FROM COMBAT! DISCUSSION LIST ARCHIVES
Producer Steve Rubin discusses the COMBAT! Movie

From COMBAT97@aol.com Sat Jun 8 01:23:58 1996
To: combat@aurora.com
Subject: Re: COMBAT! 52nd D-Day Anniversary!

Dear Raider,

My wife and I actually went to the Normandy Beaches on the 50th Anniversary two years ago (it was our honeymoon - and before you say how unromantic I am, we also spent ten glorious days in Paris and the Loire Valley chateau country). We're both history buffs, so it was fun for everyone. Normandy was a madhouse that week. The first thing I noticed was the ton of vintage U.S. military vehicles on the roads. When I stopped one command car and asked where they were from, somebody yelled out "Czech Republic." It turned out that all of these vehicles were owned by Europeans - and, what I thought, were probably reinactors as well. Using my Showtime credentials, I wangled a press pass for us in Caen (the headquarters for the festivities) and we ended up June 6th on the Pointe du Hoc cliff with President Clinton's party (although we weren't allowed in the grandstand). Pointe du Hoc is amazingly well-preserved, with blasted chunks of German bunkers and grass overgrown shell holes. And I agree, the whole area looks unchanged from 1944, with small country roads and vintage buildings (no McDonalds thank you). Lots of plaques, one commemorated a small airfield built by engineers. We had an amazing time on a rainy afternoon in Ste. Mere Eglise. For the festivities, the townspeople hung an dummy American parachutist with parachute from the steeple of the same church where Private John Steele observed the battle (he was the RedButtons character in "The Longest Day" movie). The town was wall to wall people that day and they have a terrific museum with a full-sized C-47 Dakota on the main floor. It was also very emotional. Many D-Day veterans were there and when I interviewed them on my little High8 camera, they would remember that day and get very teary-eyed. One often forgets, after watching 10,000 WW2 movies that the day was hellacious and that it was a wonder anyone survived. I once got a chance to meet Charles Durning on a movie set - you know the very chubby character actor who played the cop in "The Sting" and a million other parts. Well, little chubby Charles was an American ranger in on the assault on Point du Hoc that morning of D-Day. And he went through absolute hell, losing most of his squad trying to get up that cliff. He was later stabbed in the throat in the Battle of the Huertgen Forest and barely survived the war (and he doesn't like remembering it).

Other memories of the Anniversary included spending time in charming little Ouestreham (remember "The Longest Days" french commando sequence) where the Queen arrived on the Royal yacht with a number of heads of state. We stood only a few feet away and that was fun. We also went to the Oustreham museum where we saw the insides of a completely preserved German bunker. All in all, the French people couldn't have been nicer to spend time with and it was one of the great trips of our life. We spent only a few minutes on Omaha Beach where the French government was planning a huge ceremony on the afternoon of the 6th and, being the buff I am, I collected a plastic bag worth of Normandy beach sand (anyone want a few granules, they're available free).

It was sad to think many of the veterans were visiting Normandy for probably the last time. I don't know how many will make the 75th anniversary in 2019. I plan to be there though with my own family.

Best,
Steve Rubin

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