Soldiers wading through the water from a landing craft towards a heavily fortified beach under heavy fire, during a World War II amphibious assault.

Mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day invasion with stories of our veterans’ service

June 3, 2024 Mike Devine Leave a Comment

The D-Day invasion that helped change the course of World War II was unprecedented in scale and audacity. In recognition of the 80 years since June 6, 1944, veterans and world dignitaries commemorate the anniversary of the operation in these PBS Wisconsin and PBS stories of service.

Part 1: Europe | Wisconsin World War II Stories

In this portion of PBS Wisconsin’s Wisconsin World War II Stories series, Wisconsin veterans tell some of the greatest stories of their lives and share how they fought to reclaim freedom in the mountains of France and in the air over Berlin. Wisconsin World War II Stories preserves the firsthand stories of our state’s veterans so their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Full epsiode | D-Day 360

D-Day was a logistical effort on a scale never seen before or since. On the day itself, 3,000 planes dropped 23,000 airborne troops behind German lines, and 7,000 ships delivered around 20,000 military vehicles and 130,000 soldiers onto the beaches. This film takes advantage of LiDAR technology to re-create the landscape and allow viewers to switch effortlessly between the macro and the micro.

D-Day Invasion | The War

On June 6, 1944, D-Day in the European Theater, a1.5 million Allied troops embarked on one of the greatest invasions in history; the invasion of France. Watch part of the story in this clip from Ken Burns’ The War.

Theodore Roosevelt: Heroism on D-Day | Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was the American commander who took Utah Beach on D-Day. In this clip from Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts: An Intimate History outlined the role of the president’s son in the invasion.

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