From The Front To The Films: A World War II Podcast

Narrated by Liev Schreiber.

Social Media is an essential tool in telling the real-life stories of World War II’s Greatest Generation.

For Alaskan teenager Henry De Hoop, social platforms such as Facebook have proven to be an incredible resource in sharing his grandfather, James Schmidt’s story, with a global audience.

Jim Schmidt, like 16 million others of his generation, served in World War II.

But the war journey of Henry’s granddad is anything but routine. It’s unlike anything most of us have ever heard or even thought possible. Jim Schmidt was keeping a big secret from the military and from his family too.

This incredible journey begins in a movie theater in 1942 with the film Parachute Battalion playing on the big screen in San Rafael, California. The United States is now at war on two fronts.

The story continues after World War II in Korea at the infamous frozen Chosin Reservoir.

It ends in the sweltering jungles of Vietnam more than two decades after WWII is over.

To use a 21st Century expression: Grandpa’s War Story is About to Go #Viral thanks to Jim Schmidt’s social media savvy grandson Henry De Hoop.

And what an amazing story it is!

Richard Fazzio, D-Day, Omaha Beach, 1st Wave, Podcast.

Richard Fazzio was a U.S. Navy Coxswain on June 6, 1944, piloting a Higgins Boat onto Omaha Beach in the 1st wave. He was carrying more than 30 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division towards one of the most heavily defended sections of Omaha Beach. When the ramp went down on his landing craft all hell broke loose. It's a sight Richard has never been able to completely remove from his mind, nor will he.