More from Lester Graham
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From: Lester Graham
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Paul Winter Consort and the Sounds of Nature
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Paul Winter Consort's history of using nature's voices.
Whistle-Stops: The 1948 Presidential Campaigns
(00:28:33)
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Truman, Dewey and the Dixiecrats campaign for the White House in 1948.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day, the day that World War I was to come to an end. Many people are not aware of that connection. This piece looks at one veteran's experiences during the war. He describes the horrible conditions and carnage seen by the troops. The huge death toll (117-thousand American soldiers and sailors dead)is hard to fathom. Too often World War I and its veterans have been overshadowed by the World War II generation. However, in many ways those who fought in the First World War endured a more brutal conflict. This is the first this piece has aired in this form. This length should fit nicely into a Morning Edition c-segment or as an ATC insert.
5 Comments
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Review of WW-I and Armistice DayA blast of oxygen for ME or ATC on Veterans' Day. Not your usual "memorial" of WWI. The Vet soundbites are wonderfully raw and the the writing is poetically gruesome reporting. It's serious, disturbing and real with fabulous period audio. |
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Review of WW-I and Armistice DayAs the other reviewers have said, the recordings of: period music, General Pershing and the interview with the WWI veteran give this story added impact. Vivid images, lasting voices. I was struck by how this story honors the sacrifices made by US veterans without glorifying war. A good cutaway piece for PD's looking to add another perspective on a holiday that's taken on more importance in a post September 11th, Iraq War world. |
Transcript
WW-1 (2004)
For many Americans, World War One is a forgotten war. It's been nearly a century since the beginning of the Great War in Europe and there are very few people are alive today who can remember it. But the reason we mark Veterans Day on November 11th is because it is the date Wold War One ended. Lester Graham takes a look at the war and its Armistice Day.
Europe had been at war for more than three years by 1917 When President Wilson and the Congress decided to send American troops. The propaganda machine started grinding. There was no radio yet? but luminaries such as General ?Black Jack? Pershing who led the American Expedition made recordings that were played on phonographs in fraternal clubs and town halls back home?
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PERSHING "Three thousand miles from home an American army is fighting for you. Everything you hold worth-while is at stake."
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Read the full transcript
Musical Works
Over There by George M. Cohan
Performed by Nora Bayes, singer
Victor Talking Machine Company (1917)
My Dream of the Big Parade" by Jimmy McHugh
Performed by Jimmy McHugh, Al Dubin, and the Peerless Quartet
Columbia Phonograph Company (1926)
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Kamla Bhatt
Posted on May 02, 2008 at 05:16 PM | Permalink
Review of WW-I and Armistice Day
I liked this piece since in less than 3 minutes the commentator managed to pack a whole lot of information, moods and voices. It transported me back to a different time and period, a time of sacrifice and courage.