The War

PBS
Sept. 23 – Sept. 26, Sept. 30 – October 1 & 2, 8 PM ET/PT. Check local listings

America owes Burns a debt; he has recorded the stories of our “Greatest Generation” before these men and women pass from view. The US homefront during World War II is the lens used here. The succinct narration explains how the War touched every family, every city in America. Four cities are profiled: Mobile, Sacramento, Waterbury, CT and Luverne, MN. Narrators read letters and dispatches, describing how the War changed safe but uncertain lives at home. Gritty action overseas gets equal time. The battlefronts in Europe and the Pacific are described, some with color footage of gruesome scenes. With each story in the seven part series, there is now a new kind of resonance. Burns helps viewers perceive these events through the eyes of those waiting and wondering, all at a distance. To move forward, a nation must understand its past. Ken Burn‘s The War is a step in a positive direction. Some PBS stations will repeat the each episode twice each night; and a full series repeat will be aired in October. Check local listings. A viewer’s guide, video clips and more at http://www.pbs.org/thewar/

OnTV listings are provided by KIDSNET, a national resource for children’s media in Washington, D.C., www.kidsnet.org, and Cable in the Classroom Magazine at www.ciconline.org.