Stories of Service

Anti-communist fervor prompted American involvement in Vietnam. Kennedy and Johnson committed young men to the cause via the draft — and public opinion initially supported the drums of war. But anti-war protestors gradually gained support as rising draft numbers made it impossible to ignore the reality of combat.

From the Civil War to the conflicts of the Vietnam era, forced military service has torn the nation apart — and sometimes, as in WWII, united Americans in a common purpose. Hear how a single, controversial issue continues to define America.

President Wilson re-branded the draft with the Selective Service Act, outlawing substitution and establishing medical and educational deferments and local draft boards. But while 3 million draftees were willing to fight the “war to end all wars,” the conflict only set the stage for an even greater struggle.

On June 6, 1944, 3,000 planes dropped 23,000 airborne troops behind German lines, and 7,000 ships delivered around 20,000 military vehicles and 130,000 soldiers onto the beaches. Once on the shore, the troops had to negotiate two million mines buried in the sand, 46,000 fearsome beach obstacles and hundreds of miles of barbed wire.

D-Day was a logistical effort on a scale never seen before or since. On the day itself, 3,000 planes dropped 23,000 airborne troops behind German lines, and 7,000 ships delivered around 20,000 military vehicles and 130,000 soldiers onto the beaches. This film takes advantage of LiDAR technology to re-create the landscape and allow viewers to switch effortlessly between the macro and the micro.

D-Day 360 uses cutting-edge technology to tell the story of the most meticulously planned operation in military history. Honoring the 70th anniversary of the historic event, witness a new perspective with details never before available. D-Day 360 premiered Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 9pm. ET.