Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406040010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Today:
NBC opens its D-Day coverage with Bryant Gumbel anchoring NBC's ``Today'' show from Normandy. ``Nightly News'' anchor Tom Brokaw originates that broadcast live from Portsmouth, England, where Queen Elizabeth II is to officiate at British ceremonies.
CNN opens its Normandy commemoration at 3 p.m., with anchors Frank Sesno and Hilary Bowker originating ``The International Hour'' from Normandy.
PBS airs the first half of ``A Fighter Pilot's Story,'' the three-hour memoir of pilot Quentin Aanenson, who flew his first combat mission on June 6, 1944. The conclusion airs June 10.
Saturday:
CNN, at 5 a.m., covers a ceremony honoring the war dead from Cambridge Cemetery, England, and at noon, airs live coverage of the Beating the Retreat Ceremony from Portsmouth, honoring Britain's allies.
The Discovery Channel rebroadcasts its two-hour film, ``Normandy: The Great Crusade,'' at 3 p.m. Narrated by actor Charles Durning, who landed on ``Bloody Omaha,'' the documentary uses diaries, letters and other mementoes to re-create the thoughts and voices of men and women who experienced the invasion. Repeats Sunday, 9-11 p.m., and again at midnight.
Sunday:
CNN's live coverage opens at 5:30 a.m. with the Drumhead Service from Portsmouth, England; the archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to speak. At 8 a.m., CNN covers the parachute jump re-enactment by members of the 82nd Airborne and French paratroopers. CNN's one-hour documentary,``D-Day: The Great Crusade,'' anchored by Judy Woodruff, airs 9-10 p.m.
NBC's coverage of British D-Day ceremonies opens at 7 a.m., with the ``Today'' show, followed by ``Meet the Press,'' which will include coverage of the Sainte-Mere-Eglise parachute drop re-enactment.
A 90-minute edition of ABC News' ``This Week with David Brinkley'' originates from Normandy's historic Chateau de Vierville.
CBS News' ``Sunday Morning'' originates from Normandy with anchor Charles Osgood and devotes its entire broadcast to the invasion, with a Tom Fenton ``cover story'' and Andy Rooney visitng D-Day paratroopers aboard the QE2.
Cable's A&E network airs ``D-Day: Day of Decision,'' which documents the invasion from a general's eye view at 3 p.m. The one-hour special is followed by ``Eye on History: D-Day,'' which was produced in cooperation with the U.S. Naval Institute and includes first-person accounts of the Normandy landings.
At 8 p.m., A&E airs its three-hour, three-part special, ``D-Day: The Total Story,'' with host Gerald McRaney. It documents preparations for the battle and the crucial first hours of the invasion.
Monday:
NBC News' ``Nightside'' offers live coverage of the U.S. Ranger assault ceremony at Pointe-du-Hoc 2:30-3:30 a.m., followed by a joint French-U.S. ceremony at Utah Beach, with presidents Clinton and Mitterrand expected.
At 7 a.m., the Big Three networks have scheduled special, five-hour editions of their morning shows, including coverage of official ceremonies at Omaha Beach, with Clinton, Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II expected to attend.
Clinton's speech from the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach in Colleville, France, is scheduled for 11 a.m.
ABC's ``Good Morning America'' features evening news anchor Peter Jennings reporting. ``CBS This Morning'' anchor Harry Smith and correspondents Bill Plante and Tom Fenton will be joined by former anchor Walter Cronkite, who covered the invasion for United Press.
NBC News' Brokaw, Gumbel and Katie Couric anchor their network's coverage.
A special edition of CNN's ``Larry King Live'' originates from the American Cemetery at Colleville at 1 p.m., with interviews of survivors and heroes of the invasion, including Mabel Carney Stover, the first woman to land at Normandy.
PBS' ``D-Day Remembers - A Musical Tribute from the QE2'' airs live from 2:30-4 p.m., featuring performances by Tommy Tune, Dame Vera Lynn, the Band of the Royal Marines, and dramatic readings by Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Irons, Sir John Mills and others.
Cable's American Movie Classics channel offers a D-Day festival of films including ``Up Front,'' ``Corvette K-225,'' ``Decision Before Dawn,'' ``Away All Boats,'' ``Hell Is for Heroes,'' ``Stalag 17'' and ``In Harm's Way.''
``Tours of Remembrance: A World War II Journey'' airs on the Travel Channel at 10 p.m. . The one-hour special accompanies veterans to key sites and landmarks of World War II, including the beaches of Normandy.
Thursday:
Cable's ``A&E Stage'' airs ``A Night to Remember,'' a 1940s-style radio broadcast with music, comedy and ``newscasts'' at 10 p.m. It features Michael Feinstein, Jack Jones, Kay Starr and Jerry Vale, among others.
by CNB