Dispatches of D-Day
75th Anniversary of VJ Day Commemorated
On August 15th, the nation and world commemorated the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day, the day in which Imperial Japan surrendered and effectively bringing WWII to an end. To mark this milestone, Heritage Frederick hosted a talk by Jared Frederick just a few days earlier about his book entitled “Dispatches of D-Day: A People’s History of the Normandy Invasion.”
Flashback to Spring 1944. The world held its breath as hundreds of thousands of Allied combatants leapt across the English Channel in the largest amphibious operation of the Second World War. The epic of the Normandy invasion, legendary in myth and astounding in scope, comes to life as Frederick resurrects long-forgotten tales of individual struggle, sacrifice, and community. Unearthing hundreds of accounts from period newspapers, he revives the lost voices of the momentous struggle to liberate Western Europe from Nazi tyranny.
In a rare form of engaging scholarship, Jared paints an eloquently moving portrait of the soldiers and home front civilians who were dramatically affected by what Dwight Eisenhower called “the great crusade.” Among those personalities were the intrepid correspondents who demonstrated the meaningful significance of the free press in wartime. In this sweeping narrative, readers embark upon a journey between the lines as the powerful saga of D-Day experience unfolds with insightful interpretation and profoundly enduring lessons.
My friend Jared has a lifelong passion for American History. He began his first book at the end of his freshman year in high school. By his second year of college, he had published three books for young adults. He helped fund his college expenses over the ensuing years by selling nearly 10,000 copies of these books as a self-publisher. He is also the author of Images of Modern America: Altoona and Images of Modern America: Gettysburg National Military Park, both released by Arcadia Publishing.
Jared currently serves as an Instructor of History at Penn State Altoona, where he specializes in various realms of American History—including the Civil War, Pennsylvania History, WWII, Film, and the 1960s. He has served as a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park and Harpers Fer-ry National Historical Park. Jared has completed projects in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, Pennsylvania Civil War 150, and a multitude of other state and national organizations. Having served as a commentator on the Civil War Trust’s online Civil War in Four series, he has also appeared on C-SPAN, PBS, in numerous National Park Service productions, and various online documentaries. In 2019, he acted as a guest host on Turner Classic Movies for the channel’s 25th anniversary. Jared received his bachelor’s degree in History from the Pennsylvania State University and his master’s in History from West Virginia University, graduating with honors from both institutions.
This program is part of the new Heritage Frederick At Home series, launched by the organization in order to provide virtual programming that bridges the past to the future.