Eagles of Mercy
Eagles of Mercy Previous Broadcasts
KQED World: Sat, Nov 11, 2017 -- 11:00 AM
This documentary recounts a seldom-told chapter in the World War II narrative, picking up in the opening moments of D-Day. In the early hours of June 6, 1944, two young American medics with the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles" parachuted into France, and soon found themselves trapped in a 12th-century Norman church in the small village of Angoville-au-Plain. Medics Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore provided first aid to the first casualties of D-Day while a savage battle raged outside between American and German forces. During the film, Wright and Moore recount the rigors of basic training, parachuting into Normandy ahead of the amphibious landing on Utah Beach, surviving German anti-aircraft artillery and carrying on their life-saving work even when their unit retreated. The program supplements these compelling stories with newsreel footage, re-enactments and interviews with fellow medics and residents of Angoville.