Any guesses on what information is still classified about World War Two? originally appeared on Quora- the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Willard Foxton, Made several WW2 documentaries, on Quora:
Legendary, Oscar winning Hollywood director & producer John Ford was in sent in on D-Day by the OSS with a team of cameramen, to record the greatest invasion in history.
Ford - who was famous for the great westerns like THE SEARCHERS and STAGECOACH, but made dozens of other films in other genres- HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, silent classics - was by 1944 a combat veteran, having been wounded while winning an oscar for his documentary BATTLE OF MIDWAY.
He and his team were due to land on Omaha beach, in the third or fourth wave, along with transport units, clerks with typewriters and other non-combatants.
Ford rolled the camera at 0600am, catching the end of the preliminary bombardment and filmed the carnage of first wave landing on the beach, from the deck of a destroyer. Then the second wave went in, and was also shot to pieces. Then, between seven and eight am, Ford and his men hit the beach themselves.
To give you an idea of how fucked up the beach was at 8am, by 13.35, 5-and-a-half hours later, the German beach defenders were still reporting they had thrown back the invasion on Omaha beach.
Ford and his team filmed the whole battle, taking cover from behind the beach obstacles, with Ford running from camera to camera, directing operations under heavy fire, and shooting himself. According to records released in 2008, Ford was cited by his superiors for bravery, taking a position to film one mission that was "an obvious and clear target". He survived "continuous attack and was wounded" while he continued filming, one commendation in his file states.
The film was edited in London, but very little (less than 3 minutes) was released to the public. Ford explained in a 1964 interview that the US Government was "afraid to show so many American casualties on the screen", adding that all of the D-Day film "still exists in color in storage in Anacostia near Washington, D.C.".
Despite extensive searches, it's never been found. A lost John Ford film would be a big deal, but a lost John Ford film live from Omaha beach?
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