On September 27, 2007, the
Ball State History Department and WIPB-TV presented a Digital Media
Experience, "Echoes of War: Stories from the Big Red One," a live,
interactive program combining pre-produced video context and interviews with members of
the most celebrated American units of World War II, the 1st Infantry Division
(the Big Red One), and associated units. The program was originally broadcast
live from the First Division Museum
at Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois. The program was produced as a
supplement to Ken Burns' "The War," his
fourteen-hour documentary about World War II. Whereas
Burns covered the broad sweep of World War II, "Echoes of War"
focused more narrowly on the First Infantry Division. Burns provided a
video introduction and conclusion to BSU's
program. You can now follow this link to view the two different programs
that aired, five webisodes in the video gallery,
sample artifacts from the First
Division Museum,
biographical sketches of the participating veterans and useful Internet
links. Click on the dogtag for "teacher
login" and receive a password for access to interactive activities
useful in classroom settings, including lesson plans, video, and
PowerPoint presentations.