Ep 651: The Fog of War and Humanity with Richard Acritelli and guest Mark Drexler P2 on hmTv

Send us Fan MailThe Fog of War and Humanity | Ep. 651: Mark Drexler: Preparing for D-Day (Part 2) | HMTCBefore Leon Drexler ever fired the cannon of a Sherman tank in combat, he crossed an Atlantic patrolled by German submarines and arrived in England as Allied forces prepared for the largest amphibious invasion in history.In Part 2 of The Fog of War and Humanity, host Richard Acritelli continues his conversation with educator and military historian Mark Drexler about his father’s World War II service. Mark explains how Germany’s blitzkrieg victories created an image of an unbeatable military while the United States raced to transform its small, unprepared army into a global fighting force.The conversation follows Leon from Fort Hood to England, where millions of personnel and enormous amounts of equipment were assembled for Operation Overlord. Mark and Richard discuss the dangerous live-fire exercises that killed hundreds of American servicemen, the leadership of George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower, and the monumental challenge of organizing the Normandy invasion.Mark also shares the wartime experiences of Leon’s two brothers, including a devastating grenade-training accident that nearly cost his uncle an arm. Their mother displayed a service flag with three blue stars, one for each son serving during the war.From a Brooklyn diamond cutter to a Sherman tank gunner, Leon represented the citizen-soldiers who left ordinary lives to confront Nazi Germany. A family photograph of a young Jewish soldier leading German prisoners captures the reversal of Nazi propaganda and the humanity behind the history.The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv | Host: Richard Acritelli | Guest: Mark DrexlerExecutive Producer and Director: Bernie FurshpanA production of the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County🌐 hmtcli.org🎙 buzzsprout.com/2449781▶️ youtube.com/@hmTv-hmtc─── CHAPTERS ───0:00 Introduction0:19 Welcome and Part 1 recap1:03 America’s unprepared military and Germany’s blitzkrieg4:36 Isolationism and the America First movement5:25 Leon’s journey from Fort Hood to Europe6:27 The 745th Tank Battalion and Alpha Company7:29 Crossing the submarine-patrolled Atlantic7:58 England becomes the staging ground for D-Day8:35 Deadly training exercises before Normandy10:55 Eisenhower, Marshall, and Allied leadership14:14 Leon’s experiences in wartime England16:28 Three Drexler brothers enter military service17:33 A devastating grenade-training accident18:58 Three blue stars in a Brooklyn window20:10 Sixteen million Americans answer the call20:47 The 745th Tank Battalion and the Big Red One22:25 From diamond cutter to Sherman tank gunner23:48 A Jewish soldier leads German prisoners24:56 African American soldiers and segregated service25:28 Closing and Part 3 preview25:54 hmTv outro──────────────────#FogOfWarAndHumanity #MarkDrexler #LeonDrexler #DDay #OperationOverlord #ShermanTank #745thTankBattalion #WorldWarII #CitizenSoldiers #JewishVeterans #MilitaryHistory #HMTCSupport the show