The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc

Historian Douglas Brinkley tells two related stories: the 40th anniversary of D-Day remembrance speeches of Ronald Reagan in 1984, and the June 6, 1944, attack on Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, by U.S. Rangers, who took out a major gun site of the German defense, thus making the beach landing possible. That mission was the central focus of Reagan's well-crafted and powerful speeches, which Brinkley examines from genesis to delivery and impact. He interviews the speechwriters Peggy Noonan and Tony Dolan and deepens our knowledge of that historic, heroic mission for a modern audience. (The ranger assault on Pointe du Hoc was the scene that opened the film SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.)