Searching for the Missing Footage of D-Day

This is a special video that I have put together for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. ‪@GeorgeRetelas‬ and myself went to that National Archives in College Park, Maryland to meet with Steve Greene, the man who may have found John Ford's Lost D-Day Footage. In this video, we view Steve's footage that was found in the archives, and see what else we can find from the invasion of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. A big thanks to Steve Greene and his research organization, Historicity! Check them out here: Historicity.co Please like, comment, and subscribe. #WW2 #WWIIHistory #WarThunder
FOOTAGE CREDIT: National Archive (NARA) Film Reels: (Local Identifiers: 111-ADC-1319, 111-ADC-1318, 111-ADC-2093, and 111-ADC-1336) - Combined reel can be viewed on National Archives KZbin page here: • D-Day to D plus 3
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[@TJ3]

A huge shoutout to Steve Greene and his research organization, Historicity - check him out here: historicity.co - ALSO a huge thank you to George Retelas, who helped a great deal with shooting and planning this project. Check out his fantastic channel here! kzbin.info

[@SteepSix]

Where is the digital copy you surely made of all this unique footage?

[@steveshoemaker6347]

This is AMAZING to watch footage never seen before in WW2....l am so sorry i am late again,for some reason your videos never get posted on my PC by youtube.....Thank y'all.... Old F-4 II Shoe🇺🇸

[@TJ3]

@@steveshoemaker6347 Thanks for watching!!

[@ArnieC1974]

He's a liar!

[@SteepSix]

@@TJ3 Oh TJ, grovel kowtow blowing smoke up your brass! You are so amazing and so great I love you and worship your shadow and please forgive my pathetic late reply! please please please I beg thee! Don't ignore me I begs! Just give me some love too just a heart I beg!

[@stephencastello6553]

This all needs to be digitalized for posterity regardless of who might think it unworthy or sensitive in nature. It is history and needs to be preserved. PERIOD And the National Archives needs to come clean with what was actually done with hundreds of thousands of veteran's medical records. We know they have them, because our medical review boards reference data found only within those records. Yet no one knows where our records are being held and why. There is a rigorous chain of custody for all records in the National Archives, which means someone knows who took them, where they took them, and when they took them.

[@briancooper2112]

No. It would ruin it. This was black and white film and should stay that way. Alot of cameraman were killed in the air or ground. Just leave it alone.

[@Cyberleader135]

Digitizing it just means scanning it so we will still have it after the film eventually decays

[@imdeplorable2241]

Exactly. No one has analog equipment to view these images because everything is digital now. Digitize it so all the people can view them.

[@SlipKnotSlayer66]

I definitely agree that there should be an effort to digitalize film shot from ww2, as well as releasing information on veterans medical records that are supposedly “missing”, my grandfather was an Army infantryman during the battle of the bulge and received a Purple Heart, but that’s all we know just by word of mouth, all of his records were supposedly “lost during a fire” but I believe they still have records that we either can’t find, or they just haven’t been publicly released, we still occasionally try to dig for any form of documentation because we never knew his rank or role during his time there

[@alanluscombe8a553]

@@briancooper2112not talking about black and white footage talking about making it digital so when the film rots it isn’t lost forever. And your right cameramen and a ton of others were killed which is why we should make it stick around instead of their work they died for being lost forever. Not quite sure what you are on about. You go die for something and then have someone say nah whatever just let it go

[@earthwatcher2791]

Totally in awe of the footage shown, wish i could see it all but all the same thank you for your work & passion. My grandfather was in Europe for 2yrs of combat during ww2. When he passed two squad members were still alive & attended the funeral. I saw binders of photographs for the first time of his and war buddies. I had no idea he was in what he was in. He never talked about it and spent his last years living holed up in the basement. He said war was hell but i will always wonder what exactly he saw. I dont even know what unit he was in but the pictures i saw of him with his unit & squad members after funeral were unbelievable & incredible.

[@ballygeale1]

I was told in Normandy that all the camera footage was gathered up and returned to the usa but it got damaged with water and thrown over board

[@DCShaneTours]

The story is they were on a dock, and someone knocked them into the water in the sea water destroyed most of the footage. I'm pretty sure it was in the theater of operations and not back at home, but I'm not sure where it happened.

[@timlewis9873]

i saw a vid. that said the pictures of all the dead kids on the beach were misplaced on purpose, so America would not see all the dead bodies on the beach. They were afraid America would shut it down. If true, then nothing has changed.

[@LoneWolf051]

That was Robert Capa's footage from Omaha

[@stephen_crumley]

Must have been the same bunch that lost all the original footage of the moon landings. Nothing to see here though

[@SurvivalAussie]

@@LoneWolf051 They were destroyed when being developed back in Britain. The assistant rushed the drying process, and turned a heater up too much.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

My coworker’s dad was George Hjorth. He was a somewhat famous child actor in the early TV days. He escorted Shirley Temple to the Academy Awards. He didn’t like acting and switched to cameraman. He volunteered for the war effort and worked for the OSS. They would parachute him behind enemy lines in Frances and he would film things like the V-1 launchers and things. He was parachuted into France a few days before D day. He was told to store his film gear at the foot of the bluffs at Omaha beach. He was instructed to sleep at the foot of the bluff the night before the attack. He filmed the slaughter from the bluffs. You can read about his exploits in a LA Times article.

[@VQKYLE410]

That’s insane thanks for sharing this with us

[@tonybarnes3858]

Where's the footage?

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@tonybarnes3858 Georgetown University was looking for it. The last time George saw it, the OSS had developed the film and were starting to look at it. The guy ended up yelling at George and told him to get out. That was the last that he saw it.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@tonybarnes3858 Georgetown University is scouring archives looking for it. George came back stateside with the footage. They developed the film and were starting to view it. George walked in during the viewing and the OSS guy dressed him up and down and George walked out and never saw it again. He was easy going and shrugged at most of life. Never told his son about his war exploits until the LA times article came up.

[@JamesBouault]

18:25 and 21:40, that's definitely a British landing craft, a LCA (Landing Craft Assault). You can clearly see the bullet proof steering position (with the white painted diamond shape) visible on the front right side of the craft. Also visible are the side roofs that ran the length of the troop compartments on the LCA. LCAs also had 3 lines of seating, benches for the troops. The American Higgins boat didn't have these side roofs or any seating for troops. My Grandad, William Francis Diffell, a LCA Sternsheetman / Signaller, and his Royal Navy Flotilla, Flotilla 550, landed American troops, L Company 16th Infantry, onto FOX RED (it was meant to have been FOX GREEN) sector of Omaha Beach as part of the first infantry wave on D-Day. I reckon this footage is of Omaha Beach, possibly the second wave on D-Day? Those cliffs 19:53 and 20:53 look very much like those seen in the FOX RED sector on the far eastern end of Omaha Beach. These troops were not meant to land this far east, but it turned out to be a blessing, as once at the base of those cliffs, they did offer some protection from the German strong point, WN60, directly above. Due to a combination of the strong sea current that day, the sea mist and also smoke from the fires on the bluffs above, these elements badly hindered navigation for the landing craft crews coming into the beach. All the units of the first wave on Omaha, apart from the Rangers on the right flank, landed significantly east of their intended positions. Indeed, half of my Grandad's own Flotilla, 6 LCAs were heading off towards Port-en-Bessin before they realised their mistake and turned around almost running parallel with the coast to get back to Omaha Beach. They would land nearly an hour late.The reason the Rangers, who were also brought in by British LCAs and crewed Royal Navy personnel, landed in their correct sectors? Possibly because that western end of the beach was more sheltered by the horseshoe shape of Omaha Beach? But yes, i do reckon those cliffs are those of FOX RED sector, eastern end of Omaha Beach. No other D-Day beach, apart from Pointe du Hoc, had cliffs like that.

[@jaimerocha4791]

Greetings! It's nice to see young people interested in ww2 history and bringing it to light. I personally can and have seen and read lots of material about it (a lifetime,it seems) . yes, those were the 101st airborne boys in town next the small tracked vehicle, picture of paratroopers standing in the sidewalk in front of the caffe had been identified, same with the ones holding a Nazi flag and a machete. Thanks for your work👍👍👍.

[@CameronProsser-i5i]

The footage of "This might be the 101st" is well documented and actually features several known Easy Company men. That's Albert Blithe standing next to the soldier with the machete.

[@calvanoni5443]

So glad that this has been found, War is Tragedy, & we need to be reminded of that!

[@analystanalyst7652]

I had read, and also heard, back in the 1970’s, that the footage taken on Omaha by Army cameramen was accidentally dropped in the sea when the Lt. carrying the bag of film up the rope ladder dropped it. Unlike Robert Capa’s photos on Omaha, which I think were ruined by an impatient dark room technician, I always felt that the film reels went missing because the beach was something that you did not want the public to see. In the first five minutes there was not one officer or non-com from the Big Read One left alive on the beach and the 29th fared just as badly. There was a reason why the Commonwealth footage predominated and possibly a good one at the time. The story of the Buna Beach photo of three dead Americans and the fight that Life went through to publish them in ’43 will tell you how concerned the government was. Tarawa was another. I always felt that Omaha just would have been too much with the thousands of American casualties. They had decided, initially, to bypass the beach but then realize that they needed it to tie Utah in with the other beaches. Cota wanted to land at night, they knew it would be that bad. That cliff that you were trying to figure out was the base of Pointe du Hoc where the wounded were being treated. They were not under fire at the time.

[@MikeWoot-ox9xf]

Awesome job & Unreal discovery. 80 years 🫡 & many more to come. Thanks to all who helped document, preserve & present this archive footage & thanks to KZbin for giving us a place to view it.

[@PonticLyra]

Thank you for a great presentation. God Bless. 🇺🇸

[@imdeplorable2241]

Thank you so much for showing us this bit of history. Those men are the fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers of people today some of whom may be researching their family's genealogy. I actually wondered if someone watching this recognized a a soldier or sailor as a family member. This is all so fascinating and interesting to me. Thank you and your associates for this important work.👍👏

[@mithridateseupator3492]

I’m no expert, but to me the creators of the video have taken a bit license to increase the drama by claiming “never before seen footage.” I’ve seen much of this footage before. For me, the take alway is that there seems to be more than one edited reel of invasion footage that was compiled under Ford’s direction. I’ve seen the SHAEF one before but not the other ones. But some of the scenes in the other ones I have seen before. Some of scenes obviously come from British and Canadian cameramen. I was able to identify those. Also I think there are quite a few scenes shown of the footage that George Stevens’ team shot aboard HMS Belfast. This is where it can get confusing for a lot of people. A lot of people don’t seem to know that George Stevens’ Special Coverage Units were also assigned to various British and Canadian ships. Thus you get the case of Americans shooting footage of British and Canadians. The film from HMCS Algonquin is an example of this that one can find on KZbin. On the other hand, the scenes of American troops aboard LCA’s piloted by British crews heading into Omaha seems to have confused the creators of the video, but I have no doubt that the cameramen or the just the cameras (if they were automatic ones) were American. However, it is well documented that many of the landing craft that took Americans to the beach especially Omaha were piloted by British crews. I would agree with many of the commenters that this material should be digitized, made accessible and, most importantly, properly labelled. Just a few years ago I was able to find my father in colour footage landing American troops on Omaha Beach on June 11. He was in the Royal Canadian Navy, on a Canadian LCI, but the film had been mislabelled when digitized.

[@VictoreeatC]

I agree with you, I have seen almost all of this before: The 82nd & 101st Airborne, the 1st Infantry Division guys in the British LCA approaching Omaha Beach, the 4th Infantry Division guys walking inland (wrongly referred to as the 82nd by the speaker), the troops by the cliff at Fox Red... All of this has been broadcast before and is also available on several other KZbin channels. It is also available in digital form on the Critical Past website. All of the D-Day footage on the beach shown here was shot by Army Signal Corps cameramen of the 165th Signal Photographic Company who are known and who were not serving under John Ford. I'm all for discovering any unseen footage from D-Day but most of what is shown here has been widely disseminated before.

[@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3937]

@@VictoreeatCyep this seems a poorly thought out video. Wouldn’t have taken long to realise this is mostly regurgitated footage if they knew a little more on the subject

[@JUNKERS488]

Once again you have out done yourself and knocked it out of the park. Thank you for all your hard work to find these amazing videos that has never been seen by the public. I have already rewatched it 4 times. I can't wait until June 6th now. Have you ever thought about making another pay channel thats not restrictive as youtube like The Donut Operator and many others youtubers have done to show and say what they want? I can't believe we just got to see W.W. 2 video that I've never seen before. That was so cool. I Have a good weekend TJ and please keep 'em flyin.

[@TJ3]

Thanks so much :) Very grateful to have your support!

[@bobgrewe988]

TJ, this is an amazing find. Thank you for what you do. Smh, simply amazing.

[@waceyseufer7083]

Great job guys! So stoked for Footage Under Fire!

[@freedomzvision]

Totally INCREDIBLE !!!! Thank you for sharing. The History of Truth on one day that changed human life on Earth. George is the best. Peace and Love and no wards can capture what you captured. Incredible but TRUE.

[@andrewtarnowicz]

You look at the footage and wonder... ...did any of those soldiers make it through the war? ...what families have loved ones in that footage and never knew about it? "you can't preserve everything." What else did we miss? Awesome video TJ! Can't wait to help you guys with the research assistance for Flying The Fortress!

[@SNP-1999]

The landing craft were generally manned by Royal Navy sailors on D-Day, as the crew, hence them wearing British helmets. I don't know if ALL the LCI's were manned by British sailors, but many certainly were.

[@theallseeingmaster]

During those days, my dad was in signals, and he watched a lot of RAW UNEDITED combat films, films that today are buried so deep in some forgotten vault, recorded under a non-descript name, that none of them will never look for them or again be seen or see the light of day. Footage so graphic, gory and horrifying that he would only describe a tiny bit of it to me only one time. I agreed with my dad, this kind of stuff should remain buried; preserved but never destroyed.

[@wirelessone2986]

That is the "should we open the Pharoahs tomb" argument...respect or history?History usually wins over the respect argument.

[@theallseeingmaster]

@@wirelessone2986 I have never seen any footage that remotely compares to what he described; nothing remotely close to anything you or I have ever seen.

[@electrichellion5946]

I wanna see the gruesome footage. Screwtube censorship blocks again.

[@sandordula5207]

Agree and disagree, but with respect. It's clear, and so very sad to see now that "we" have learnt nothing. Half of Europe yearns for the war, again. (And always them who wouldn't have to go to the battlefield anyway, but they are so eager to convince others about the necessity of the war.) The western world is misleaden, misinformed or simply biased. Respect for the exception. So I believe we have to see and watch these footages to remember what the war IS. 😐😑😔

[@peng9179]

I used to watch the longest day and always wanted to see some real footage but though it didnt exost or get destroyed. My breath has truly been taken away, seeing that glider bounce on the runways was crazy. Thank you for doing this. Please digitise them.

[@tonyparker4211]

What a treasure. Truly remarkable and should be shown to all. Lumps in the throat…. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

[@sandordula5207]

At last, a docu that you can trust in. Awesome footages all the way and real experts that give you proper, correct explanations. Also very enjoyable, even exciting. Good work, many thanks! 👌🏻👍🏻 Subscriber here.

[@Hogan231]

This month will 80 years ago.

[@fghhdh]

*90

[@KanJonathan]

Hopefully, it would given "They Shall Not Grow Old" like treatment someday.

[@Cl-cv4dv]

Merci beaucoup pour ce documentaire! Notre immense gratitude à tous ces hommes courageux !Nous n'oublierons jamais !

[@achildr1]

This is incredible stuff guys! As a videographer who always does alot of digitizing, it’s fascinating!

[@bobcruse624]

A documenty I watched 4 or 5 yrs ago claimed that a large number of omaha d day reels were accidental dropped into the channel in the hand off from the beach transport to the receiving ship meant to take them to England. My thoughts are that Omaha was so bloody the military hid the footage

[@fondasarff9701]

I recall hearing a mention years ago on some tv show that there had been camera men para dropped into France before D-day. At least one having filmed the landing from the shore. If it still exists it must be found and preserved.

[@CruizinWithTheCarsons]

This is just mind blowing. I love following ww2 history all the way. The footage of the American soldiers dealing with captured German soldiers, can you imagine what goes through both minds knowing, you're there to kill them, they're there to kill you.

[@Nathan-jm4kg]

I love the history in Dday great work on the video TJ this year is the 80th anniversary and the Dday anniversary is also my birthday

[@paulytheking7365]

What a great video. So crazy!

[@andwelovearpsychopat7820]

Hi guys just a note...the footage at 11.26 minutes has been shown quite a lot of times...its a village called St macouf...sorry if its misspelt...of the 82 as you mention...a chanel called WW2 Wayfinder....they have all this...and the British guy explains it in detail down to the units involved....just thought I would point it out...he does the same location in 2024...were he standing in the exact same position as the 82nd did in 44

[@StoryboardMindset]

This is fantastic. Great work.

[@chrysblack7901]

Love this video... Love to see the bits you can't show... Is there anywhere you can see these clips? A website perhaps

[@anthonymunoz6013]

I am generally a fan of your channel and enjoy your content. I appreciate the research you do to bring the many stories to life knowing that as each day passes, we lose more of our veterans whose stories will go untold. I watched this one with mixed emotion. The reels were a gold mine and as I watched I cringed knowing that each run of the reel is a crap shoot. Will the media have decomposed? Is it brittle? Was it kept stored in such a was as to best preserve the footage? The one reel had many patches. Like the veterans whose lives are preserved on the reels, each day is a race against time for the film as well. I have been somewhat critical of your content when you say this but show that all the while enjoying the rare footage even if it is inaccurately inserted. You offer gold to all of us who are history buffs of WW2 and love the content. I thank you for your research and content. I can only hope that like old Hollywood reels, there are those who are racing to preserve what is left of the reels. They will be the only visual footage left of a time that reminds us that we should always stand strong for what is right and just. They did back then!

[@sgreene820]

These were reference prints, likely printed in the 60's or 70's as "use copies". The National Archives will not screen film preservation elements for the public, those are used to make copies, Unfortunately, they are way behind in that process. Kept in cold storage, film lasts a very long time.

[@jimmymarsh2489]

I wished we could see the parts KZbin want let you show us. I was just warned this morning by KZbin about posting a negative comment, and I was like , how can that have been offensive? But yet a lot of the things we see on KZbin are way worse than any comment, and what we're seeing here is history.. It's like they don't want the history of WW2 to be taught. I have 5 kids and my oldest daughter who's 21 yrs old, said she had heard a little bit about WW2 in school and my other 4 were never taught a thing about the WW2 or the Civil wars. It's ashamed

[@TheCr8ivity]

This is amazing. and to think this video has a 136K views. this is HISTORY should be shown like it

[@leemacpeek2698]

Your next mission if you choose to accept it is to find the lost color footage of the moon landings. Awesome film wish there was more

[@W1ZY]

The earliest Omaha combat footage was shot by Capra, with most of the reels not developed properly in Britain and thus lost to history. The only one that survived includes the clip of the solder getting shot as others storm ashore. Capra was on the second wave. There is no footage of the first wave.

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Despite what the movies show, most of the landing craft during D-Day were crewed by British naval personnel.

[@JasonHolody76]

Alot of U.S.Coast guard piloted landing craft.

[@paulo.1619]

Half of these video material is digitilized since years and was published before.... These are some very famous shots from St. Marcouf and the Marmion Farm, also known as Stopka's Retreat. A mainly 502nd PIR strong hold near Ravenoville. Good researched and documented since ages.

[@martinscolthistorytoursree635]

This sure is awesome! The church he was talking about is mosst likely the one at Grandcamp-Maisy. you can read about it in the book the coverup at Omaha beach.

[@JUNKERS488]

Speaking of the beaches did anyone notice that in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" Rommel's Asparagus ( Mined Landing craft traps) were all built backwards? The long pole end should have been facing the water so the landing crafts would run up on and hit the mine at the top while it was hidden under water at high tide when the Germans were positive we would try to make a landing. Next time you see the movie it will be hard not to notice. I still so amazed about seeing the new footage.

[@ItsJustSteve]

This was great!

[@65gtotrips]

I’ve previously seen about 40% of that footage that was ‘cleaned up’; The rest was new to me.

[@tombrickhouse-growthmatrix6201]

Will these discovered films be digitalized?

[@stephencastello6553]

17:06 definitely 101st

[@Vaux_1916]

I seen the photo of it, Band of Brothers

[@FarmerJob33]

Great narration and production 👌

[@johnhopkins6260]

Of great use would be an index of time-frames/locations where filming occurred; potentially indicating unit identification. Have always held the hope of seeing my father (yes, first generation) on film. He landed with Battery "A", 32nd Field Artillery Battalion... 18th Regimental Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division... (where he was amazingly awarded a Bronze Star w/"V") Generally, the 32nd landed mid to late afternoon, where filming would be more realistic/probable.(he died, 1964, when I was 7). Also, is there a project digitizing The landings at Gela, Sicily? (June 9, 1942); where he also participated (same unit). I have one photo of him "somewhere in France '45" as well as his WD AGO 53-55 and complete set of replacement awards and decs.

[@brandongordon2521]

If you go to 4:20, the guy on the right looks like Carparzo(Vin Diesel) in Private Ryan.

[@zepperfox7669]

I have seen most of this footage there is about a few seconds of shots of film that are on par with the rest I haven't seen before that you pointed out I still feel like there is still more footage missing and most of it could be combat footage from the Beach head

[@rickb1387]

We need to be able to see the footage.

[@cameron5802]

Aside from the importance of this work, saying "His dawgs were barkin and he needed a ride" was the most 2024 thing ever.

[@cjm7685]

Government got rid of them because of all the carnage.

[@benjaminmoogk3531]

Most of the shots should be familiar. One or two are by the British AFPU. This makes sense since this is a screen print, a good screen print. The content suggests it is edited for US VIPs. It appears to be longer than “D-Day Plus 3”. Another VIP screener for the Canadian Parliament was found recently. There was a whole constellation of Film Units covering the Invasion from several different countries.

[@SNP-1999]

While it is understandable that people want to see their own countrymen in such historical footage, griping about more footage showing British and Canadian troops goes against the whole meaning behind the invasion - it was an allied effort and only succeeded because the allied nations worked and fought together as one army, air force and navy. to beat a common enemy.

[@GeorgeRuffner-iy7bm]

Very interesting and entertaining. Thank you for sharing your research and experiences for this video. 🙈🙉🙊 😎 🇺🇸

[@prestoncassise4813]

Theres way more d day footage on a documentary series called the world at war....I'll promise you, that footage has some very brutal visions of war...men being burned alive , American bodies floating in the surf, it's heart breaking. They stated that most the footage from d day is kept from the public because it is so brutal it wouldn't be right to the families of the soldiers, to possibly spot a son or husband being horrifically killed or maimed, would be very traumatic for them

[@TheNextGoogification]

I said it a thousand times! The main emphasis of this and the point that we must NEVER forget is - lemee see, I wrote it down somewhere

[@CameronProsser-i5i]

"This is the 82nd on D-Day." As dudes with 4th ID patches walk by, lol.

[@AnthonyBerardis-r1p]

It didn't vanish, it was destroyed by the water. This being the 2nd roll the guy dropped or whatever it was. Same guy who got the iconic footage of the 2 guys being shot on the beach.

[@FlacoFlo]

It wasn’t an accident that it fell into water. The world wouldn’t be able to stomach the d day footage

[@Zorplex.Gaming]

Why not digitize for backups in case original film is compromised

[@jefflaitila9799]

WW2 has been of high interest since at least the 70's. Why has this and all other WW2 films not yet been digitized?

[@66jediknight]

It is hard to believe that all these years that what we have been shown, what was actual combat footage of that day is so limited. One would think there is more out there, that is still classified and that will never be released or see the light of day. We will never know.

[@thebookofeli6299]

Does a team already exist to digitize the film amazing too see

[@RAIDERZNATION100]

Amazing find!

[@codymcclain846]

Anyone know where you can watch raw uncensored film from D-day ? Or any world war 2 footage? I’m a huge nerd when it comes to World War 2 history. Always have been since I was a kid. I watch every documentary I can find. I believe it’s important that the younger generation study word war 2 history. People seem to forget this is a sad reality, and we need to try to preserve what was fought for back then. This world could be much different if we didn’t fight for what’s right. If D-day never happened, who knows how things would’ve went. Hitler wouldn’t of had split attention to two fronts. Also it’s crazy to think that if Hitler kept their original plan, and kept pressing towards Moscow, instead of diverting to Stalingrad, the eastern front may have went the other way. Regardless, this War is something that should never been forgotten, this footage should never be hidden away. What’s left atleast.

[@dougcope66]

I had heard a story that a Zealous Naval commander personally wanted to transfer the D-Day landing (combat) footage himself and while climbing on to his ship dropped the film canisters into the ocean. Please confirm or correct me if I am wrong;. Thanks

[@M4A3ShermanLover]

Nonne of that footage was at Utah. Utah did not have cliffs or bluffs. Utah was flat marshy ground and did not have machine gun positions firing on the beach . Most of the casualties on Utah were from either mortars or mines.Most of it was in the Easy and Fox sectores of Omaha beach. I thought that the tracked vehicles were Bren carriers lent to the 82nd by the British Airborne which happened at Market Garden. But I read in the comments these are French Renault UE Chenillette armored carrier whihc look a lot like Bren carriers. They were probably captured by the 82nd airborne after they captured Ste. Mere Eglise. Lastly the reason why the helmets are different in that run into the beach scene was becasue the coxwains are Royal Navy. taking in American troops.

[@danditto6145]

Only the Bureaucrats would not have digitized this film by now.

[@RoadWarrior-lo9vt]

I personally don't like hearing the words "You can't save everything". Why not? I don't see why you can't or won't save every single frame of footage. Even seemingly mundane footage is worth saving, I think.

[@kempo899]

Great documentary. One thing, the reason the guys have different helmets is that at Omaha and I think even Utah, many landing craft were taken into the beaches by Royal Navy personnel. Those cox’ns are Brits.

[@sullyway51]

A lot of the cameramen were killed on Omaha beach. Also Some American troops were brought ashore by British landingcraft at Omaha. And even some Korean men were captured at Normandy and that's quite a story in itself.

[@historybuff9276]

I remember years ago hearing Brad Meltzer talking about missing DDay foitage that was filmed from the beach. I dont remember all the details but i think the OSS sent a cameraman or a pair to Normandy on the 4th. They were dropped by parachute and were met by resistance fighters that put them up and saftly accompanied to a location that over looked a landing beach. Im not 100% on the details but i know that the footage supposedly captured the landings on one of the American beaches and that its missing. Imagine seeing the landing from an entirely different angle or perspective. Then again maybe the footage was purposely "misplaced" or even destroyed because it was just to horrible to imagine ever being released or veiwed by the public. Salute to those who served My great uncle was in the 62nd armored field artillery bn and landed on the morning of the 6th,he drove a Sherman tank. He was awarded the bronze star for carrying a forward observer, gunner and loader to an advanced position to call in artillery fire on targets and in the citation it says they were able to take out multiple MG positions.

[@tonybarnes3858]

The scratches show that the film was "well loved...haha". Well curated more like it: properly censored, handled by the authorities so as to eradicate horrific imagery that would have been deemed detrimental to morale, harmful to the ongoing pursuit of freedom and democracy post-war, in the face of the Soviet threat. Or maybe I'm indulging in idle speculation.

[@Cody0ne5]

How could anyone have filmed footage on Omaha beach from the first wave. There is no way a cameraman could have even shot footage while being shot at by MG 42s, 88s, 100+mm shells, mortars. There is just no way.

[@irvinelawrence2733]

Another weird flaw surrounding DDay was the pre-invasion bombing... They had twice as many sorties over Pas de Calais as over Normandy so it baffles me that they claim that if they did the bomb runs along the coastline, it would give up the "game"... Dat dog doan bark... Rommel and the others knew it was coming, just not on which beach... Many of the bombs either went in to early and landed in the sea or late and too far inland... A series of fortunate incidents and good old Dolphus micromanagement- do not dare wake him- helped make this inaccurate bombing less of an issue...try telling that to those who are buried there😢

[@nickmalone1126]

This video would have been WAY better if you didn’t show 80% of the footage while having to look at someone viewing it on a tiny screen. Just an fyi, we don’t want to watch someone watching something.

[@Theakker3B]

I've seen all of this before. Most of it is from Sgt. Richard Taylor on Omaha Beach.

[@Cass-lv1on]

AMEN...EXCELLENT

[@garylyons3036]

All important footage are missing not a surprise

[@rodwilliams5074]

@21:10 That's the 1000 yard stare.😮

[@gnisis562]

People collect and there are people that search for missing items.

[@Tracker1944]

Richard Taylor...filming near wn 61...nothing new

[@haydenkrein8207]

17:37 in footage is some men from Easy company

[@toddsterling4949]

There are fixed camera footage of the Canadians landing!!

[@ixlr8677]

i had 1 of those guide books.

[@SGrey-fk3zf]

So they are pulling out footage from that time that was not digitized? Why?

[@Peter421]

This is amazing

[@Armis71]

A lot of the film taken in Omaha Beach were confiscated. Why do we only see snippets of sanitized film on Omaha Beach? There are cameras attached to many of the landing crafts, yet we see nothing except for a few snippets of MG42 strafing and water gushing up around the GIs wading ashore. There should be more. We are not seeing the whole film. Many of the landing crafts were hit by mortars and exploded with all 30+ men killed. Many had all 30 men dead inside having no chance to get off the ramp. I have seen a film snippet of a ramp of a higgins boat full of holes. You can imagine the men behind that ramp getting ripped apart when it happened. If you look close enough on still photos, and even on the short snippets of film, you do see ahead on the beach silhouettes of soldiers some laying parallel to the bluffs, which is a strange way to to do so if you want to be seen as a smaller target. More than anything they are either dead or injured. 19:08 - The only reason why we are able to see the film with the GI getting shot on the beach was because Sgt. Richard A. Tayler, the cameraman hid the film. This was on the eastern edge of Omaha beach where there is plenty of rock formation and bluffs that the men could hide under. You will notice seconds before "that" GI who was shot on the beach, you'll see another GI close to the camera walking nonchalantly on the right. He was already under the cover of the bluffs so there was no danger. Taylor, took the shot with his back on the bluffs just like that other GI who had a 1,000 yard stare who was on the right of him. 19:02 Some of these men on the water are alive and some injured, but just riding the tide until it reaches the shingles or sea wall.

[@sydneydarts5911]

the tv screen casts no shadow.

[@Droodog127]

whole bunch fell into the channel being transferred to a ship , bunch of Frank Cappa's film was ruined by someone opening a darkroom door and the footage taken from a Navy hero on the beach before D Day filming from the German point of view

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Outstanding. .

[@plastichistory9148]

Will this be digitalized and uploaded?? Anywhere?

[@mr.channel6467]

They don’t want us to see how brutal war really is. End of story.

[@shadowwolf9503]

Ive heard some of the footage was so graphic, it was "lost" on purpose.

[@dwayneroberts6616]

They never really showed much coverage of the first wave on Omaha. That was to horrific.