Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal DVD: From Brooklyn to Berlin: A Review

I just finished watching the DVD entitled 'Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal: From Brooklyn to Berlin' about the 100th Bomb Group's beloved command pilot. The film, produced by the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, is a one-hour interview with Mr. Rosenthal in 2005, less than two years before he flew his final mission this year.

Rosie was one of the great heroes of the war. He was selfless, flying three tours of duty over Europe. He was courageous, shot down twice, wounded twice, and once ending up in a Russian hospital. He was a man who led by his own quiet demeanor of honesty, integrity and duty, and the men of the 100th Bomb Group loved him.

Gil Cohen's painting of Rosie and his Riveters. The crew was the only 100th Crew to return from Munster.

In his final letter to me back in 2001, he said, in part: "I have received more than my share of recognition. There were so many aviators who served in the Air Corps, who have been overlooked and whose stories deserve to be told". He then directed me to Jerome Jacobson, a 15th BG lead navigator who ended up being an important contact for my book, Untold Valor.

The DVD about Rosie is available for only $15.00, including postage, from the Jewish-American Hall of Fame at the following address:

Jewish-American Hall of Fame

5189 Jeffdale Ave.

Woodland Hills, CA 91364

The director, Mr. Mel Wacks, is in charge of the endeavor for the non-profit organization. This is a superb DVD in all regards, one you will treasure.

For more on Rose from the Hall of Fame, go to:

http://www.amuseum.org/jahf/virtour/page37.html and http://www.amuseum.org/jahf/virtour/page37.html

The photo below shows the DVD along with the final letter I received from Rosie.

Best Show on American TV---DOGFIGHTS on History Channel

An actual CGI frame from the outstanding History Channel series 'DOGFIGHTS'.

If you live in the United States, this is the best show on television right now (assuming you love air combat history). The History Channel's 'Dogfights' offers a new episode every Friday night. I just finished watching this week's, where the P-47 Thunderbolt was matched up against the Me109. The show is good for the following three reasons:

1. Superb CGI (Computer Graphics Animation) re-creates individual dogfights in amazing detail, right down to the markings on the plane.

2. Interviews with the actual participants. These are interspersed with the CGI to explicate the action.

3. Superb narration explains the action and tactics.

The show deals with dogfights in all wars, from World War One through Desert Storm. This has been an action-packed season. For those of you who live overseas, the season is available on DVD from Amazon or eBay for about half the History Channel's price of $49.95. I saw multiple sets at around $25.00.

If you love this kind of thing, this show will be a prize in your DVD collection. I give it my highest recommendation.

Here is the official History Channel link. This link allows you to watch video from the show and has lots of neat information and graphics. http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/

New 2 DVD Special Edition of 'Twelve O'Clock High' a must-have

A classic just got better!

Exciting news for 8th Air Force vets and historians. The 2 DVD special edition of the classic 1949 film starring Gregory Peck and Dean Jagger is now available. I found a brand new, sealed one online for under ten dollars, so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get it.

Nearly every 8th Air Force and 15th Air Force vet I've ever talked to has praised Twelve O'Clock High as the most realistic and sensitive portrayal of life in a bomb group in the perilous first year of the US air war in Europe, 1942-early 1943.

The acting is superb by all. This is first and foremost a study in leadership and secondly a war film, and it succeeds on both points. Run, don't walk, to get your Special Edition DVD of Twelve O'Clock High as soon as you can. You will not regret it.

With this 2007 Special Edition, you get the original movie, one of the greatest Hollywood films ever made and certainly the greatest WWII film ever made. Second, you have on the same disc a voice-over narration option giving facts about each scene by commentators. The second disc contains a retrospective on the making of the film, a profile on the man who was the model for Gen. Savage, a profile on the US home front, a profile on bomber crewmen in WWII, movie stills, news articles, and more. As a big fan of this film, the new edition is a treasure and renders my older version entirely obsolete.

On a scale of one to five, I give it a six.