The USAHEC's video: Dispatches of D-Day by Mr Jared Frederick

Along the steep cliffs and thick, mazelike hedgerows of Normandy, American Soldiers broke Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” and flooded France with a new sense of freedom. The American public was glued to their newspapers and radios, awaiting updates from intrepid war correspondents covering the invasion from the front lines. On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center welcomed acclaimed local historian and Penn State Altoona Professor Jared Frederick, author of Dispatches of D-Day: A People’s History of the Normandy Invasion to discuss, in vivid detail, the reality of Operation Overlord. Frederick tells the story of D-Day, not from the perspective of historians or politicians, but rather through the voices of those who were there. Using hundreds of reports, personal letters, and newspaper articles, Mr. Frederick chronicles how the “great crusade” transformed the world. His sources span personal letters of Soldiers scaling the steep cliffs under vicious fire to the brave newspaper and radio correspondents who struggled to record the day’s harrowing events for an apprehensive public. Included with the accounts of Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen, Dispatches of D-Day also explores the stories of clergy, civil rights advocates, and even children involved in the attack on the Atlantic Wall. Jared Frederick received his undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Master’s in History from West Virginia University. He is an avid Civil War and World War II living historian and has served as a seasonal park ranger at both Gettysburg National Military Park and Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. Frederick has appeared on Turner Classic Movies, PBS, C-Span, and Pennsylvania Cable Network to educate a wide public audience on the history of Pennsylvania, the Civil War, and World War II. He is currently an Instructor of History at Penn State Altoona in addition to his role as the president of the non-profit Blair County Historical Society.