. Plane number one of the doolittle raid. Jimmy doolittles copilot and the pride of dayton, ohio. We talk about moments of history and having a front row seat to moments in history. He had a front row seat to one of the most amazing moments in history. To his left, the pride of montana. Plane number 15. I said engineer. No offense,
Congressional gold medal to the world war ii for special Service Force. The special Operations Team was formed in 1942 and helped liberate much of europe. Both american and Canadian Veterans attended the event at the u. S. Capitol. This program lasts about an hour. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the United States capitol. Its good to see all of you here today. Since the days of the revolution, congress has awarded gold medals to express the peoples appreciation for distinguished achievements. The first recipient was general George Washington himself in march of 1776. Today pursuant to House Resolution 324 we will present a gold medal in honor of the First Special Service Force. The force was activated in 1942 as an elite unit of 1800 american and canadian commandos. Just how elite . Well, for every man they lost, they killed 25. For eve
Ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the United States capitol. Its good to see all of you here today. Since the days of the revolution, congress has awarded gold medals to express the peoples appreciation for distinguished achievements. The first recipient was general George Washington himself in march of 1776. Today pursuant to House Resolution 324 we will present a gold medal in honor of the First Special Service Force. The force was activated in 1942 as an elite unit of 1800 american and canadian commandos. Just how elite . Well, for every man they lost, they killed 25. For every man they captured, they took 235. The force was so fierceless that the enemy dubbed them the devils and so effective today that our special forces refer to them as pioneers. These men represent the finest of the finest. So, today we bestow them on them our highest honor. Le
Bombers on missions over nazi germany. First, to provide context, we speak to author and film historian mark harris. A new book out by author mark harris, five game back, a story of hollywood and the second world war, and among the directors featured is William Wyler. Mark harris is joining us to explain this book and this director in world war ii. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me. Who was William Wyler . Whats his background . Of the five directors about whom i write, wyler was the only jew. He was an immigrant from a small town called mulose, which was in a region of france that when he was a boy and a teenager, had been at various times either french or under german occupation. So when he came to hollywood and worked his way up and eventually before the war became known as one of the most sophisticated and meticulous and mature craftsman in hollywood with movies like jez abell and the letter and the little foxes and dodsworth. He was also very conscious of his status a
Among the directors featured as William Wyler. Mark harris joins us to explains his book and this director during world war ii. Enter being with us. Thanks for having me. Who was William Wyler . Of the five directors about whom i write, he was the only jew. He was an immigrant from a small town in a region of france, when he was a boy and a teenager, had been either french or under german occupation. When he came to hollywood and worked his way up and he for the war, it became known as one of the most sophisticated and meticulous and mature craftsman in hollywood, he was also very conscious of his status as an immigrant and a jew who is trying to get family members and friends out of europe before the war crashed down. As an immigrant, you featured frank capra in your book. Take us back to the mindset of the late 1930s and early 1940s. And how this might have affected the psyche of directors like William Wyler. One thing that it is hard to recapture now is the idea that before the war,