Running Towards the Fire – A War Correspondent’s Story

Description

A screening and audience discussion with director Barney McCoy of “Running Towards the Fire.” The 57-minute film captures the pivotal roles war correspondents played during the Allied forces’ 1944 D-Day invasion of Europe and  the subsequent defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers in 1945.

The war correspondents were unsung heroes who risked their lives informing the world with firsthand accounts of the bravery and sacrifice of American and Allied forces. The documentary draws extensively from the previously unpublished memoirs of Robert Reuben. The Omaha-born war correspondent parachuted into Normandy, France, hours before the D-Day invasion and was the first journalist on the ground. Reuben chronicled the Allies’ liberation of France and Belgium and fierce fighting in Germany that forced the Nazis’ May 7, 1945, surrender.

“Running Towards the Fire” also pays tribute to the courage and resilience of the men and women who fought tyranny in World War II. Through newspaper articles, radio broadcasts and film reports, war correspondents such as Reuben boosted the morale of soldiers and civilians by highlighting the sacrifices they made in the pursuit of freedom.

(1-1/2 hours are required for screening followed with a half hour audience discussion. A projector and sound system are required that would allow play of the documentary from a standard DVD or Bluray DVD.)