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World War II Stories of Conflict in Japan

WLRN Public Media | By Mia Laurenzo
Published April 15, 2018 at 9:58 PM EDT
The Tunnels of Okinawa
PBS
The Tunnels of Okinawa

8pm WWII MEGA WEAPONS - History

THE TUNNELS OF OKINAWA - The tide of war in the Pacific has now fully turned against the Imperial Japanese forces. In a fierce and brutal island hopping campaign, the Americans are winning battle after battle, rapidly gaining ground in their ultimate goal of invading mainland Japan. However, the Japanese decide that the island of Okinawa will be their last bastion of defense. It is a key strategic location for the Americans, but as Japanese territory, the Japanese will defend it at all costs. 

9pm WORLD WAR II: THE PRICE OF EMPIRE - The history of the second world war. https://youtu.be/cnQLr2z8cQ8

UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER - Late in 1944 the leaders are meeting again, this time at Yalta and this time to discuss reconstruction after the victory that now seems inevitable. A firestorm is unleashed on Tokyo and carpet bombing destroys Dresden, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Bulge are desperate last attempts to hold back the tide but it is irresistible. As Russian troops enter Berlin, Hitler commits suicide and the Third Reich accepts unconditional surrender. The War in the West ends with VE Day. 

10pm DOOLITTLE'S RAIDERS: A FINAL TOAST - History  

The bottle of 1896 Hennessy Cognac was uncorked in front of hundreds of people. The surviving World War II veterans from one of history's greatest military missions were about to raise their silver goblets one last time ending a decades long tradition. It was time for the veterans to hold this final toast. They could wait no longer. Their numbers had dwindled to just a few. 

(L-R): Lt. Col. Dick Cole, engineer gunner David Thatcher, one of Doolittle's Raiders and navigator Tom Griffin were four of the 80 Raiders who bombed Japan in April 1942.
Credit American Public Television
(L-R): Lt. Col. Dick Cole, engineer gunner David Thatcher, one of Doolittle's Raiders and navigator Tom Griffin were four of the 80 Raiders who bombed Japan in April 1942.

 Many of the names of the 80 flyers who took part in the April 18, 1942 raid on Japan may not be familiar to most, but collectively they will always be known in history as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.Long ago these American flyers, aboard 16 B-25 bombers, had accomplished a daring mission that changed the morale of an entire nation. The aviators, led by famed commander Lt. Col. James Harold Doolittle, had taken the fight directly to the enemy for the first time in World War II and delivered payback for Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 

Copyright 2018 WLRN 91.3 FM
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Mia Laurenzo
Mia Laurenzo is a 30-year veteran of public television in Miami. She began her career learning every aspect of video production. Currently she is a writer, producer, on-air host and promotions coordinator for TV, radio and the web. Her experiences include producing for a series, special events and historical documentaries. As a native Floridian, she is a perfect fit for South Florida's Storyteller Station, WLRN. She has produced award winning, nationally distributed documentaries like Journey to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade where one year she followed a high school band and a clown as they prepared for the big day and the next year, she had the privilege of being a clown herself. Previously, she produced Weird Florida: On the Road Again, a sequel to the highly successful show Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled, where the cast and crew travel over 1,500 miles searching the Sunshine State’s weirdest and wackiest places. On a more serious note and what she considers to be her most important work, she produced Out of Darkness, Into Light, a documentary on child sexual abuse,which delved into the lives of three adult survivors, a show in which she was awarded her first of two Emmys.
See stories by Mia Laurenzo