Public Relations - In The News

Rhode Island servicemen recall D-Day in documentary
By George W. Reilly Veterans Journal Editor

Tim Gray Media Inc. of Providence is preparing a 60-minute documentary, "D-Day: Rhode Islanders Reflect," to be broadcast on Channel 10 on June 6, the 62nd anniversary of the invasion that marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

Interviews have been conducted with local D-Day and World War II veterans, and five of them will travel to Normandy and Ste. Mere Eglise, France, on March 22 for five days of filming.

The Some of the Rhode Island veterans will be returning for the first time since they landed on the beaches on June 6, 1944, and they will share their memories and current impressions.

Those on the trip are Leo Heroux, infantry, who was mentioned in Cornelius Ryan's book, "The Longest Day"; Chris Heisler, 82nd Airborne, who returns to Normandy every year to speak to children in a small town where the 82nd landed; Wilson Delasanta and Frank Champka, both of whom served in the Navy, and Richard Fazio, a Higgins boat driver who delivered part of the first wave of soldiers to Omaha Beach and saw them killed almost immediately.

The stories of the Rhode Islanders buried at the American Cemetery at Colleville, above Omaha Beach, will also be told.

A reception for the premiere is planned for June 4 at the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket. Rhode Island's World War II veterans will be invited.

Rhode Islanders who took part in the D-Day invasion should contact Tim Gray Media to ensure that their names are included in a list of Rhode Island D-Day veterans at the end of the documentary. Additional airings are being arranged with Cox Cable Channel 3 and PBS. For information, call Tim Gray Media at (401) 862-3422, or send e-mail to timgraymediapr@yahoo.com or timgray1944@yahoo.com.