Memorial Ceremony (including Roman Catholic Mass) for fallen U.S. troops, held on June 10, 1944 during World War 2. The location is Omaha Beach, St. Laurent sur Mer, Normandy France, where the U.S. 1st Army established the first American military cemetery in France, during World War II. U.S. troops line the area. An altar is set up on the hood of a jeep parked in the sand. An Army Colonel standing in rear of the jeep reads from a notebook. Soldiers all stand with heads bowed. Among them are African American soldiers of the 320th Battalion. A Chaplain's assistant sits at a keyboard instrument next to the jeep. A Roman Catholic Army Chaplain in white clerical robes conducts a mass. Numerous grave markers can be seen in the distant background marking graves of soldiers who died in the invasion of Normandy. Several French civilians stand with the soldiers, who bow heads in prayer. The Chaplain administers holy communion to kneeling soldiers. A French civilian woman places flowers near recent temporary grave markers of U.S. fallen (stakes bearing their dog tags). A color guard stands with American flag, as squad of riflemen fire gun salutes. Three French civilians stand by the flowers. U.S. Army bugler blows taps. All present salute the fallen. Some individual soldiers walk to the markers of their friends.
Execution of a spy in Toul, France, during World War 2. A slate reads Graham (presumbly cameraman) Execution. Military Policemen (MPs) lead a single spy, Josef Wende, to the execution location in the farmyard of a farmhouse in Toul, France. A Catholic Priest in black accompanies the MPs. At the execution point, a Lieutenant Colonel and two other officers stand with the Priest as he speaks with the prisoner. The Priest offers prayers for the German spy, who was a Pole drafted in the German Army and caught behind American lines posing as a Polish slave laborer. The face of Wende is covered using a cloth. The MPs tie the legs of the spy. The firing squad fires at Wende from a distance. The body of Wende leans forward and falls to the ground after it is hit. Afterwards The Lieutenant Colonel returns with a medical corpsman who checks bullet wounds on prisoner's chest and checks for a pulse. MPs pick up the dead body of the spy, cover it with a white sheet and carry it on a stretcher. The Priest prays as MPs pass carrying the body. (Note: Reportedly, Lt. Col. Elbert L. Nelson, Headquarters Third Army, was assigned to head a contingent of several soldiers to witness this and another execution at Toul, on November 11, 1944. He is likely the Lieutenant Colonel seen in this sequence.)
Activities of the U.S. Army Military Police. (Introductory scenes, from 1950 : A U.S. Army truck collides with a VW Beetle automobile in Europe. Local onlookers speak with the man and woman from the car. Local police arrive on scene. U.S. Army Military Police arrive and help resolve the matter with local police. ) U.S. Army Military Police insignia of two crossed flintlock pistols. A Military Policeman at attention. Military Police (MP) directing trucks and amphibious vehicles at a beachhead in Normandy, France, in 1944. U.S. Landing Craft at the beachhead. MPs directing military traffic in Town of Canisy, France.
From a 1952 U.S. Army television program titled The Big Picture. U.S. troops in a fox hole in Korea. A U.S. tank carrying many GIs in Germany.US ski troops in Alaska. Amphibious training on beach in Puerto Rico. United States Army Sergeant James Mansfield introduces the story of United States Seventh Army in the Allied Invasion of Southern France, "Operation Dragoon." Army Colonel William Wilson Quinn seated in office, with army rifle on his desk. He refers to the "Blue Badge" which is the Army infantryman's badge. Then he introduces the story of the Seventh United States Army: On 14 August 1944 Bay of Naples is seen as an open air Marshalling area. Barrage balloons float above the area. Large landing ships sit at dock with their front loading doors open. 3rd,45th and 36th division combined into 7th United States Army. Mechanized war equipment being loaded and checked off the loading chart. 7th army soldiers march through streets. Red Cross workers distribute donuts. Soldiers board ships. Ships leave harbor to join convoy. Ships docked at the West Coast of Corsica. Officers meet for conference aboard ship. Men attend last minute details. Some pray. Animated map depicts the route of the advancement by the troops. Port Cros and Levant : French commandos landed on these islands. U.S. B-25 bombers in flight drop bombs. Fighting ships take their positions. Navigators, gunners and signal men alert. Soldiers prepare for fight. Army Air Forces C-47 aircraft fly in formation. A B-24 bomber over mountains. B-25s in flight.509th Parachute Infantry Battalion being inspected at airport. Paratroopers get into aircraft. Aircraft taxis and takes off. United States Army Air Force C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster military transport aircraft in flight toward Southern France. Paratroopers descend to ground and advance. Gliders land. Soldiers unload and ready artillery. Aerial view of rugged terrain. Ships underway at sea. Officers look through binoculars aboard ship.
Allied Invasion of Southern France during Operation Dragoon of World War 2, in 1944. The U.S. Army 3rd division,takes some time out while en route to Brignoles, France. Troops seen eating from their mess kits and some resting, with their boots off. American infantry later enter the town of Brignoles, following its liberation by their 15th Regiment. A few local citizens watch. Wounded American soldiers are treated at an emergency aid station set up on a street in the town. The infantry pass through the town on their advance to the west. An M10 tank destroyer accompanies the infantry moving through the town.
Allied air attacks against France during World War II. A map of France shows the location of Orly. Aerial view of U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator aircraft in a formation flight. Bombs being dropped on an airfield by U.S. 8th Air Force aircraft on May 24, 1944. Pillars of smoke rise up as the bombs hit the targets. Bomb craters on the field. Smoke rises.
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ©2026 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2026 CriticalPast LLC.