Carrier on PBS

Not WW2 related, I know, but it’s been an interesting ride seeing all the different views aboard the USS Nimitz. Check the Carrier web site on PBS for details.

Joe Medicine Crow

 Some readers of this sight may remember Joe Medicine Crow from Ken Burns’ The War.  His story certainly added to the drama of the series, in telling how he fulfilled the requirements to become a chief: “touch a living enemy soldier; disarm an enemy; lead a successful war party; and steal an enemy’s horse” (source).  The last part certainly caught my attention.

What viewers of the series might not know is that Joe Medicine Crow is a big deal historian, writer, and advocate for his people.  Read more here.

The War, Episode 6

Episode 6 marks a high point for me in the series, especially the discussion of Iwo Jima.  All the color footage was amazing to see, mixed in with sound to boot, and that certainly heightened the drama of the descriptions.  Amazing stuff.

This is been the surprise of the series for me…the sound of it all.  Most of the footage I’ve seen from the period is without sound.  Certainly the capability was there, but the process too cumbersome, I think.  But Burns’ crew has mixed it all together to create “an experience” (machine gun fire, shelling, etc), all cued up to match the images on the scene.  Docu-movie magic, I’d say.

Don Burgett and The War

If you happened to catch Episode 4 of Ken Burns’ The War (this is the invasion episode), you may have noticed the paratrooper/smashed pumpkin simile, with no author attributed. It was referenced as “one man described it as…”. That one man is Don Burgett, member of the 101st Airborne (A-1st-506), and noted author of four memoirs concerning the war in Europe.

So on page 87 of Currahee: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy, Burgett sets the scene: he has just landed and was getting out of this jump gear laying on his back as another plane flew overhead, “hedge-hopping” out of cowardice the author suggests, with paratroopers jumping. Burgett writes:

Their chutes were pulling out of the pack trays and starting to unfurl when they hit the ground. Seventeen men hit the ground before their chutes had time to open. They made a sound like a large ripe pumpkin being thrown down to burst against the ground.

It’s a shame Burns’ crew chose not to highlight this writer by name. I mean you can’t even say “paratrooper Don Burgett” and let others in the world google the name and discover his work? Please, visit his web site and buy his books.

Giving credit…there is just no substitute.

Al McIntosh, Rock County Star-Herald

So I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ epic The War on tape (I mean, who can do 2.5 hours per night?), and checking some of the history forums online to see what folks are thinking. Generally, the tone is positive, but one thing has come up a few times: “some” are annoyed at Burns’ focus on the home front. They want more battle footage, maps, analyses from historians.

This criticism is misplaced, I think, as the more interesting parts of the show (to me, anyway), have focused on, say, race relations in Mobile, Japanese internment (and who can forget that terribly ironic Life mag paraphrased quote: “they are still cheerful, as they’ve only lost their freedom”), and of course, the work of newspaperman Al McIntosh, voiced by Tom Hanks. As Burns suggests, this work is about a simultaneous view of war, what was going on in different places during the conflict. And McIntosh voices those hometown concerns in ways that evoke much pathos.

To the home front haters, get a grip. He did both. Live with it.

Why We Fight

Viewers of Ken Burns’ The War no doubt noted the reference to Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series in Episode 1. The offerings on youtube are pretty scant, though there is one clip, likely from early in the series, where all the setup is taking place. Note the emphasis on different religions in uniting against the “dark” half of the world.  Sorry to say, too, that the clip is one small part of a larger piece that is cut off pretty abruptly, though it’s still worth viewing.

The link above will play all the movies online (a national archives page), with the proper software on your computer.

The War in the Washington Post

Two articles on Ken Burns’ The War appeared in today’s Washington Post. The first is a lengthy review here by Rich Atkinson and the other is a feature-length piece (by Paul Farhi) on one of the men in the documentary, Quentin Aanenson. Both articles aptly set the tone for those ready to wade into Burns’ 15.5 hour epic, especially Atkinson’s.  He writes:

Perhaps “The War” is best viewed as one views an art exhibition, focusing on the pictures and not on the captions or the curator’s exegesis. The narrative is just scaffolding for the images, many of which linger long after an episode ends: the vivid color footage of flamethrowers on Saipan; the photo of pedestrians strolling past a smoking body next to a burning city bus; the group portrait of butchered soldiers in the dead of winter, their frozen eyes open and lightly dusted with snow, like macabre Jack Frosts.

So then it begins tonite.  I had planned to do episode reviews, but alas, I have a job.  I will, however, post a few highlights from the episodes as I can.

Ken Burns and The War, #4

You know, I realized that in my previous posts about Ken Burns’ new mini-series, I neglected to post the basics…So here it is, for those surfing in, straight from a PBS press release about the series. It’s getting close.

THE WAR will air over two weeks, beginning Sunday, September 23, 2007 (four nights the first week and three nights the second week) from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on three nights).

Ken Burns and The War, #3

More than a few people are surfing in looking for info, so here are a few things about Ken Burns’ The War from youtube.

The trailer…which includes a bit from Paul Fussell, veteran and noted writer highlighted on these pages.

An interview… from Ken Burns that aired on PBS…

My previous two entries here highlighted some of the criticisms associated with the project. Make no mistake…I’m excited to see this.

Shark Week, #7

For the last week or so, the ww2file has been running on autopilot, with posts appearing every other day (or so) while I was catching up with some relatives at the OBX, NC. It was nice to sun these tired old bones for a few days.

During my time in the water, I couldn’t help but think of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, or the sinking of the USS Indy, as dramatized in the show Ocean of Fear. Think about this: if you happen to travel to a beach (and swim a little past the shore breakers), or even find yourself in the deep end of the pool, try to keep afloat for more than a few minutes. It’s a lot tougher than you might think. Then read In Harm’s Way.

I also learned a good deal about the maritime shipping loses off the OBX shoreline (from German u-boats). I spoke to a resident (who was a teen in the early 1940s) who remembers seeing the fires offshore from sinking merchant ships as well the bodies that would wash ashore after the sinkings. I’m planning to study this a bit a make a post or two about it in the coming weeks.

So with the start of the school year just around the corner, the ww2file will feature 2 (or so) posts per week. When things do heat up on the job, (papers, papers, papers), I’m certain this site will be a sanity saver. Look for posts that follow the production of the new Pacific War mini-series, Ken Burns’ The War, and the Featured Image from ww2db.com.