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soldiers identity in famous D-day landings footage


ka bar
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This footage does not strike me as staged and this clip has also "bothered/haunted" me over the years. I will continue to dig for who shot the film because I am not convinced it was Army footage (not to take anything away from Mr. Halloran and his outstanding service).

Per the comment about sound-I have yet to find a good reference or example of the use of sound film during WWII. The Filmo cameras did not record sound and the US Army Signal Corps photography teams had one still and one film photographer-no sound man. The Army continued to use Filmos into Vietnam.

An interesting thread...

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I didn't say it was staged, only that we don't know for certain that it wasn't. And that, I still stand by.

 

I think the still frames and the point that Hink441 made pretty much shows that this was not staged. You would have a hard time convincing people that this was staged.

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Most of the time, when news producers and documentary filmmakers need to tip-the-hat to “D-Day H-Hour”, they grab that routine assembly of shots offered in places like Critical Past. And in that sequence you’ll see a mix (a majority) of actual D-Day footage and some shots clearly taken during training activities in the UK prior to D-Day (or even earlier at Fort Pierce in Florida for example). These shots – pulled from a variety of sources - have been jumbled like that since the days editors were using razor blades and glue to cobble together shows like “The Big Picture” and “Victory at Sea” or “The Air Force Story.”

 

The sequence that you’re looking at was probably cut by an editor more than fifty years ago and simply repurposed time and again in newsreels, or military training films, and DoD shows like ‘The Big Picture.’ A sequence like that remains the ‘path of least resistance’ for 'need it now' producers. You can find that exact sequence in the offerings of scores of stock footage providers.

 

But if a curious filmmaker wants to take it a step further back and watch the original source reels – the film that those old editors tapped into for footage – he or she can find them at the National Archives.

 

Back in 1994, when I produced my first D-Day doc - after much digging - archivists pulled that particular original 100 foot, 35mm black and white camera master (actually a first generation print made from that precious original shot on a B&H Eyemo camera) and with white gloves, I sat and watched all the shots – from the cameraman’s chalked “Invasion” slate to the fogged rollout - that precede and follow that iconic shot of the GI collapsing in the surf as he approaches the shingle.

 

I have a transfer of that reel in storage in our tape vault. (along will many more rolls of uncut, camera original invasion footage – from NARA, as well as the Imperial War Museum, and the Bundesarchiv). I’ve used it in a number of D-Day related shows since 1994. And when I can find a day to dig it out this summer, I’ll try to digitize and post it. I should also be able to find the ‘locator number’, so anyone so inclined can find that roll of film at the Archives and copy it. Many iconic shots came from that particular reel of film.

 

All this to say: based on my experience with the master film, there is no doubt that that particular shot came from a roll of film exposed by a military combat cameraman on June 6th, 1944 in Normandy, France. (I can’t say who shot it – or what service he was in - until I look at the slate again – but I’m not sure it even identifies the shooter on the slate. Might just be a reel number or something.) And based on screening that uncut, camera master: nobody ran across the beach to that approaching GI and asked him to ‘fake a hit’ for camera as he came ashore.

 

It is as legit as legit can get.

 

Rob L.

 

 

 

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That's the three-parter which was first broadcast on the History Channel in '94? If so, I bought the dvd set just a couple of weeks ago and watched it at the weekend. It's held up very well despite being some 20 years old now. The various "talking heads" who were there, really make it. Sadly, most if not all have left us now but at least their testimonies have been preserved. Congrats on a job well done!

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Yes, that is the show. And thank you Sabrejet for the belated review. ^_^

 

It is indeed sad how many of those vets - and historians - we've lost in the last two decades.

 

I was happy that that show included lengthy contributions from not only US vets, but British, Canadian, French, and even German participants in the 'Longest Day.'

 

The bulk of those videotaped interviews were transcribed and became the seeds of an archive we founded called "The HONOR Project". "Heroes of Our Nation On Record". And with the dawn of the WWW, those records were then folded into the Library of Congress's Veteran's History Project.

 

Rob L.

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RobL, if you could digitise the entire footage and post it, that would be unbelievable.....

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Yes, that is the show. And thank you Sabrejet for the belated review. ^_^

 

It is indeed sad how many of those vets - and historians - we've lost in the last two decades.

 

I was happy that that show included lengthy contributions from not only US vets, but British, Canadian, French, and even German participants in the 'Longest Day.'

 

The bulk of those videotaped interviews were transcribed and became the seeds of an archive we founded called "The HONOR Project". "Heroes of Our Nation On Record". And with the dawn of the WWW, those records were then folded into the Library of Congress's Veteran's History Project.

 

Rob L.

 

 

I particularly enjoyed Wally Parr's contributions. Such a modest man considering his remarkable achievement!

 

I have a book titled "Voices of Valor" which is a compilation of similar testimonies...comes with an audio CD. You're probably familiar with it?

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ROB

 

Great book and thanks for posting the detailed reply on the film footage.

 

 

 

I have a book titled "Voices of Valor" which is a compilation of similar testimonies...comes with an audio CD. You're probably familiar with it?

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  • 3 years later...
Government Issue

Hey Ka-Bar. For the last few years, Iv'e been interested in trying to find and identify legit film of the landings and am all too familiar with this piece of footage too. Critical Past uploaded the raw film as shot unedited by the cameramen awhile back and I believe it is pretty safe to state that these men were in the 1st infantry division. Most of the film was shot by a Sgt. Taylor who was a member of Detatchment "L" of the 165th Signal Photo Company which was attached to the 3rd Battalion of the 16th infantry regiment on the morning of June 6th. Some of the films are roll numbered and dated although I believe the films are out of order. There are numerous jump cuts between each bit of film that may evidence this.

 

The first bit doesn't have the title card, but when you watch it with the following footage you'll notice that they had to have been filmed either by Sgt. Taylor or another cameraman from the Unit. This may be a compilation of Film Roll 1 & 2 as I have yet to find either. Regardless, this bit has the scene of the men being cut down crossing the beach as they attempt to make it to the cover of the bluffs. We note from this collection of footage that this has been filmed by the cameraman as they look out from the bluff face unable to help the men crossing the beach. Also note that the officers watching the incoming assault waves; its the same men in the background who are just approaching the shoreline from the water as in the film of the men crossing the beach. If you look closely you can see the backside of one of their helmets with the Officer's aiming stakes quite clearly at the 40 second mark.

 

 

Then we have Roll 3 which shows the men collecting wounded as well as shots of how the rising tide has come in close to huddled soldiers the bluffs. There's shots of the soldiers beginning to dig in with shovels to gain cover, as well as some of the wounded and traumatized. Taylor shot some film both to the eastern end of Omaha Beach and of what was left of the western flank of the beachhead. He also shot some footage out to sea.

 

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Government Issue

This next piece of film, Roll 4, again shows the title card indicating it was filmed by the same man, the same unit, at the same time, and at the same place. You can even see at around 0:32 seconds in that there are men wearing the 1st army patch on their shoulder taking cover at the bluffs. I believe these are men from the 165th Signal Photo Company to which Sgt. Taylor was attached that fateful morning.

 

 

The 16th infantry regiment assaulted Easy Red, Fox Green, and Fox Red Sectors of Omaha during D-Day. Due to the confusion of the invasion, few of the assault companies actually landed in their designated sectors and many landed far off course. Many of the 16th infantry regiment landed in Fox Green and Red. If you take a look at photos online, both during D-Day and today, the locations and bluffs in the footage point to the filming taking place somewhere in those landing sectors. I'll see if I can grab some photos to post later tonight.

 

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