D-Day - First radio bulletin on NBC

[@ClearTrackSpeed]

Imagine being a parent, knowing your son(s) are deployed across the sea, and hearing this broadcast; thank you for sharing

[@cards0486]

I think the same thing. I can’t even imagine the terror in the heart of anyone that loved a soldier in the European Theater. How long before they knew if he was safe, wounded, or gone?

[@hiturbine]

My first thought also.

[@TheKevman13]

I’m the father of three young boys. I have that same thought whenever I hear this.

[@Gail1Marie]

@@cards0486 It could be 2 weeks to a month--or more. Think of the volume of casualties; soldiers dead in an explosion could lose dog tags and uniforms that would help identify their bodies. Before DNA, the air force took inked footprints of pilots; even if they were in a crash and fire, the last thing to burn is the feet (they're protected by boots). War is a grisly business.

[@tophat2002]

Pretty insane

[@JSTX9216]

Here for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, 2024. It is amazing and just incredible to hear these bulletins.

[@mikebeesley3150]

My uncle was on Omaha Beach that morning part of the big red one,he survived the whole war but when he came home I never saw him with out a beer in his hand until he died of liver failure, the horrible shit he must have witnessed, unimaginable.

[@julialane6645]

My father landed on Normandy Beach 2 day. He fought under Omar Bradley in the Battle of the Bulge and Liberated Maastricht, Holland. He fought in Korean War, & served as Chief Warn Officer 4 in the TN National Guard, until he retired in his 60’s. When I become older & wiser I understand more about my father & cannot believe her survived the Wars & PTSD. They were not aware of PTSD @ that time and the Survivors of WWll & Korean War had no support or counseling. 😞. My father drank shots of whiskey or Bourbon and the bottle stayed under the kitchen cabinet. He drank beer on the weekends and after work. But, he went to work everyday and was loyal to his job. He never spoke of the wars, but on occasions.

[@theghost3061]

@@julialane6645 so how old is your father ?

[@julialane6645]

@@theghost3061 my Father passed away in 1991.

[@davidlogan7216]

Fottie Ganaros of Middletown, CT landed on Omaha Beach as well. He came home and ran a restaurant in Middletown for decades. He just passed away in 2020.

[@Thebeatles19632]

@@julialane6645 your father saved the world my condolences I’m forever grateful for his service

[@arkady714]

These recordings are truly invaluable and it's hard to express how grateful we KZbin viewers are that someone has taken the trouble to find and post this. Thank you.

[@danocable]

Agreed.!!

[@NiallMor]

May God bless the memory of the courageous men who gave their lives that day that the world might be free.

[@educationalchannelthesoknc8106]

No any kind of God.... In universe... Please learn science know everything..

[@therealzach.b]

@@educationalchannelthesoknc8106 shut up

[@spencersholden]

@@educationalchannelthesoknc8106 why?

[@FreeMind4492]

They died in vane, 'cause the world will never be free.

[@Thebeatles19632]

@@FreeMind4492 yes they saved Europe

[@moboutmen]

When Breaking News was indeed just that.

[@john111257]

Hard to hear, rip those who never came home

[@alitlweird]

@@john111257 The audio is very clear. maybe your speakers are bad?

[@theghost3061]

@@john111257 blm isn’t breaking news, lib.

[@sandrasanders706]

Exactly!!🇺🇸

[@chrisg2282]

@@john111257 🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@packersfanforlife7903]

As a British man the last bit filled me with tears of pride. To think of those Men who had no choice but to do it. American, British, Canadian and the others on that day, having to go through that. They don't make heros like that anymore!

[@TheUsmc7211]

There are heroes like the men of the past walking among us. We’ve just been lucky to not have them prove it.

[@awesome4561]

Hello man, just to mention that a group of Peruvian volunteers (yes, a small group of Southamericans from Peru) took place in the greatest military action of the history, to fight for their conviction of a free world against Nazi tyranny.

[@Rookz89]

Listening to this now in 2021 with the benefit of knowing the result gave me goosebumps. I cant imagine how it must have felt back then not knowing how things will turn out.

[@Retard244]

They made the ultimate sacrifice one of the greatest any human can I thank these men for their service and sacrifice

[@isatq2133]

Listening from 2023. Looks like there will be a youtube list of ww3 radio broadcasts very very soon. Wish our soft American asses luck! Hooah!!

[@AI_Image_Master]

What's interesting is that Eisenhower wrote 2 messages before hand. One a successful invasion and one of defeat.

[@frankgonzalezofficial3010]

Have you seen the movie “The Bunker”? It’s about Hitlers last days in his bunker. It’s a different type of movie because it shows the war from the perspective of the Germans, and this they felt when it was the end.

[@joeharm8141]

REAL MEN, REAL BROADCASTS, THE GREATEST GENERATION! God bless them!

[@LTBrooks05]

YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

[@EuropeanQoheleth]

sigh They had their failings too. Any generation rises to its challenges with proper leadership.

[@softdrink-0]

@@EuropeanQoheleth these newer generations are pussies

[@michaelostrofsky6289]

Listening tonight at the same time this was originally broadcast.

[@scifiradioguy]

Ditto now as well! #DDay+75

[@paulzammataro7185]

@@scifiradioguy 6/05/2020 👍🏻

[@Padoinky]

Some 80 yrs later, this 60yr old man gets chills hearing this history unfold

[@arkansized]

Reading my dad's letters from WW2 + listening to this recorded broadcast = goosebumps

[@byesinge]

arkansized bless your father

[@ggc4337]

Ur dad was a legend my guy

[@jiazhenghe9696]

the longest day in history, those courageous soldiers from U.S, UK, and Canada make history. You saved world with your blood.

[@HistoryNerd8765]

@John Smith And if it hadn't been for the Allies, they would have conquered all of Europe.

[@Bruce-1956]

And France, Begium, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, etc., etc

[@tratbagd4500]

​@@HistoryNerd8765If by "they" you mean the Soviets then you're right. I couldn't see the original message you responded to, I guess it was deleted.

[@lorilori3]

Broadcasts such as this should be used to teach important worldwide historic events to students and future generations. Unfortunately these events are not being told/taught anymore. As it happened audio/visual broadcasts might interest students more. Thank you for posting this broadcast.

[@altfactor]

In the mid-1970's, as a high-school senior, my history teacher played the Ed Murrow "I Can Hear It Now" LP's, which (in three volumes) contained soundbites from historic speeches and radio coverage of news events from 1919 to 1932; 1933 to 1945; and 1945 until 1949.

[@letsthink1991]

@@altfactor Is it available on KZbin?

[@letsthink1991]

Yes it helps them to live in those times rather than just read about it.

[@smadaf]

"Unfortunately these events are not being told/taught anymore." Where are you?

[@Toxodos]

you seriously think D-Day is not being taught anymore?

[@Pepperboy555]

It’s June 2024 and listening to this gives me goosebumps just knowing what was going to transpire and the sacrifices made by so many.

[@frankgonzalezofficial3010]

My great uncle broke the news in Spanish in Monterrey Mexico. He said the archbishop asked for people to go to the nearest churches to pray.

[@a.j.laplace4216]

In my mother’s hometown in San Luis Potosí, there was only one reliable radio within the Pueblo. My grandfather was a young man at the time of the war. He spoke of how attentive everyone was of every incoming announcement and how the local priest held the war as a matter of necessary prayer. The entire world was truly shadowed by the conflict.

[@diegotavel5872]

Exactly 80 years ago. 06-06-2024. Glory to all those heroes.

[@AN5WER321]

77 years later. War is hell. My thoughts are with the veterans who are still alive and have to relive this day every year. I hope to never have to send my children into battle

[@tbr225]

This recording is so so historic--the greatest generation at work once again !

[@apachified3682]

If you don't really feel anything listening to this, you have to remember that this was the most powerful force that the allies were fighting against at the time, and everyone at home was nervous because they didn't know if the allies would win the battle or not. This really was a huge turning point in the war.

[@mgmmac36]

The most important day in the 20th century for the USA.

[@apachified3682]

@@mgmmac36 Indeed.

[@robminmonaca]

I wonder if people and families woke up their children to listen to this.

[@raymroz5806]

Not to take anything away from the veterans, combat is hell and this was no exception, but the actual overall strategic value of the invasion was minimal and only led to a more hasty conclusion of hostilities. The war in Europe was won by the Red Army and would have been won by the Red Army had no western invasion occurred. The Allied air campaign, which had become very profficient in the near wholesale destruction and slaughter of Germans in their cities, had much more actual value in bringing Germany to heel and in assisting the Red Army in its titanic struggle in the east than did the Normandy landings, which were politically rather than strategically motivated.

[@raymroz5806]

@@mgmmac36 Not even close. Not even the most important day of the war. October 24, 1929 was a day, the ramifications of which still shape US politics, economics and culture on profound and meaningful levels to this very day. No crash, no welfare state, no welfare state, almost certainly no capitalism, not of the sort we recognize anyway. Normandy invasion was political with very little strategic value. The Red Army had Germany beaten by Stalingrad and certainly by Kursk. They would have defeated Germany on their own. The Allied terror bombings of German cities actually played a more instrumental role in hastening German defeat; they were bringing about German economic hardships as well as impacting morale. By 1944 they had become so "effective" that every time a city was earmarked for destruction, some 75,000 men, women and children were sure to be incinerated by US and British bombs. Read some of the first hand accounts of these bombing raids, they are horrifying to say the least.

[@samuelli-a-sam]

Imaging waking up in the middle of the night hearing the most historic event of humankind happening.

[@BramGaunt]

"The most historic event"? Rly?

[@samuelli-a-sam]

@@BramGaunt One of the most historic events

[@robertweingartner2055]

I've been searching for this audio ever since I heard it on the Ken Burns World War II documentary titled 'The War'. Thank you for posting it.

[@robmclean4352]

You're welcome!

[@Godzilla00X]

Imagine waking up to this, the early hours before the sun is even coming over the horizon. You can't do anything but sit and listen as your friend, parent, child, neighbor, people you knew and loved are fighting in vicious combat to free the world

[@mattroberson8679]

I served with 82nd during the 1st gulf war. When i listen today of the news broadcasts of when we invaded iraq It gives me chills, i remember how scared but ready we all were. I cant imagine what it was like on that beach or in the skies over france for the Paratroopers.

[@chrisreal1541]

Thank you for your service. I did not serve, but I had high school friends who did.

[@Ladysensei]

80 years ago today! Truly the greatest generation!

[@rgk99]

79 years have past and it still gives one goosebumps to hear this announcement.

[@Anarchist86ed]

How far news reporting has fallen since then.

[@chakinfingerz947]

News was reported this was because News was reported at certain times of the day. The 24 hour news cycle wasnt even an idea yet. Since they could only broadcast at certain times, when breaking news hit at 3 am, it was taken with extreme emotion. Also, this war affected every single citizen in America. Nobody was not apart of it some how. So with this news, every single person felt it every person had a reaction to it. This was probably the most important news broadcast behind "Day of Infamy" Why? Because DDay was when The Allies did the impossible, we breached France. We showed that Germany is vulnerable and we gave the most important thing in war to those stuck behind The Nazi Curtain and that was hope. This broadcast essentially said that Democracy is prevailing, The Nazi Regime has begun to be pushed back, those who are trapped behind the line, hold out just a little longer, we're coming for you. This broadcast was Freedom and Democracy finally gaining the upper hand. Today's generations do not understand how close the world was to being under fascist rule. They think USA bad! USA has committed war crimes! And that USA is a terrible place to live. They fail to realize that having those thoughts is a luxury millions of people could not afford to have. Men and women died for our generations to have the freedoms we have. They died in hopes that us, we are the generation they thought of when they set sail across the ocean to fight, we are the generations they dove on a grenade for so their friends could advance further, all so we could sit on our porch under the stars and stripes and laugh with our friends and family. They gave their lives so people they would never, ever meet could have a life that wasn't threatened by evil dictators. They gave their lives so you, me and our loved ones could live in peace, so we could have the freedom to be who we wanted, so we could live a life that we were happy with. And that same generation who they gave their lives for has the fucking audacity to spew hatred about them and to talk as if Hitler was a good person. These same people who gave their lives will soon find out exactly what they were fighting for when they find the concentration camps. They will see first hand what humans are capable of doing to each other and only then will it sink in that they did what they did not only because they wanted to protect their country but because they needed to rid the world of this hatred. Now decades later there are people who claim its a lie..they claim the Nazis actually weren't bad, they claim that America is worse than Nazi Germany. It is ignorant, foolish and outright disrespectful to those who suffered and died all because of someone who thought they were inferior. These soldiers deserve our respect, they deserve to be treated as heroes. They were exactly that

[@soupman3285]

@@chakinfingerz947 the US has committed war crimes tf you on

[@syrupofwahoo3059]

Thinking of you heroes today! Thanks to all for your sacrifice and service. Truly the Greatest Generation

[@RobertWPaine]

Dad was piloting an 8th Air Force B-17 somewhere over France. He only remembered he was flying over the continent but couldn’t recall where.

[@uMONTYu]

The moments these words were being spoken, so many brave souls were unsure of their future.

[@nadeemmohammed6652]

All those soilders died may thier souls rest in peace An all the innocent people who died and suffered terrible consequences my heart goes out to them ameen we mankind do not learn still fighting in syria afghan afirca kashmir for wat land land

[@raistlinmills131]

My great grandfather fought and survived in world war II, he might not have fought in d day, I am not sure, but he is turningb100 this july

[@dr.a.995]

The outcome was never a given; the citizen-soldier will always be my hero.

[@tratbagd4500]

It wasn't on an individual basis. But overall, Nazi Germany and was gonna lose the war regardless. The Soviets had already started wiping them out and pushing them back from the east all the way to Germany.

[@TheKevman13]

This is incredible. Thank you for posting this.

[@robmclean4352]

You're welcome!

[@leonardcovarrubias5120]

rest in peace Mr. Nunez 82nd Airborne Pathfinder and your brother-in-law memo 101st Airborne Purple Heart Beach entry..

[@angbandsbane]

Listening to this, I'm getting teary eyed and I don't know why.

[@davidbaise5137]

Thanks for this. Lucky to have these recorded for history. Every American, voters especially, should thoughtfully listen.

[@wildancrazy159]

Around this(---) moment, 75 years ago my family was there. One member to die at the battle of the bulge after fighting the Japanese for two years, being discharged and re-upping to fight the Germans.

[@echovarde]

When news was really news and not fake reports...... Interesting broadcast...... assume that I heard this but would have only been two years old. Don't remember it. Amazing that we can hear this story so many years later..... :)

[@SunkaTanka]

Imagine hearing this while sitting at home with tv or social media.

[@Chris-lh7wj]

Imagine in 1944 just working around the house listening to the radio like always only to hear this. Maybe you have a son or a brother stationed in Europe. All you can do is pray and hope it all ends soon

[@echovarde]

I was two years old. Would like to know the reaction of my grandparents and mom when this announcement was made===== knowing that my dad would soon be there.

[@shawnp6653]

Gives me chills.

[@lemuelaguarin2333]

80th anniversary of the D Day

[@Kai-tq6vl]

Absolutely remarkable

[@lao8277]

Damn it must have been intense listening to this on the radio

[@CaptainCanuck1975]

I like the style contrast between the announcers: the first guy sounds really pumped and dramatic while the second guy sounds like he's reading a weather report.

[@tylersanders6018]

I wish I could have heard this in history class in school years ago. Very cool to hear this as it happened

[@darylfn]

Just for the record, there were Canadians involved in the D Day invasion.

[@robmclean4352]

Some 14,000 of them!

[@thevillaaston7811]

Accoring to Hollywod it was American, the British and Canadians were not there.

[@Conn30Mtenor]

and they reached their objectives before anyone else did- not to mention spoiling the 7th SS Panzer Division's planned attack on the beaches.

[@spudskie3907]

Serious history buffs know about Canada’s contribution to D-Day and WWII in general.

[@randyjones4975]

TheVilla Aston not true

[@schristy3637]

More people should listen to these old radio "bulletin" about WW 2. Not to learn history. But to hear it was a Really thing. My Dad was in WW 2. He past away years ago(72). I was born in 66(I'm now 53). WW 2 is the most Important thing that has Ever happened in World History(in modern times). The war to really be told not just by news papers. But by the human Voice.

[@infantinofan]

Just finished Stephen Ambrose"s book on D Day. This gives it a real feeling of what it was like then in the U.S.

[@mgmmac36]

Great book.

[@thevillaaston7811]

The bloke was a chauvinistic plagiarist.

[@salty-as-heck9915]

Seventy six years ago today. Amazing how much the world has changed since then.

[@GymChess]

Has it?

[@salty-as-heck9915]

@@GymChess most major European cities had suffered war damage and the European economy was destroyed, Japan was destroyed, Asia in general was one of the poorest regions in the world, probably poorer than Africa... yet today it is one of the most prosperous regions in the planet. We have also undergone a technological evolution thanks to computers and electronics. So yes, a lot has changed. Are there still a lot of problems that plagued humanity back then that plague us today? Absolutely! But there's no denying that's there's also been a lot of change. We are a work in progress. We are a stubborn species and must bang our heads and make a lot of the same mistakes quite a few times before we learn our lessons.

[@another_random]

@@salty-as-heck9915 stubborn but stupid. People forgot the value of peace. Peace is taken for granted by many.

[@erictaylor5462]

I spoke with an elderly Dutch woman (in the 1980's) and asker her what she was thinking when she first heard about D-day. She said her emotions were going crazy. She and her husband were hiding 4 Jewish families and all four were discovered. Though they were all tortured none of them, not even the children gave them up.

[@brennensanchez7692]

Currently writing a History Research Paper about D-Day, and I found this after listening to General/President Eisenhower's Speech on D-Day. This is pretty cool.

[@ROBERTSTJOHN-ge2qs]

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I learned the name of the NBC correspondent announcing this radio bulletin, only recently, while watching the movie, "Overlord." Imagine my astonishment when, while watching the closing scene of the movie with my closed captioning on, I saw my own name (in ALL CAPS, no less) appear on the screen as the radio announcer, my namesake, spoke.

[@gloomsouls]

Watching this a few hours before June 6th.

[@ApartmentKing66]

My dad was in the Navy on the other side of the continent in the Mediterranean Sea/Suez Canal when this happened.

[@98Dougmorris]

thank you for sharing this! first time for me to actually hear it.

[@dirkdiggler2865]

My badass grandfather was there

[@beatlejim64]

This is the "Greatest Generation"...these guys saved the world!!! Today...you can't get people to get off the couch...never mind storming the beaches at Normandy!!!

[@ericcollins8794]

And sone of them were racist abd sexists especially to their fellow soldiers,sailors,airmen,Marine 💯💯.i do believe that generation would be rolling in their graves seeing their future children,nephews,grandkids,who align themselves to nazis ehitr power movement which the gg's hoped to eliminate

[@christianpatriot7439]

I can't believe that the German press would have admitted that aerodromes had been wiped out by the Allies.

[@paulzammataro7185]

IKR

[@sandrasanders706]

I think they knew their time was short..just a matter of time..

[@davidk6269]

Anyone else listening on June 6, 2020?

[@Bruce-1956]

My father was off the coast on a RN ship during the invasion.

[@colinebied-charreton1343]

❤

[@williamcurtin5692]

As usual, the Canadians get overlooked. My mother was a nurse in SW England (Yeovil). They knew this was the "Big One from the seemingly everlasting heavy transport flights southward (the airborne divisions). The direction also pretty well settled the argument on where. Mom, ever sharp, had been in the Normandy camp - my father, an ordnance officer had been thinking Pas de Calais. A great many things had indicated the invasion was in the offing, including increased training in the treatment of wounds more typically received by land combatants as opposed to the usual airmen (mines, heavy artillery, and such).

[@robmclean4352]

Here's a bit of the Canadian PM King on the CBC (with annoying music underneath): kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaa4l2Rpo7eaoc0

[@williamcurtin5692]

@@robmclean4352 King damn near pulled off a complete snub himself (probably not intended). TG Canadian music got better. As always (assuming you're up in the GreatWN) thanking you guys for Joni.

[@NxDoyle]

There must have been great ambivalence from the people in Allied nations when the news of D-Day arrived. People knew that the landings marked the beginning of the great fight back. They also knew that the battles would be internecine.

[@usapatriot4peace894]

America is the greatest nation on earth where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and our civil society can flourish. We owe a gratitude of thanks to the brave men, women and their families who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Teach you children well.

[@Skyggers]

The Americans at Utah and Omaha, the British at gold and sword, and the Canadians at Juno. “Take up our quarrel with the foe To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.”

[@davidreichert9392]

I wonder how many people heard this live. It would have been broadcasted somewhere between 1 and 3 am in New York and very few people would have been awake.

[@plodyplop]

i would not like to be the people how lost their lives in this war. may you rest in peace

[@altfactor]

This was not NBC Radio's first D-Day bulletin (NBC and the other networks had broken into regular programs around 12:40 A.M. Eastern time), but is the broadcast of the confirmation, as fed to the networks via shortwave from London just after 3:30 A.M. Eastern time. Hopefully, even more recordings of network D-Day coverage besides those already made available to the public will be found and released in-time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day this June (2019).

[@robmclean4352]

altfactor You’re right, I should’ve been more clear with the title. Thanks!

[@arthurperry4675]

altfactor I

[@tinastahl9762]

Goosebumps

[@thomthumbe]

The message about D-Day was both good and bad. Good that it had happened, but bad if a family had sons in that theater of war. One of my late uncles was on Utah beach, but he landed much later that day (actually my wife just said that he could have landed a day or two later, but nobody today knows for sure. He would never talk about his war experiences) when that beach was somewhat under control by the Allies. Years ago my grandpa gave me their old AM radio (a huge piece of beautiful furniture) the radio from which the whole family learned about the D-Day landings. I rebuilt it and it sits in my living room to this day. It was the golden age of AM radio back then. People depended on radio for any and all outside info in those days. This was especially true for farms located away from cities and towns.

[@ronniebishop2496]

My mother was scared constantly because her twin brother was fighting in the pacific and my dad was in Europe. And Dday was the invasion they all were waiting on because that would finally end the war.

[@allans7281]

This radio broadcast gives me the chills day one of the European western front! Thank you to all the allies for so bravely attacking the axis powers for our freedom Like the movie saving Private Ryan says , “ Earn This!!” I’ve strived to be a good citizen out of respect and gratitude for all of those fallen heroes

[@brandonshaw7619]

Our grandparents and great great grandparents woke up at 12 to 1am to listen to this

[@ub1953]

Always found it so inspiring to hear how Americans across the country flocked to churches to pray for the well being and successful campaign against tyranny upon hearing of the invasion .

[@ronniebishop2496]

And now we are far away from that spiritual world.

[@decimatorentertainmentstud8523]

Interesting. Not a lot of schools play this sound clip

[@jameseveland6718]

Thank you for posting WW2 buff

[@jscottupton]

So there was a time when NBC was not fake news.

[@walesruels]

I didn't realise that news of the invasion came from German sources first. How interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[@smadaf]

Goosebumps.

[@angbandsbane]

80 years. Just...wow...

[@MrJoebrooklyn1969]

We couldn't do this today.

[@ronniebishop2496]

We wouldn’t have to. Thank God.

[@MrJoebrooklyn1969]

@@ronniebishop2496 we may one day again. Evil always exists.

[@ronniebishop2496]

@@MrJoebrooklyn1969 Well I think more of a civil war first for the USA than a world war.

[@MrJoebrooklyn1969]

@@ronniebishop2496 true.

[@shoelessjoe1905]

My dad was 17 and about to enlist in the Navy... listening to this I can kind of imagine what was going through his mind the fear and excitement that he must've been experiencing and I think how different the culture was then compared to now...I pray one day we return even a little to that generations moral fortitude...thanks for this share I'm so proud and grateful to be an American and so proud to be the son of a WWII and Korean war Veteran...

[@hugoholierhoek676]

Goosebumps!

[@ericn.wilson2345]

When Colonel R. Ernest Dupuy goes quiet at 2:19 before reading the text of Communique #1, you can hear the BBC's John Snagge off mike introducing it for the BBC, and you can very faintly hear Dupuy in the in-studio recording of Snagge's broadcast at kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5ysZqKpg7SAl7s

[@stevensiferd7104]

I wonder how many affiliates carried this. Most broadcast stations with approval to transmit at night used to operate under what were called "normal hours" -- signing on sometime between 5-6 a.m. and signing off between midnight and 1 a.m. It's unlikely that any stations east of KOA in Denver carried this. About the only NBC stations with their transmitters still switched on at 3:30 EWT would've been KFI & KECA in LA, KPO & KGO in Frisco, KGW & KEX in Portland, KJR & KOMO in Seattle, and maybe KOH in Reno, KFQD in Anchorage and KGU in Honolulu. Not only did stations sign off because audiences were nearly zero during the wee hours of the morning, they also signed off as a safety measure during the war. If you've ever seen "Tora! Tora! Tora!", you probably remember the scenes where the B-17s flying in from California tuned into a Hawaiian radio station that broadcast all night to help guide them in. Unfortunately, it also helped guide the Japanese in for their attack. That station was KGMB, which had its transmitter located between Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor. After that, wartime broadcasters HAD to shut off their transmitters during the hours before dawn to prevent a repeat of this.

[@robmclean4352]

I have the entire broadcast day of June 5-6 from both CBS and NBC, and they both announce several times that they had been/were staying on all night. Now, of course the individual stations could've signed off if they wanted to, but why would they? By 1944, an Axis air raid would've been quite unlikely, especially on the east coast (we're not talking late 1941 in California here). I'm guess most major-market NBC and CBS stations stayed on, and certainly the outlets in the Midwest (1,000+ miles from either coast) would have.

[@Gail1Marie]

@@robmclean4352 So-called "clear channel" stations usually broadcast 24 hours a day (except, typically on Sunday nights, when they shut down for transmitter maintenance). They were called "clear channel" because they broadcast at 50,000 watts (or higher) and were assigned a dedicated frequency they shared with no other station at night. (Other stations could share their frequency in daytime, but at sundown, were either required to cease broadcasting or severely reduce power so they wouldn't interfere with the clear-channel station's signal.) The logic was that clear-channel stations could then reach rural areas that otherwise would have little or no radio reception. So in 1944, "sundown" stations would've been off the air, but not the clear-channel stations or non-clear-channel local stations that didn't operate at such high wattage. The idea that bombers could follow radio broadcast signals wasn't really a concern for the continental US in WWII because no enemy had a bomber that could cross the Pacific or Atlantic to bomb us. (Japanese carriers never got close enough to the West Coast.) But post-WWII, it led to the development of CONELRAD (1951-1963). In the event of an attack, only designated radio stations continued broadcasting at 640 and 1240 MHz; all other stations went off the air. CONELRAD was phased out when ballistic missiles replaced bombers as the primary delivery method for nuclear weapons. It was replaced by the current Emergency Broadcasting System (EBS).

[@robmclean4352]

@@Gail1Marie Actually, the EBS was replaced in 1997 with the current Emergency Alert System. (A national test of the EAS in 2011 did...not go well.)

[@007ndc]

It is impossible for just about anyone alive (most who lived through this time are gone) to comprehend how the entire world's focus was on the pending Allied invasion. The Fate of the World literally was in the balance

[@dennispearson871]

Is it no wonder that this was truly The Greatest Generation !!?....

[@historyandcurrentaffairs5195]

feeling myself in 1945

[@gatko2876]

Holy fuck , I am feeling it !

[@jeanphillips1030]

My Dad fought in France.

[@g5400]

What brave men.

[@AJxxxxxxxx]

That’s really cool that they were receiving news from German agencies on the ground however those news outlets from Germany might have been questionable

[@juvinajolius9668]

2:29 this is war start sound

[@LesterMoore]

Unlike today's news media, back then they said, "This is unconfirmed." Now they quote each other as gospel.

[@rowanservy7548]

Im dong a school project on D-day right now

[@KevinBalch-dt8ot]

Interesting that several of the bulletins were based on German (government) radio broadcasts. You would think they would not release such bad news or delay its release as long as possible.

[@Madisonrvr]

I read an account by a Nazi machine gunner, placed on the cliffs of Omaha. He said, just as the light emerged a tiny bit at sunrise, he could see all across the horizon, as far as the eye could see: ships. Waves and waves and waves of Allied ships. And he said to himself, "at that very moment I knew this war was lost."

[@johndonohoe3778]

Wow!

[@ronniebishop2496]

I was in Vietnam, and war is war but this was totally because it’s total war!!!

[@steliosbyzantium9869]

After that go and listen the song from Sabaton primo victoria to the max !! :)