Writer, director, and narrator Charlotte Juergens accompanies American veterans as they participate in the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, the Normandy invasion in June 1944 that became the turning point in World War II.
Filmed on location, this intergenerational documentary begins with Charlotte Juergen’s quest to follow the path of her grandfather Pat and ends up with Charlotte pursuing the route of another veteran, Don McCarthy, and garnering stories from Don’s comrades. While the camera is unsteady at times, Juergen captures memorable stories from these veterans.
Interested in history, Juergen discovers her great grandfather Pat was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division during World War II. Charlotte includes some of Pat’s words of reflection. Learning of the 70th Anniversary of D-Day on June 4, 1944, Charlotte readily agrees to join Joe McCarthy, a veteran who also served with the 29th Infantry Division. Joe is accompanied by his cousin Bill who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.
Of the three regiments of the 29th Division, Don states he and his comrades were part of the 116th regiment. Don describes his training on the moors of England, where artillery was shot over the soldiers’ heads to get them used to the sounds of war. Charlotte meets Hal, Don’s roommate after the war, and learns that these veterans were part of the first wave of soldiers reaching Omaha Beach. Hal and Don describe the landing.
The Normandy coast was divided into seven sectors and their assault took place on Dog Green and Dog Red; Dog Green was the most heavily defended beach. In the shallow landing craft assaults, the waves ranged from five to fifteen feet high and the men stood in water up to their knees. When the ramps went down, the enemy began to fire. Don was lucky; at 5’10” tall, water came up to his neck; for shorter men, the water was a death trap. Making it to shore, Don and Hal were both injured, but continued to fight.
Charlotte accompanies the veterans to many ceremonies filled with singing, wreath-laying, and taps in the French towns leading to Saint Lo. From the 29th Infantry Division’s historian, Charlotte learns Pat engaged in intelligence and was at Saint Lo. After attending a service at the beach, the veterans head to Saint Lo for a parade. Charlotte learns that for the Amercian soldiers to advance, they had to cross the hedgerows that separated the fields. The enemy would hide in the tall embankments of trees, shrubs, and grasses known as “boucage."
With amazing archival images of the Omaha Beach landing, men of the 116th regiment, and the ruins of Saint Lo, the film presents a remarkable picture of the Normandy Invasion from the images and words of those who were there. Strong optional. Aud: H, C, P.