For Release: 2008-10-21 11:48:00
KET pays tribute to veterans with a variety of inspiring programs, including a new Ken Burns documentary saluting recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for valor in combat. Medal of Honor airs Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2 and Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1.Medal of Honor presents powerful stories of those who have received the nation’s highest military honor, asking fundamental questions about the nature of the human spirit and what it means to have the courage of a hero. What makes a person face almost certain death in order to save the lives of others? What gives a person the strength to endure unspeakable acts of torture without losing the will to carry on?
The film traces the history of the Medal of Honor, from a profile of Sgt. Paul Smith, the first soldier to receive a Medal of Honor in the Iraq War, back to its creation during the Civil War. Others featured in the film are a Holocaust survivor who single-handedly defended a hill from an advancing enemy force in the Korean War; an injured Navy SEAL who saved the lives of two comrades by swimming for two hours to bring them to safety; and a Marine at Iwo Jima, who alone cleared a path for his demoralized company.
Through intimate accounts of fear and the realities of surviving war, movingly told by living recipients, Medal of Honor explores these extraordinary, almost inconceivable acts of heroism for which the medal has been awarded.
Other programs planned in honor of Veteran’s Day include the American Experience presentation “The Berlin Airlift,” airing Monday, Nov. 10 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1, and America’s Veterans: A Musical Tribute and Flying the Secret Sky: The Story of the RAF Ferry, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2.
Medal of Honor is produced by WETA/Washington; Ken Burns is executive producer. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
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