I recorded History Channel’s WWII in HD and am still in the process of watching the episodes. It’s not a blow-by-blow historical account, it’s more like a mood piece using video and voiceovers, but it’s compelling.
The intro trailer is the same every time (and apparently identical to the cinematic trailer on Youtube.
About 30 seconds in, there’s a little child – maybe a girl? – possibly Japanese or Okinawan – being comforted by a an American soldier. She’s filthy and quaking.
I’ve seen this trailer over and over as I watch the whole series, and more and more what stands out to me is not the battleship salvoes and the men charging into storms of bullets, but that little girl’s shaking with terror and exhaustion. To me, her suffering and the tentative way the Americans try to respond to it are absolutely iconic, like other great images of war.
You can see her here, about the 30-31 second mark.
I wonder what became of her (I think she’s a girl). I wonder if anyone knows.
I finally sent an e-mail to the History Channel’s contact address asking if anyone knew, and suggesting that if she’s still alive, a follow-up interview might make compelling journalism.