NEWS junkies will storm the airwaves this weekend to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
“So many people remember World War II with pride and a sense that America was fulfilling its destiny,” says Robert Himmelberg, a U.S. history professor at Fordham University.
“But there’s this terrible burden of sorrow and grief that came with it and it’s hard to bear that much grief without feeling that there was an overarching good that came out it,” he says.
Some of that good can be seen in the more than 30 documentaries and specials devoted to one of the most pivotal military maneuvers in world history. Most news programs will focus on the memorial as well.
Since they’re so widely scattered across the channels this weekend, it’ll be hard not to remember the battle that unfolded on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
Himmelberg thinks the division of opinions about the war in Iraq contributed to the deluge of historical programming this weekend.
“Despite all the questioning that’s going on today about American motivation, about whether what we’re doing [in Iraq] is useful, most Americans want to affirm the overall purpose that America has a positive destiny in the world,” he says.
SATURDAY
* 8 p.m. “June 6 1944: As It Happened” MSNBC
A recreation of the Normandy invasion – with correspondents reporting as if it were actually taking place at that moment.
* 9 p.m. “Ten Days to D-Day” History
The days leading up to the invasion are recalled through the personal writings of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and Erwin Rommel.
* 3 a.m. “D-Day, June 6, 1944 – Tribute to the Brave” Fox New Channel
SUNDAY
* 11 a.m. “Normandy: The Great Crusade” Discovery
* 1 p.m. “Clash of Warriors: Eisenhower vs. Von
Rundstedt” History
* 2 p.m. “D-Day: Down to Earth – Return of the 507th” WNYE/Ch. 25
* 3 p.m. “Great Blunders in History: Hitler’s Panzer Deployments for D-Day” History
* 7 p.m. “D-Day: Beneath the Waves ” Discovery
Failed Allied plan to send amphibious tanks onto the beach at Normandy.
* 7 p.m. “D-Day: A Leap Into History” NBC
World War II buff/anchor Tom Brokaw hosts special about U.S. paratroopers who took part in D-Day.
* 7 p.m. “D-Day: A Call to Courage” CNN
Former paratrooper, landing- craft driver, seaborne infantryman and Ranger recall D-Day.
* 8 p.m. “D-Day: Reflections of Courage” Discovery
Using re-creations, archival
footage and recollections of
veterans from both sides, D- Day’s most ambitious documentary.
* 9 p.m. “CBS Reports: D-Day Plus 20 Years” WNET/Ch. 13
Rebroadcast of historic Walter Cronkite and Ike visit to beaches of Normandy on the 20th anniversary.
* 11 p.m. “Retun to Normandy with Tom Brokaw” Discovery
