PBS The War

[Wayneovich]

Man I started watching this last night,It is amazing and nothing short of a miracle that we are still a free people today. I never knew we were so ill prepared and naive in the beginning of WWII. The courage and determination of that generation will probably never be matched.If you have not seen this series it is worth checking out it is a straight forward look at war no candy coating it shows what war is.

 

[dmrowe]

Excellent series in keeping with the other films that Ken Burns has done, this and The Civil War are both part of my film library.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Wayne I've studied WWII for many yrs and if you like mil history as I do you also need to check out the series called :
Apocalypse: The Second World War

All in full color and like you say no candy coating .
You can see episodes on YouTube or Smithsonian Channel website .
Smithsonian Channel is on DirectTv and they show two episodes each week as well. I promise you each and every minute in every episode is footage you have never seen. Things like the battle of Kursk which was an still is the largest tank battle ever in world history seen from both sides in full color .
Most of it actual combat footage shot during the battle . Almost a million men on both the Russian and German sides each were involved and ended up with close to a half million dead in a matter of weeks and this was just one fight in a war that went on for yrs.


YouTube - apocalypse the second world war

 

[Wayneovich]

Thanks Blanca I will check it out

 

[JDRiderCoach]

Man I started watching this last night,It is amazing and nothing short of a miracle that we are still a free people today. I never knew we were so ill prepared and naive in the beginning of WWII. The courage and determination of that generation will probably never be matched.If you have not seen this series it is worth checking out it is a straight forward look at war no candy coating it shows what war is.

Yes, what they accomplished is even more amazing when you realize a bunch of 19 yr old farm boys who'd never fired a weapon in their life became skilled soldiers in such a short time. Also quite sobering to learn that Germany and Japan had our country all carved up and allocated. Each was to have specific jurisdiction over parts of OUR country. Course they never got around to that land invasion, which would have been a HUGE mistake. Not only would they have to fight our military, but a fully armed citizenry. I know if any foreign army tried to remove me from my house I'd being doing a Chuck Heston: they'd have to pry my rifle from my cold, dead hands.

If that generation of American heroes did not do what they did, without even a second thought, we'd all be speaking German or Japanese right now, and many of us would've been sent to our death simply for being "inferior". Another good one is WWII in HD on History Channel. Was a marathon yesterday. Pearl Harbor still brings me to tears, just as 911 does, and I wasn't even alive then. But I have a strong connection to it. My Grandfather was a survior of the attack and served on two subs in the Pacific during the war as part of his 29 year Naval career. These shows are just reminders. On this holiday weekend, we must never forget the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers, not just the ones from wars past, but also the nearly 8 thousand who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Freedom is not free.