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.