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Prisoners of War: A Story of Four American Soldiers

From Vermont Folklife Center Media | 00:57:08
Producers: Produced by Erica Heilman and Gregory Sharrow for the Vermont Folklife Center.Engineered by Scott Halvorsen Gillette.

Credit:
Four Vermont soldiers talk about life in German prison camps after their capture at the Battle of the Bulge, and the life-changing effects of this experience.

Prisoners of War tells the story of four World War Two veterans -Harrison Burney (84), William Busier (86), Cliff Austin (79), and Robert Norton (80) - all of whom were captured in the first days of the Battle of the Bulge and imprisoned for the remainder of the war. The hour-long program runs without narration, building its story by intercutting excerpts from extended field recordings with each of the men. It begins with the men remembering the chaos and confusion of the battle itself and moves quickly to each man's capture, interrogation, forced march, and transport by rail car to slave labor camps in Germany and Germany-controlled territory. The program focuses in detail on the fabric of daily life in these camps, particularly starvation, disease and the brutality of the German guards. It follows the men through their liberation, debriefing, repartriation, and reintegration into American society. And it chronicles their stuggle with the life-long aftereffects of trauma and the shame they felt for having surrendered. Hide full description

Prisoners of War tells the story of four World War Two veterans -Harrison Burney (84), William Busier (86), Cliff Austin (79), and Robert Norton (80) - all of whom were captured in the first days of the Battle of the Bulge and imprisoned for the remainder of the war. The hour-long program runs without narration, building its story by intercutting excerpts from extended field recordings with each of the men. It begins with the men remembering the chaos and confusion of the battle itself and moves quickly to each man's capture, interrogation, forced march, and transport by rail car to slave labor camps in Germany and Germany-contro...
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Bill Anderson

Posted on May 23, 2007 at 12:25 PM | Permalink

Review of Prisoners of War: A Story of Four American Soldiers

These 4 men have amazing stories and they detail the hell they endured with emotion, clarity and a uniquely human voice. It is one thing to hear someone talk about starvation in a detached manner, quite another to hear someone describe his efforts to stay alive by picking peels off a manure pile.

"Prisoners of War" is well edited and the production values are top shelf. The stories are compelling and important to hear and they don't lose steam as we conclude with them discussing their self-doubt even after living this horror.

As a PD I would have liked to have a 5-minute news hole at the beginning and there is plenty of audio for the creation of a powerful billboard.

I wonder if this would be just as profound with the insertion of narration. The narrator could take us outside the wall of the prison to the scenes happening around the world and within the war zones thus providing context and more perspective. Narration and sound might benefit an already excellent production.

Broadcast History

I have air dates for around half of the stations. The following stations aired this piece:

KQED
88.5 FM & 89.3 FM San Francisco, CA

WUFT
89.1 FM Gainesville, FL

WMEH
90.9 FM Bangor, ME

KUOW
94.9 FM Seattle, WA

WCAI and WNAN
90.1 FM Cape Cod, 91.1 FM Martha's Vineyard

Vermont Public Radio
107.9 FM Burlington, 89.5 FM Windsor, 88.7 FM Rutland, 88.5 FM St. Johnsbury, 94.3 FM Bennington

Licensed by South Dakota Public Radio
10/3/06 Air date: 11/10/06, Noon to 1 p.m.CT
Frequency: statewide in South Dakota

Licensed by KGOU
9/21/06 Air date: 9/24/06, 12:00pm
Frequency: 106.3fm/105.7fm

Licensed by KAWC
11/2/05 Air date: 11/11/05, 12PM
Frequency: 88.9

Licensed by KWIT
5/25/05 Air date: 5/30/05, 1500
Frequency: 90.3 FM, 90.7 FM

Licensed by Public Interactive
5/25/05 Air date: 5/25/05, web only

Licensed by KRPS
5/24/05 No carriage reporting has been submitted.

Licensed by WYSO
5/23/05 Air date: 5/28/05, 11:00
Frequency: 91.3

Licensed by KUHB

Licensed by Red River Radio Network
5/18/05 Air date: 5/30/05, 18:00 CST
Frequency: 88.9/89.9/90.7/90.9

Transcript

Transcript is listed in the attachments on the PRX main page for this program.
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Timing and Cues

Suggested host intro:

Prisoners of War tells the story of four American soldiers captured in one of World War II?s bloodiest battles, the Battle of the Bulge.

The four men share stories about their capture and their daily struggle to survive in German prison camps. And they talk about how this distant chapter in their lives continues to haunt them today.

Prisoners of War: A Story of Four American Soldiers, was produced by Erica Heilman and Gregory Sharrow for Vermont Folklife Center Media.

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