November means Thanksgiving Day, but there is another day that should cause us all to pause, reflect and give thanks: Veterans Day. WTVP honors the service and sacrifice of American veterans and their families throughout November with a line-up of special programming.
Grandpa's War Story Goes Viral shares the remarkable account of James (Jim) Schmidt's World War II service and military career, and his grandson Henry De Hoop's efforts to generate interest in his grandfather's war journey with the help of social media. Schmidt enlisted at the age of 14 and left home without ever telling his parents. Schmidt's age was eventually revealed, and he was sent home, after his wounding in the invasion of Sicily. Not to be deterred, Schmidt would serve stints in both the U.S. Navy and Merchant Marines before finally reaching 18 and officially rejoining the Army.
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The story of one of the last living survivors of the sinking of the Troopship Leopoldville on Christmas Eve, 1944. A daughter discovers how her father's life was saved by a twist of fate and of the secrets he kept hidden for decades.
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The life of a dead Japanese soldier is honored by an American who finds him with his diary in a battlefield cave and seeks to return the chronicle to the man's family. Decades later, the American's son retraces the footsteps and meets the Ogawa clan today. Part history, part travelogue, part memoir, Unearthing Ogawa brings the past alive with unexpected discoveries and compassion.
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Sgt. Vernon Hamilton’s plane was shot down over Germany during World War II, and never found. Decades later, an excavation and forensics team bring long-awaited closure to his family. WQED explores the diligent work of those researchers, and the poignant “welcome home” from the people of his small hometown.
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During World War II, the Aleutian Islands became a front line in the Pacific theater. The arrival of war resulted in mass relocation of the Unangax, the indigenous people of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. Several villages were never resettled. Evacuation had a profound impact on culture and identity, which continues to resonate today. The film follows the Unangax̂ survivors of World War II who came back to the communities they were forced to leave during the war.
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