In every American war from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf War, American military men and women have captured the horror, pathos and intensity of warfare by writing letters home. Tens of thousands of these letters have been handed down from generation to generation. Using the most compelling and enlightening of these missives, War Letters tells the story of American wars from the viewpoint of the men and women in the front lines.
Produced and Directed by
Robert Kenner
Written by
Robert Kenner
Paul Taylor
Based on
War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars by Andrew Carroll
Editor
Leonard Feinstein
Music
Mark Adler
Co-Producer
Melissa Adelson
Cinematographer
Neil Reichline
Art Director
Zack Mathews
Readings by
Joan Allen
Jordan Bridges
Christopher Gehrman
Mike Hagiwara
Gerald McRaney
Esai Morales
Edward Norton
Bill Paxton
David Hyde Pierce
Giovanni Ribisi
Kyra Sedgwick
Kevin Spacey
Eric Stoltz
Lawrence Turner
Courtney B. Vance
Additional Cinematographers
Roger Grange
Paul Goldsmith, ASC
Kit Kalionzes
Buddy Squires
Computer Graphics
Radical 3D
Researchers
Cayce Callaway
Aileen Silverstone
PhotoAssist
Polly Pettit
Assistant Editors
Lauren Heller
Asher Stern
Production Assistants
Marina Goldman
Dave Combs
Rob Bergman
Laboratories
Fotokem
Yale Labs
Post Production Services
Matchframe Video
Colorist
Brian Hutchings
Sound Design
AnEFX, Inc.
Jack Levy
Sound Facility
SPG Studios, Burbank
Re-Recording Mixer
Carlos Solis C.A.S.
Motion Control Camera
Lars Bunch
Stock Footage Courtesy of
ABCNEWS VideoSource
America By Air
Archive Films by Getty Images
BBC
CNN ImageSource
Fish Films Footage World
Gary L. Foreman/Native Sun Productions
Great American Stock
Grinberg Film Library
The Image Bank
Imperial War Museum
John E. Allen, Inc.
MacDonald & Associates
Morris County Historical Society
National Archives
National Park Service, Department of the Interior
NBC News Archives
Norton Airforce Base
Pan Film Productions
Sekani-Film Bank
Vaughan Smith
Thaxton Green Studios
Twin Cities Public Television
UCLA Film and Television Archives
US Army
US Department of Defense
US Marine Corps
West Virginia Humanities Council, Inc.
The WPA Film Library
Photographs Courtesy of:
Larry Burrows Collection
Corbis
Dick Durrance II
George Eastman House
The Granger Collection, New York
Imperial War Museum
Library of Congress
Madison Bay Company
Miles Educational Films
National Archives
TimePix
US Army
US Army Military History Institute
W. Eugene Smith/Black Star
Consultants
Andrew Carroll
Bernie Edelman
Special Thanks
Rich Luttrell
Adriana Bosch
Marguerite Kenner
Tess Kenner
Post Production
Vanessa Ezersky
Glenn Fukushima
Greg Shea
Series Designer
Alison Kennedy
On-Line Editors
Spencer Gentry
Sound Mix
John Jenkins
Series Theme
Joel Goodman
Production Manager
Nancy Sherman
Web
Molly Jacobs
Tory Starr
Legal
Jay Fialkov
Janice Flood
Maureen Jordan
Scott Kardel
Project Administration
Susana Fernandes
Pamela Gaudiano
Lauren Noyes
Patricia Yusah
Project Manager
Lauren Prestileo
Series Manager
James E. Dunford
Coordinating Producer
Susan Mottau
Senior Editor
Paul Taylor
Series Producer
Susan Bellows
Senior Producer
Sharon Grimberg
Executive Producer
Mark Samels
A Robert Kenner Films production
for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
(c) 2001 WGBH Educational Foundation
All rights reserved
The staggering death tolls of the Civil War permanently altered the character of the republic and the psyche of the American people.
With over a million already dead, heroic American soldiers and nurses served in the closing battles of World War I.
Winner, 2010 Peabody Award --- The 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the soldiers who broke ranks to bring the atrocity to light.
In 1960, Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union.
A look at five real-life "Rosies," the reality of working in defense plants during World War II and then having to give up those jobs for returning GIs.
The U.S. government's response to the Holocaust was slow and fueled by complex social and political factors.
The international race to develop biological weapons during the 20th century.
President Woodrow Wilson lead America during World War I, created the Federal Reserve, and helped create the League of Nations. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
