“D-DAY + 75” - What Americans Heard on the Radio June 6, 1944
Thursday, June 6, 2019
8:00am– 8:00pm
Broadcast exclusively on WMKV 89.3FM, WLHS 89.9FM, www.WMKVFM.org
Cincinnati, OH (28 May 2019) – On June 6, 2019, public radio WMKV 89.3FM and WLHS 89.9FM will commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day with a 12-hour broadcast saluting veterans and their families. The 1995 Peabody Award-winning production is a collection of actual news broadcasts - what Americans heard on their radios during the day and night of June 6, 1944. The broadcast will air continuously from 8:00am – 8:00 pm, pre-empting regularly scheduled programming. “D-Day+75 Years” can be heard exclusively on 89.3FM WMKV, 89.9FM WLHS, streaming live at www.WMKVFM.org and the free WMKV Mobile App (available at Google Play and from the WMKV website). The broadcast of “D-Day+75 Years” on the Maple Knoll Radio Network is sponsored by The Arlington Memorial Gardens.
“These 12 hours of live network radio from June 6, 1944, have not been broadcast in 25 years,” comments George Zahn, WMKV Station Director. “Not only does this production capture what took place hour-by-hour on this landmark day, but it also tells another story – that of radio’s coming of age.”
Executive producer Dr. James C. King notes, “We wanted to produce a historically accurate ‘rebroadcast’ of what the average American would have heard on their radios in chronological order, from the time of the first war bulletin interruptions announcing the launch of D-Day up through late in the night of June 6, 1944.”
“D-Day+75 Years” opens with a remote broadcast of a Harry James concert and the first bulletins of the D-Day invasion. Reports from German radio, messages by Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, live programs such as Fibber McGee & Molly, The Guiding Light and The Bob Hope Show interrupted by war bulletins, eyewitness reports from the U.S. Flagship, reports from BBC, NBC and CBS reporters, as well as technical difficulties, off-mike comments and even prayers are just some of what this riveting 12-hour saga captures. The program’s host is Mike Whorf, long-time host of the history program Kaleidoscope.
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WMKV 89.3FM and WLHS 89.9FM is public, listener-supported radio serving the Greater Cincinnati region and presenting great music from the Big Band era to today, plus classic radio comedies and dramas, informative talk programs on a variety of subjects, and LIVE news, traffic and weather from Local 12 WKRC. Launched in May 1995, WMKV, a non-profit public radio station, provides companionship to listeners all over the world streaming live at www.wmkvfm.org, on TuneIn Radio and via the WMKV app available for download on Google Play and from the website.
Maple Knoll Village is a non-profit continuing care retirement community, owned and operated by Maple Knoll Communities Inc., with a history of 171 years of serving older adults. Located on a beautiful 54-acre campus, our community offers 142 villas, 135 apartments, 63 assisted living apartments and a 145-bed skilled nursing facility with a hospice center and rehabilitation center. Our outreach programs and services continue to serve older adults in the community. Each and every day, our mission drives our organization to help older adults Live Life!
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