The War: Stories from the Northwest: WWII includes four, 30-minute episodes featuring local veterans and stories about the roles Washington and British Columbia played in winning the war.
Episode 1: Courage Under Fire
Episode 2: Washington's War
Episode 3: The War within the War
Episode 4: Two Nations-One War
Veterans share powerful stories of adversity, bravery and sacrifice in battle, including:
The First Photograph
On December 7, 1941, Lee Embree of Port Angeles, was on board a B-17 headed for Pearl Harbor when the plane was suddenly surrounded by Japanese aircraft. So Embree started shooting—with his camera. Meet the man who took the very first photographs of America at war, before our country even knew it was at war.
In the Belly of the Bomber
Kirkland’s Joe Regan was afraid of heights—tough when you’re the belly gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress. Flying daily missions over Europe, Joe and his crew took part in the first mass bombing of Berlin. This is Joe’s story of flying—and being shot down—in one of the most famous planes of World War II; life in a German prison camp; and the day he was liberated—a day more important to him than his birthday.
The Man with One Dog Tag
As U.S. forces quickly learned in the Pacific, beach landings were among the most dangerous missions a Marine could face. You wouldn’t know it from meeting Lake City’s John Des Jarlais, who took part in four beach landings, including the invasion of Iwo Jima. When John was wounded on Iwo, they took one of his dog tags—normally only removed from the dead. Now, John’s remaining dog tag is his most prized possession.
Merrill’s Marauders
Two Japanese-American soldiers join one of the fiercest units of the war and make
a daring raid behind enemy lines that takes them on foot through the Himalayas.
Featuring Roy Matsumoto of Friday Harbor and Grant Hirabayashi of Washington, D.C.
How Washington became one of the most pivotal states in the war effort, building planes, ships and weapons.
Margy the Riveter
When American men went off to war, American women took over critical jobs back home, including manufacturing
tanks, fighters and bombers. Seattle’s Margaret Berry worked for Boeing, a real-life “Rosie the Riveter” on the assembly
line for the B-29 Superfortress. These days, Margy helps restore the planes she once built. Also, meet Peggy Cook
of Greenlake, who knitted giant nets designed to prevent U-boats from reaching ground on the west coast.
Boeing Under Cover
Boeing’s Seattle plant was considered a prime target for Japanese air attack during World War II. How do you
protect such a huge facility? Simple—disguise it as a city. Renowned Seattle author, veteran and WWII historian
James Warren tells how northwest architect William Bain Sr. disguised the assembly plant as an ordinary neighborhood,
using a “rooftop town” as elaborate as a major movie set.
The Secret City
It started as the Hanford Engineer Works, a facility so secret, not even the people who worked there knew exactly
what they were doing—making plutonium for the Manhattan Project. Learn the history of the Secret City that
helped end the war. Features Margaret Degooyer of Richland, Washington, who analyzed plutonium in a Hanford lab; Michele Gerber of the Tri-Cities, the Official Historian for Hanford Facility; and Larry Denton, also of the Tri-Cities,
who worked as a shipping clerk during WWII and later became a boss at Hanford.
WASP Pilot
They thought women couldn’t fly fighters and bombers. Seattle’s Marjory Munn was one of the women who proved them wrong. As a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she was one of the first women trained to fly American military aircraft. Their job was to fly planes to the places they were needed most in the war, to be test pilots… and sometimes to pilot the planes men were afraid to fly.
Telegraph Delivery Boy featuring Robert Hadeen of Everett. A teenager in World War II, he delivered telegraphs, sometimes telling families their loved one was missing in action or killed.
The Second World War was fought early in the struggle for civil rights in America. KCTS 9 examines the experiences of some members of racial and ethnic minority groups, who often fought against Hitler at the same time as they fought prejudice at home.
The Fighting 442nd featuring Shiro Kashino of Seattle. As a Japanese-American, he was interned in WWII, then joined the 442nd, an all-Japanese-American regiment that was among the most decorated of the war.
Vernon Baker of St. Maries, Idaho, an African-American soldier who led a daring assault on a Nazi-held castle in Italy.
Fausto Cruz, interviewed by his nephew, KCTS 9 Connects host Enrique Cerna. A veteran of four battles on the USS Colorado and recipient of the Purple Heart, Cruz saw the Japanese surrender from his post in the Pacific.
British Columbians share their stories of battle, bravery and sacrifice in WWII.
The Devil’s Brigade
One of the most elite fighting units of all of World War II, the Devil’s Brigade was a joint American–Canadian Special
Forces unit that struck fear into the hearts of German soldiers. Larry Story, a Canadian member of the unit, recalls
the daring missions carried out by this group, later immortalized in the movie The Devil’s Brigade.
The Long Return
His mission was supposed to last one night; instead it lasted nearly a year. Shot down on a bombing mission over
Holland, Bob Porter survived a fiery plane crash, spent months on the run from the Germans with the help of the
Dutch Underground, and later witnessed first-hand the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.
The War Brides
Meet the war Brides—British women who fell in love with Canadian soldiers in England and left their homes to start
a new life in rural B.C.
Additional stories are in production. Some will appear in episodes 1–4 while others will appear after episodes of The War. For more information, contact Daphne Adair, dadair@KCTS.org or 206.443.6791.
Visit the The War Web Site on PBS.org
Stories provided by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
There are many resources available to assist veterans.
In this simple Veterans’ Resource Guide, we list some of these resources under categories such as health care, legal assistance, and benefits assistance.
We hope that you will find this information useful for yourself, as a veteran, or for someone you know.