THE WAR by Ken Burns is indeed an important work, but it should inspire even more documentation of this historic event. Perhaps not for television, but as noted at the end of the series, 1000 veterans of that war presently die each day. If you know one of them talk to him or her and learn their stories. My father served in the artilleray in a machinegun group and was taken prisoner and held for 27 months. His weight dropped from 165Lbs to 120lbs and he nearly died with pneumonia, but for his recovery in a military hospital after his release. He and other men were able to escape on two occasions, but were recaptured. Along with bullets and bombs he suffered lice, worm infested food, starvation and cold, but excuses the latter with "the germans were losing the war". He relates stories of Arabs offering bread in the desert, Russian soldiers beating guard dogs to death with their boots and boredom that allowed him time to fashion a crystal for his watch using a pocket knife with a broken blade and a piece of downed airplane windsheild(I have that watch). At 90 years of age he still has nightmares on occasion, but knowing him as I do, I am aware that, deep down, he believes the war was the most important part of his life and nothing else compares.
The Ken Burns series started again this evening.
