8mm home movie of D-Day invasion (and beyond) by American soldier

youtube ^ | Dec 5, 2012 | Cpt. John Scillieri

[Bobalu]

Filmed by my great-grandfather, Cpt. John Scillieri, who was the doctor for the 237th Engineer Combat Battalion. The 237th Engineers landed on Utah Beach, and went on to build bridges over both the Seine (26 Aug to 28 Aug 1944) and the Rhine (21 Mar 1945), witnessed the Saint Lo bombing, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, among other things. Grandpa John was there, with camera in hand, to capture it all.

[Bobalu]

I find this 54 minutes of WW2 film quite fascinating! Made by an amateur it is different from the usual combat photographer footage. Both color and some b+W footage. In 480p quality.

[PieterCasparzen]

Thanks for this post Bobalu.

[FamiliarFace]

I’m only 5 min into it, but I like it so far. I appreciate your sharing this. Great footage. Will go back and watch the rest now.

[WKUHilltopper]

Remarkable!! Thanks so much!!

[real saxophonist]

My dad commanded an LCT on Utah Beach. He had an Army Engineer company, with bulldozers and TNT. Didn’t talk about it much, unfortunately. I will now go watch the film.

[SuperLuminal]

Excellent...

Over the next decades films, pictures, and books like this will be heaped in the streets and burned.

Hmmm...More likely shortly after the beginning of o_lord & o_saviour's 3rd term.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

My great uncle landed at Utah at H+75 minutes with the 22nd Infantry Regiment as was killed a week later near Quineville. A cousin has gone through the company reports for that day, walked the battlefield and, amazingly, talked to a local who was there that day and has more or less pinpointed where it happened, including the German pillbox he was shot from, which is still there.

[Domangart]

All the gov’t film was put in a sack and a screw up dropped it in the ocean when he attemped to hand it to another person.

[Harold Shea]

My dad also landed on Utah Beach,possible he rode

your dads lct.Dad also didn`t talk much about his

time before getting terribly wounded

He did used to say those Kraut paratroopers never

liked to retreat

Also he never cared for the Brit soldiers

[katykelly]

Bfl

[AppyPappy]

Way cool. My dad had a D-Day ribbon despite being on the way to the Pacific at the time. He helped to build an airfield that was used in the invasion.

[GreyFriar]

Bobalu—Thank you for posting the video.

[BfloGuy]

Didn’t talk about it much, unfortunately.

My Dad was with the 199th Engineers at Omaha Beach. I was a boomer kid enthralled with World War II history, but it was like pulling teeth to get Dad to talk about it.

He was very proud of his service and devoted much of his life to veterans through the American Legion. But, dang, he would not talk about it. The most I could get out of him was his handing me a paperback copy of "The Bridge at Remagen". He was there, too.

Feelings were thought best kept to oneself in those days. Boy, I wish he were still here.

[greeneyes]

Me too. I wish my Dad was still here. He never talked much about the war. Had a stroke, and couldn’t speak very well afterwards.

I do have a picture him and some of his mates with some debri from the last german sub sank during the war off the coast of point Judith Light.

Dad’s ship the Moberly assisted the Atherton and others during this process.

[johngrace]

Great footage. But music would make it smoother. Thanks great history.

[backtobasics]

Thanks for posting! An amazing look into some of the areas my father traveled through at that time.

[johngrace]

If you go to free aol radio an get 40’s oldie music play this with it. It is great. I am doing it now. Makes it more meaningful. The music of that era is great together visual and sounds.

[real saxophonist]

That’s a great idea. I was playing that music in my middle teens in the early ‘80s. And getting paid for it. 8~)

[bosco24]

Watching this 8mm I was thinking of my great uncle that was killed at the battle for St. Lo a little over a month after D-day. I've found as much info as I can about the action and, like your cousin, would like to visit the area and try to better understand what they were up aginst and how the battle played out.

We should never forget the greatest generation.

[Mogger]

I preferred it as it was, silent. No distractions.