Film details vets' memoirs

By Carla Hinton

Published: September 20, 2007

Ken Burns' newest documentary chronicling World War II drew a capacity crowd Wednesday to an advance screening of the film series at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art's Noble Theatre.

About 250 people watched as excerpts from "The War” were shown, courtesy of the museum and OETA-13. Another advanced screening was held Tuesday at the Tulsa Circle Cinema. The seven-part PBS series will premiere Sunday on OETA-13.

Ashley Marcum, OETA's public information manager, said OETA was thrilled that the screening captured the interest of Oklahomans.

"I think that the turnout means that World War II is still a point of interest, not only for veterans and military buffs,” Marcum said.

Wednesday's audience watched as veterans from four American towns shared their recollections of the war. Their memories were interspersed with riveting, sometimes grim footage from government news reels and narrative accounts from newspapers of the era.

A panel discussion after the hour-long screening included WWII veteran Paul Wilson, who served with the 17th Airborne Division, 193 Glider Infantry Regiment; Robert L. Griswold, University of Oklahoma history department academic chairman; and Roger Harris, oral historian for the Oklahoma History Center.

Wilson said he attended Wednesday's event to ensure that his division is not forgotten.

"I want people to be aware that the 17th Airborne Division was involved in the Battle of the Bulge. I realize that we are the forgotten division,” he said.

When one audience member asked the veteran if he would enlist again knowing what was to come, Wilson replied without hesitation and drew applause from those gathered.

"Without question, I would,” Wilson said. "I wanted to fight for the country. That's what young men are supposed to do. That's the way we were raised.”

Harris talked about the 45th Infantry Division, which he said was made up of many Oklahomans and others from Texas and Arkansas, who "bonded together because they came from similar backgrounds.”

Griswold said the Allies prevailed because they had "excellent” leadership such as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Britain's Winston Churchill — men who he said wisely listened to the advice of their subordinates.

Griswold said he liked Burn's wording of the documentary's first episode: "A Necessary War.”

"I think it's the perfect way to frame it. It's unquestionable that there was an absolute threat to humanity in so many ways.”

Marcum said she also believed Wednesday's screening proved popular because of Burns' reputation as "America's filmmaker.”

"He actually shows the war through personal experiences being told.”

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