Library Journal, November 15, 2000
"...an interesting, spontaneous glimpse into a soldier's life that likely would not have been captured by official Army photographers." Rod Bustos, Atlanta
Product Description
THROUGH MY SIGHTS: A Gunner's View of WWII is presented to public television stations by KTWU Channel 11, Topeka, Kansas. Produced and directed by Linda Haskins of Take Ten, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas, the documentary is available May, 2002 through APT.
When WWII broke out in Europe in 1939, Glenn Kappelman was a 16-year-old living in Lawrence, Kansas. His interest in the war was fed by news reports and information from pen pals who lived in Europe. Just four years later, with his camera hidden in his gas mask, Kappelman went to war. By the time Germany surrendered in May of 1945, Kappelman had accumulated over 400 photographs of his travels as an armored car gunner for the 106th Cavalry Group.
THROUGH MY SIGHTS: A Gunner's View of WWII is based on this collection of unofficial photos. This documentary covers a period of war history from February 1, 1943, when Kappelman was inducted into the army, through May of 1945 when the war ended. Cameras and film were rare among the troops and Kappelman had access to ammunition boxes hung on the armored car. He was able to stash his film in the ammunition boxes and he shot nearly 100 rolls during his tour of duty. Kappelman and his buddy Art Barkis, who served as radio operator in the same armored car, candidly narrate THROUGH MY SIGHTS. Their recollections, triggered by the events and scenes of life pictured in Kappelman's photos, capture a unique view of WWII - alternately humorous, sobering and compelling.
THROUGH MY SIGHTS follows the route of the 106th Cavalry Group through France, Germany, and Austria. As the group hunkered down in trenches along enemy lines, Kappelman snapped photos during one of Europe's coldest winters - December of 1944. Kappelman describes a picture of himself wearing 3 pairs of wool socks with boots, several pairs of long underwear, two pants and shirts, a field jacket, a wool sweater, an overcoat, a wool cap and two pairs of gloves on New Year's Eve 1944. It's images like these that draw the viewer into THROUGH MY SIGHTS: A Gunner's View of WWII. Images of the troops crossing the Rhine River into Germany, the white flag salutes from German civilians, the up-close views of downed enemy fighter planes, all add meaning to the journey through the sights of this gunner.
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