What is the face of World War II? While the iconic images of American soldiers in the second world war are often Caucasian and male, millions of those serving were African Americans, Latinos and women.
"Colorado War Stories," a new documentary airing Sunday on Rocky Mountain PBS, profiles a number of African American, Latino and female soldiers – all from Colorado. Producer/director Lisa D. Olken, whose series "La Raza de Colorado" won multiple Heartland Region Emmy Awards, captured revealing interviews with several Colorado historians and veterans, including a stateside soldier, a Tuskegee airman, a paratrooper, a flight engineer, and women from the Women's Army Corps (WACs), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). The documentary gives a voice to veterans who are often under-represented in World War II history programs.
In addition to telling riveting first-hand stories of combat, the documentary covers the Colorado homefront during the war. It features Denver's Five Points neighborhood and the Denver Ordnance Plant (now the Denver Federal Center), which employed 20,000 people – half of them women. It tells the love stories of two couples, and shows how people's lives were changed at the end of the war.
The one-hour documentary also covers race relations and the discrimination minorities faced while fighting for their country.
"Colorado War Stories" premieres Sunday night at 8 on Rocky Mountain PBS.
Don't forget to check out
veterans' stories here on Panorama in the section also titled "Colorado War Stories." We've been collecting them all year and are adding new ones almost every week. Check out the preview below, and be sure to tune in Sunday night.
- Allison, Rocky Mountain PBS
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