On June 6, 1944 thousands of Allied servicemen landed on the shores of northern France, with a mission to free Western Europe from Nazi tyranny.
Some came by air, parachuting behind enemy lines. Others came in small landing craft, braving rough seas and booby trapped coastal defences. Over the following hours and days, the men faced decimating machine-gun fire, mortars and artillery, eventually fighting their way inland, but not before suffering a staggering number of casualties.
This week in a special Anzac week program titled “Day of Days”, Four Corners commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The program, made by director Tim Gray, brings together American D-Day veterans to share their experiences from that fateful day.
They vividly recall details from their ordeal, including the perils of the amphibious assault and the moment when many of them, trapped on the beach under heavy fire, thought the invasion may not turn out the way they hoped and planned. Their testimony yields long-buried and often painful memories. They recount their transformations from boys to men, reveal their uneasiness with the term “hero,” and grapple with the haunting question: why did they survive when so many others did not?
As one veteran recalls: “…it was hell, and don’t let anybody tell you it was different, because it was hell.”
DAY OF DAYS, produced for American Public Television and presented by Mark Bannerman, goes to air on Monday 21st April at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 22nd April at 11.00am and 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm and at ABC iview
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