Lecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykz9f695dQA With more than 13,000 records in its collection database, the National D-Day Memorial has one of the best archives of WWII artifacts, photos, and documents in the United States. Explore the Memorial's collection, how it developed, the plans for these treasures, and get a first look at recently donated items. April Cheek-Messier, President, and John Long, Director of Education, will lead this special show and tell session.  

In the spring and summer of 1944, the U.S. Coast Guard was stretched to its limits, supporting multiple aspects of D-Day operations. Little remembered today, the Coast Guard manned U.S. Navy transport ships, provided rescue services for the entire Normandy area, and operated different types of landing craft for U.S. forces. Coast Guard forces even accepted the surrender of a key fort guarding the deep-water French port of Cherbourg. Learn more in this fascinating discussion with Dick At Lee, a veteran of the USCG. Commander Dick At Lee, USCG (Retired) spent 27 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, rising through...

Benjamin Brands, historian for the American Battle Monuments Commission, will give a presentation on the ABMC’s design and construction of the fourteen overseas World War II cemeteries, with a special focus on the use of art, architecture, and horticulture to create sacred sites of remembrance and honor. In addition to the cemeteries’ creation, he will discuss the evolving ways ABMC has kept alive the memory of heroes for 100 years as we approach the 80th anniversary of D-Day. In addition to his work with the ABMC, Brands is a PhD candidate at George Mason University. He previously served as an...

Gina M. DiNicolo The first African American armored unit to see combat in WWII, the 761st Tank Battalion made history and contributed mightily to victory in WWII. Praised by no less than George Patton, the 761st is also known for its most famous soldier: future star and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. Gina DiNicolo, author of The Black Panthers: A Story of Race, War, and Courage, will separate fact from legend in this fascinating virtual talk. While this is a virtual event, guests are invited to watch live in the Memorial's Fleda A. Ring Education Quonset Hut. https://youtube.com/live/pcA7bfCHDNE?feature=share

Mari K. Eder Major General Mari K. Eder will share stories of ordinary women who did extraordinary things during World War II as pilots, spies, scientists, and ground-breaking innovators. Their absorbing stories are told in her book The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II. April Cheek-Messier, National D-Day Memorial Foundation President & CEO, will join Eder for this Women's History Month event. A book signing will follow this in-person lecture. Purchase book in our online store. https://youtube.com/live/9LW00ww2SA8?feature=share

Stephen Rusiecki Arguably no day since Pearl Harbor was as newsworthy as June 6, 1944—D-Day. Long anticipated by the American public, how the news of the invasion was covered by a cooperative news media shaped, says historian Stephen M. Rusiecki, how we still view the event 80 years later. Rusiecki will sign copies of his book, Invasion On: D-Day, the Press, and the Making of an American Narrative, following this in-person lecture. https://youtube.com/live/xAxXJLGkCC4?feature=share