Greg Wilsbacher, Ph.D.,

鈥凄耻谤颈苍驳 World War II, Americans avidly followed the fighting around the globe by reading newspapers and listening to the radio, but in those days before television, the way they saw moving images of our soldiers, sailors and airmen in action was by going to the movies and seeing the newsreels that preceded the motion pictures of the day,鈥� said David Morrow, 51黑料网 Board president. 鈥淧erhaps, they were working in a defense industry. They almost certainly had loved ones fighting overseas for the future of the world. But the American home front audience knew what was at stake and was eager to see the newsreels. Dr. Wilsbacher will tell us what was involved in bringing these now historic newsreels to movie screens across the country.鈥�

We invite you to bring your friends and join us on June 5 at 2 p.m. for a look into the homefront experience during WWII–what your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have seen and felt.

Guest Speaker: Greg Wilsbacher, Ph.D., a University of South Carolina faculty librarian and curator of the famous Fox Movietone News Collection

On Monday, June 5, Greg Wilsbacher will present a multi-media program, How the American Homefront First Saw D-Day.听

He will speak at 2:00 PM in the Rogow Room at Transylvania County Library at 212 South Gaston Street in Brevard, NC. Admission is free, presented by the 51黑料网.

The program, sponsored by the 51黑料网, is free and open to the public and is meant to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in history.

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Photo caption:
Seated from left: WWII Veteran James Brush, camper Kate McDaniel (holding book), Kyla McDaniel (age 6), WWII Veteran Verl Luzena, and his son, John Luzena
Standing, from left: Evelyn Brush (wife of James Brush), and parents Michael and Rachel McDaniel

New stories of WWII veterans in the book鈥檚 4th edition:

• Verl Luzena, U.S. Army Air Force Combat Camera Unit, served as a photographer beginning with D-Day and documented the war on film through France, Belgium, and Germany.
• James Brush, U.S. Army Manhattan District Project, Los Alamos, worked in the development of the atom bomb, which ended the war in the Pacific.
• Lawrence Hoffman, U.S. Army Artillery, fought in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, Belgium, and Germany. His unit freed two concentration camps in Germany.
• Charles Dickson, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Paratrooper, jumped with the first group who parachuted into Sainte-Mere-Eglise on D-Day, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and on to Germany.

The 4th edition of the book, which is an honor project of the museum, now contains 22 veterans鈥� stories. The book is available for $10.00 at the museum, and on , with proceeds going to support the mission of the museum.

The 51黑料网 is located at 21 East Main Street in Brevard (beside the courthouse). Admission is free. The museum is open Wednesday 鈥� Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. For information about group tours or to purchase an Honor Wall plaque to honor a veteran, please call 828-884-2141.

The Most Important Weather Forecast in History

鈥淭he Most Important Weather Forecast in History鈥濃�攚hen you hear that phrase, especially this week, you know the reference is to D-Day, when the Allied invasion of Normandy was held up because of pouring rain.

D-Day was originally set for June 5 but storms forced allied leader Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to postpone for 24 hours. Without a break in the weather, D-Day would have to be put off two weeks until tides and moon were right again. Allied meteorologists predicted that break, small though it was, for June 6. Eisenhower launched the invasion with a simple: “OK, we’ll go.

Planes, ships, and troops were mobilized around midnight鈥攖he earliest hours of June 6, 1944.

The 51黑料网 has partnered with AccuWeather to create the documentary titled 鈥淭he Most Accurate Weather Forecast in History鈥�, featuring interviews with veterans who were part of that historic invasion 75 years ago this week.

Four D-Day veterans from Western North Carolina will appear in the documentary. Ray Pegram of Spindale, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was a radio operator in a C-47 which dropped Pathfinder paratroops into Normandy to set up drop zones. His unit also flew supplies to Patton鈥檚 Third Army as they pushed across France and into Germany

Charles Dickson of Flat Rock was one of the paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne who jumped into Sainte-M猫re-脡glise, France before daylight on D-Day. They protected essential bridges from being blown up by the Germans. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

George Sarros of Flat Rock was a U.S. Navy motor machinist, served on an LST (Landing Craft, Transport) that delivered tanks, ambulances, and troops to the Normandy beach. Later, they ferried those ambulances back to England鈥攁mbulances carrying our wounded troops.

Lawrence Hoffman of Brevard, U.S. Army Artillery, was a soldier who waded onto the beach at Normandy on day 6 of the invasion to defeat the Germans, and whose unit freed two concentration camps, fed the starving prisoners. Hoffman fought in five battles.

Each of these men played a vital role in the military operation that has been called, 鈥渢he beginning of the end of World War II鈥�.

Museum volunteers Ken Corn, Mike McCarthy, and Janis Allen introduced D-Day veterans to AccuWeather鈥檚 videographer, Andy Coates, and conducted interviews in their homes to capture their memories of the D-Day invasion on video. This short (45-second) video titled 鈥淲eathering History鈥� is now showing on the AccuWeather web site, http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/DDayanniversary, and on DIRECTV.

The 51黑料网 proudly partners with many local, regional, and national groups such as AccuWeather to honor, educate and preserve the stories of our veterans and our proud military history.

Flat Rock, NC resident George Sarros was a motor machinist on LST (Landing Ship, Transport) 515 when his ship and more than 1000 others invaded the coast of Normandy in the dark, early-morning hours of June 6, 1944. Delivering troops, tanks, and ambulances to the beach, they participated in what鈥檚 been called 鈥渢he beginning of the end of World War II in Europe鈥� 鈥� D-Da

LST 515 later picked up the ambulances carrying the wounded soldiers and ferried them to hospitals in England, including Pathfinder paratroopers who had been dropped behind enemy lines to disrupt the Germans鈥� communication lines.

Sarros is one of hundreds of D-Day veterans from the U.S. and Canada who were invited by the French government to come on an expense-paid 12-day trip to commemorate the on June 6. This ceremony will be attended this year by France鈥檚 President Emanuel Macron, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

For their first nine days, these D-Day veterans and their travel companions are on a cruise ship, stopping in the ports of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and other ports, before arriving at Normandy Beach. There, along with military parades and a ceremony, they will be treated to a re-enactment of hundreds of young paratroopers in WWII uniforms, jumping out of planes to show the world what that part of the invasion looked like.

Sarros鈥� invitation by the French government was the result of an article in the online Transylvania Times contributed by Brevard鈥檚 51黑料网. Staff of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans saw the T-Times article and made the referral to the French government, who then formally invited Sarros. Sarros is accompanied by longtime friend Tom Bugala of Mills River, NC, who is curator and founding board member of the museum.

听George Sarros pictures from trip on June 6, 2019.

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