Announcer , the u. S. Office of war information newsreel shows the liberation of paris but allied forces 75 years ago in august, 1944. Narrator the heart of european civilization is beating strong again. Paris is free. 4 years of courage of hope have been answered, and a tide of jubilation has burst forth. The people, always great performers in historys drama, rose to meet their liberators. Was more, france held high her head. Unswerving victory march proudly along the something is a elysees. The sons in theschamps in the weeks preceding, the nazis had paid a frightful price. It had become a vast slaughterhouse of German Military power. 40 days of attacks by the allied forces had torn the best of hitlers arm to shreds. Nothing emerged but days of wounded prisoners. First to the appeared singly, then in small groups. They found themselves in a prison camp of their own making, one attended by frenchman. One intended for french m en. Some are stunned and bewildered. A 13yearold boy has been a slave to the nazis since making his parents in the ukraine. Few of these men had not seen food for days. Meanwhile, the british cleaned up this town, a house by house and street by street assignment. [explosion] narrator left without transport, small pockets sniper at the allied advance. [explosions] great honor goes to the people of this town, who made their town a key center of resistance. At 19, this brave and pitiful girl is a veteran of partisan fighting. [cheers and applause] general Charles De Gaulle stopped here. It was from this chateau, 25 miles from the capital that the he directed the french divisions. France has claimed this man both as a soldier and as a symbol of france reborn. Columns, was the distinction of First Crossing eine. They forced the nazi invasion to the capital. One american spearhead smashed into paris after german as theyy flattened reached for the marquis. In machine gun skirmish at the foot of the eiffel tower. [gunfire] [explosion] narrator the toll of nazi prisoners mounted. [gunfire] [shouting] resistance was shortlived, and another haul of prisoners was taken. Narrator liberation has come at long last, and not even the bullets of snipers could mar the ecstasy of freedom. General the cares Armored Forces rolled triumphantly into their beloved city. Many of them had carried on the struggle since 1940. For four long years, they dreamed of this day. [cheers and applause] may have come home again. [cheers and applause] narrator although present unofficially, it was fitting that these armies found their way into the city. Soon, they were lost to the celebration. [singing] narrator the spotlight fell reliably on general de gaulle as he set foot in paris. With his presence, parisian joy was unleashed. Narrator to him was given the honor of rekindling the everlasting fame at the arc de trimphe. [cheers and applause] , he was four years ago a soldier who knew the art of tank warfare. His was the only french armored units who beat the german divisions in the battles of 1940. Today, his name rings on the top of every frenchman. Free French Forces fought mightily. Is today, the name de gaulle a clarion call to every french citizen. [cheers and applause] [chanting] vive de gaule gaule vive de gaule the largest square in the orde, the place de la conc swells. [cheers and applause] narrator general de gaulles official welcome to the capital actually came later on in the day at the hotel de ville. It was here that snipers fired into the crowds. There was a brief moment of chaos as fire was returned. [gunfire] [explosions] [gunfire] [incessant machine gun fire] [shouting] [shouting] [incessant machine gun fire] narrator this only the served to increase the fervor of the people and sharpen their fire for liberty. [cheers and applause] narrator once more, covers all france five from the arc de triomphe. The week that saw france liberated was the blackest for forces of nazi tyranny. All of europe will soon march into the bright light of liberty and freedom. Announcer you can watch archival films on Public Affairs in their entirety on our weekly , saturdayl america at 10 00 p. M. And sunday at 4 00 p. M. Eastern, here on American History tv. Days is an annual event held in may at the u. S. Army heritage and Educational Center in carlisle, pennsylvania. Hundreds of living history hobbyists conduct demonstrations, and talk about the military from the American Revolution to the war on terror. The scene this year was the dday 75th anniversary. On american artifacts, revisit a living history cap to learn about the experiences of the armys 517th parachute Regimental Combat Team fought in the elves of france, 75 years ago during the autumn of 1944. Good morning. My name is matt, i am part of a Group Representing f company of the 5 17 parachute infantry regiment, part of a unit called th parachute Regimental Combat Team. They were our unit that fought in italy, southern france, the battle of the bulge. They were largely forgotten, overshadowed unit of the war because it was a smaller unit that number directory 500 men throughout the war. We are representing them doing their Maritime Campaign in 1944 in the south of france, in the french alps near the italian border where they were attacked, while protecting the right flank of the main advance of the u. S. Seventh army of the rhone river valley. That came from the operation dragoon campaign, the invasion of southern france, in august of 1944, the second invasion of france, the forgotten invasion, overshadowed by the normandy operation. Both operations were designed to take place simultaneously. They were actually codenamed anvil, trap the germans in france and pushed him out and the bird france, but unfortunately, due to lack of Landing Craft an aircraft they were not able to have both operations at the same time, and normandy was deemed the more important operation, and we know from history what happened there. This operation was delayed until august of 1944. Troops began to scramble up the beach, prepared for an enemy onslaught. But not a single german soldier appeared. Not even a luftwaffe soared overhead. Mine detector squads cleared the roads to permit our tanks to continue on their way. 570 along with the First Airborne Task force had a unique uniform item, experimental camouflage that the First Airborne Task force tried out for operation dragoon. They literally spraypainted a uniforms. They had their spray guns filled up with faint of green and black and they had the guys lineup, but a card bought walks over there had and engineering would hit them with the chicago board box over their head, they would be hit with the paint and they would go. Commander fredericks came down to camouflage their uniforms. Here we have an example of the 517 helmet. It was an overspray of the green and the black, than they would put a helmet on and spray their. Ilhouette veteran accounts here in the mediterranean in august of 1944, it was a very hot and humid area at the time. If they were caught in uniform with think that actually made it even sicker and heavier and smelled bad, so the soldiers did not like that very bad. It made them even more uncomfortable. A more serious issue they had at the time was the paint, fresh paint, the soldiers who got wounded, they found that it would bleed into their bloodstreams and they were getting blood infections due to that paint. You can read all the history of can in a book, but to do especially for kids to get that firsttime experience and see what the soldiers go through is just another way for teachers and another way for us to learn about them. There is always something to learn about them, there is always something coming out of the woodwork. We can learn and pass on their stories. So they are not forgotten. Narrator sunday night on q a, university of Pennsylvania Law School professor amy works on Free Expression on college campuses, and the conflicts surrounding an opinion piece she coauthored in the philadelphia inquirer. I think this is what ruffled a lot of people, but not all cultures are alike. We were trying to tout this code of behavior that was particularly functional and suited to our current technological and democratic capitalist society and comparing it to other cultures which arent as functional. We give some examples. That immediately caused a firestorm. Sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. Announcer next on American History tv, two historians discuss the history of health. Are policy since world war i topics include the roots of the modern health care system, the medical bills transformation into a business, and disparities in insurance coverage. The Natural HistoryCenter Hosted the event. I think we will try to start the event on time. My name is dane kennedy, director of the National History center. I want to welcome you all to this briefing of the history of u. S. Health care and health care policy. This is a briefing sponsored by the National History center, which is affiliated with the american historical association, and is part of a series of briefings that we offer that provide historical perspectives are issues that are currently confronting congress. We will have another one at the end of next month which would be a history of u. S. Iranian relations. I should