slaves. then, a look at how first ladies have influenced their times through fashion. this weekend on c-span three. >> american history tv is marking the centennial of world programsh a variety of about u.s. involvement in the grand war. duffus discusses his book, "into the burning sea." in the talk, he uses images and animations to describe the after a germanue submarine torpedoed a british fuel tanker off the north carolina coast. this 40-minute event part of a daylong symposium at the graveyard of the atlantic museum, marking the 100th anniversary of the german u-boat

campaign on the atlantic coast. >> welcome, everyone. thent to begin by thanking historical association for their generous sponsorship and support for this project of writing this book about the mirlo rescue. gigio want to acknowledge of buxton books who has been very supportive. i want to begin by thanking them. before i share the story of what i think is one of history's greatest rescues is familiarize you with the outer banks, sandbanks as they were known, and hatteras island as it was a century ago. in the early 20th century, the island we are on today was among one of the most isolated places in the united states.

the seven villages of hatteras island were tenuously linked by an often vanishing wagon road that wound through woods, across sand flats, in and around tidal pools and storm breaches. automobiles on hatteras island were virtually nonexistent. there were no bridges or ferries. there were no telephones except between coast guard stations. back then, news, information, and gossip was passed from door-to-door, at general stores, at harbor shops, or at church on sunday. this was an age when the only news that mattered, news that head a direct impact on the lives of the residents, will what -- was what was happening in our own villages. it sounds absolutely delightful, doesn't it? the outer banks was marketed by tourism promoters as the land of new beginnings for the early efforts to establish the new world.

was,olated as this place you could have also been called the land of achievements. a mile being less than in width, these islands have been staged for some of the most life-changing achievements in american and world history. you all know the ever present wind and wide open stations -- spaces brought great visionaries like the wright brothers. perhaps less known and appreciated is reginald fessenden who could be called the father of talk radio. he conducted some of his experiments here, including the transmission of music and voice between the tower on buxton and a receiver on roanoke island. think about how those experiments changed our lives for better or worse. general billy mitchell came to hatteras island in 1923 and demonstrated the possibility for what occurred at four harbor by sinking battleships off cape hatteras using only small planes

and bonds. not to be forgotten, frank stick, a celebrated wildlife artist who first came to the outer banks on a hunting trip, fell in love with the island, moved his family here from new jersey in 1928, and soon after conceived the idea of the seashore park for cape hatteras, the first national seashore park. hatteras island back then might often have been called the island of bones where every mile of beach was marked by hundreds of shipwrecks. and in the hills of sand were buried this counsel remains of countless forgotten mariners -- the countless remains -- the forgotten remains of countless forgotten mariners. and the lighthouse service and salvage injure street. the government built and operated some of the most beautiful lighthouses in north america.

and placed life-saving stations every six miles or so along the outer banks. hatteras island might also be called the island of heroes. shipwrecks provided the initial inhabitants. a few surviving families today back to an ancestor who decided to retire and make hatteras island their permanent residence. the result was a community stitched together like a patch quilt of humanity, tossed from the sea, that produced resilient, resourceful, neighborly people. timers have long told me of the days when neighbors were always willing to lend a hand. if someone needed help, they never had to ask. none of the inhabitants were more compassion, generous, and valorous than the men who served at its life-saving stations. their names are not usually listed in our history textbooks, but they were exemplary american

heroes who deserve to be enshrined into our nation's memory. these are just a few of the many silver and gold winning heroes of the united states life-saving service who patrolled hundreds of miles of beaches of the north carolina coast in days gone by. those intrepid lifesavers left the comfort and safety of their homes and stations during the most horrifying weather conditions to accomplish bracket was beats of courage, imperiling their own lives to save strangers in this press -- distress. the men were small in stature but with hearts of steel. hatteras island lifesavers were fearless, unassuming, and willing at a moments notice to launch their relatively small boats into sea conditions that would have stricken many seasoned mariners with terror. in our present, famous for being famous world, it might surprise

some people that hatteras island lifesavers of yesteryear did not ts ofrm their unselfish fea courage for media attention, facebook likes, or instagram followers. they did those things because it was their job. that is your orientation to this island of heroes, this place of great achievements, the backdrop for the amazing story i am about to share with you. the day 100 years ago next week when six hatteras island coast guardsmen were about to step onto this grand stage of american history to make history of their own. for today's symposium, we will join the narrative at 5:00 p.m. on friday, august 16, 1918, just leroy from this station spotted the spectacular explosion of the ship about 5.5 miles east of the station. the ship that had been attacked

a a german u-boat was mirlo, british steam tanker laden with nearly 300,000 gallons of highly volatile aviation fuel. it departed the river thames six weeks earlier and steamed to new orleans where it took aboard its cargo. on august 9, it departed the crescent city four new york where she was to join a convoy for her return to england. aboard the ship were 51 men ranging in age from 17 to 58 years old and hailing from 13 different nations. her master was captain william williams of wales. there are no confirmed photographs of mirlo, but this picture of her sister ship is a fair representation for what was at the time a state-of-the-art petroleum tanker.

when leroy midgett spotted mirlo coming up, mirlo did not quite look like this. of the taker had been painted in disruptive camouflage intended to confuse enemy u-boats rather than to conceal the ship. the idea was a vivid combination of geometric shapes and colors would temporarily disorient an enemy observer attempting to estimate a ship's size and having, thus throwing off the torpedo targeting data. sometimes it worked. most times it did not. it is not known what mirlo's dazzle scheme looked like. each one was meant to be unique to further confuse whether it was a freighter or tanker. photographs of other tankers offer similar examples on the left.

in the days before mirlo left new orleans, a series of stories appeared in the nation's newspapers and were no doubt read by the officers. on august 4, a u-boat was reported to have sunk a tanker in a two-hour long gunbattle east of the north carolina/virginia border. in the days before mirlo left -- sorry.s i have gotten out of order here. just a second. on the very day that mirlo was scheduled to depart new orleans -- i have to wait until that stops moving. the same u-boat sank the american steamer and diamond shoals life ship number 71 off cape hatteras. this was news learned by the

officers of the mirlo. there was no doubt disconcerting because these were the very waters where that ship was headed. but it was this portentous associated press story published the morning before mirlo stained down the mississippi river that must have been especially unsettling for captain williams. secretary daniels said yesterday other sinking's would probably follow." and so, they did. seven days later, williams'mirlo was among the next victims. oits have putl the search stations on high alert. when leroy midgett sounded the alarm the ship had been direct -- attacked directly off the beach, the captain and his crew were not entirely surprised. in addition to endless daily tasks of maintaining their station, they had performed their life-saving drills over and over that summer. but no amount of practice could have prepared them for what they would encounter after launching

their motor surf boat through represented waves in this evocative painting by artist austin dwyer. the lifesavers could see the flames spreading over a large area, towering columns of black smoke rising high into the sky. they could hear one explosion after another over the noise of the crashing waves. it was getting to be late afternoon. they might have wondered how long they would have to be out there. would they be out there after dark? would they even come back? with the ever see their left once again? rescues inrf boat the ocean after dark were notorious as the most dangerous method of rescue performed. but performing a surf boat rescue on an undulating sea of fire amidst swirling clouds of toxic smoke and explosions producing deadly debris was

beyond anyone's experience, training, or imagination. u.s. life-saving service and kos posed during pleasant weather like this when such photography was conducive and utterly failed to convey the often intimidating task. facing an angry maelstrom of surf through which they had to reluctantly launch their stalwart little boats, coast guard surf men had no choice whether or not to attempt rescue. according to official regulations, the statement of the keeper that he did not try to use the boat because surf was to have the will not be accepted unless attempts to launch were made and failed. 1500-pound surf boat departure required every bit of skill and experience.

it was coaxed into the shallow water as the waves knocked them in sideways, undermining their footing in the swirling water. holding the boat steady and pointed into the oncoming surf while the men leaped aboard was like trying to control a spirited resource in it starting gate -- racehorse in it starting gate. at the right instant, captain midgett shouted for the men to board the boat and start rolling for all they were worth. and then he jumped in. the oarsmen pulled as hard as they could the very boat on the braced.straining and waves broke over the bow and seawater filled the surf boat after -- faster than the self-bailing system could discharge water, making the boat too heavy to breach the oncoming waves. captain john allen midgett and braveve rave surf men --

surf men failed three times. launching the boat seemed doubtful. the strength of the six oarsmen weakened. they dutifully made attempts to launch the boat. witnesses would attest to their efforts. the regulations said they did not have to try again. an inquiry certainly would have absolved them of their inability to perform their service. but at such times, regulations meant nothing to outer banks lifesavers. whether they were conscious of the fact or not, and they probably were, also weighed on the herculean struggle worthy reputations and legacies of their forebears. their grandfathers fathers, and uncles, the honor of the outer banks lifesaver. not to mention the fact that the fate and future of strangers depended on them and their success. so they tried to launch the surf boat a fourth time and this time succeeded. they were on their way. but to what fate they did not

know. for all they knew, they could have been heading to their horrible, painful deaths. instead, due to skill, training, devotion to duty, and perhaps most important of all, their they were on their way to making coast guard history. they bravely and unselfishly saved 42 of the 51 men of the mirlo, many of whom would have surely perished had not those men not rescued them. the mirlo rescue story has been told many times in news reports, articles, and books over the past 100 years, beginning with the very day after the event. readers of the "boston globe" that weekend might have easily one-inchd this associated press story with an august 17 dateline buried on -pagenine beneath a half

ad for linens and shoes. oddly,r maybe not so this initial untainted news report would be the most accurate account of the midi iterations -- many iterations of the rescue over the next 100 years. the statement also said the torpedoes struck midship and soon after, the gasoline exploded compelling them into jump to their lives. below that report is a very curious bulletin out of washington also published the day after the mirlo disaster that contradicts the report above as to what caused mirlo's demise. according to the navy information, no submarine was cited. naval officers believe she may have struck a mine laid by the

submarine operating in the vicinity last week. apparently, the navy logic was no submarine was cited so therefore one must not have been there. but why our submarines called submarines in the first place? authoritiesn naval at the time must have realized how farcical that statement was. nevertheless, the government assertion that mirlo had been sunk by a mine was accepted as fact for the next 10 decades. even to this day, trusted nt ands in grant -- pri online persist in parenting the -- parrotting the official report that the mirlo struck a mine. was transporting a full load of gasoline from new orleans to norfolk when it struck a german mine in the early afternoon, according to the encyclopedia of north carolina. in addition to the phrase

"struck a german mine," there are four other factual errors in this brief statement. the crew number was 51. she was steaming to new york, not norfolk. she was attacked in the late afternoon, not the early afternoon. it may seem to some to be a trivial issue. what difference does it make if the ship was sunk by a mine or tornado? but this conundrum presented me with a task to which i have devoted my career. how, when, and why do the crystal clear waters of history flowing from a moment of time become muddy with speculation and dubious scholarship? how do we coax the truth of history out of that door to the past? i think we should always try because there are always lessons to be learned from this seemingly minor issue about the cause of mirlo's demise. among the lessons i believe is

that fake news is not a new phenomenon. initially, it was not easy for the u.s. navy to gain control of their propaganda. the government's own bulletin published of september 5, 1918 featuring the report of assistance midgeted by john allen clearly stated that merlin had been torpedoed. officialcoast guard's annual report for 1918 also attested that the tanker had to buy 1920 the navy department succeeded in steering the historical narrative in the direction of a german mine. within their published postwar book german submarines on the atlantic coast of the u.s. and canada the navy said that despite the fact that merlots the ship had been torpedoed his tanker must have been sunk by a mine. surely the navy at that time

must have known that german submarines could operate submerged. book when u-boats came to america this book also was published in which the author towed the government line. angryly we imagine how and humiliated this must have made mirlo's captain williams? since crossed the proverbial bar. since we are following the tendrils of this pernicious historical kudzu it was this book that influenced david sticks account of the sinking in graveyard ofbook the atlantic which in turn is the source for unc's authoritative preface -- so how do we prove the u.s. navy was wrong and try to eradicate this kudzu for good if that is even possible?

what evidence can we find to prove that mirlo was torpedoed? the evidence has been around since 1920 and was even published in the navy's own let's reestablish the fact that the u-boat that sank mirlo was a 267 foot long u-boat and it was the fourth of six submarines assigned to germany's 1918 american propaganda expositions -- expeditions. the mission was to lay mines at the entrance to strategic harbors off the u.s. and canadian coast. opportunity presented itself she was to sink allied ships with her torpedoes. the u-boat commander was the dark-haired 5'4" install captain otto trojan or. of the most experienced u-boat captains. over three days in mid-august it struck nine minds off new

jersey. seven mines at fenwick island shoal off of delaware and eight mines and south of virginia. 35ving nine of her original to plant at wimple shoals on august 16. the native -- the navy's assertion that mirlo was sunk by a mine would seem to be logical. however that is not what happened. at wimple shoals drew cheers man were layingdo room the mines or laying their eggs as the parlance was in 1918. he kept his eye on the periscope to watch for passing traffic. a little before 4:30 p.m. as the u-boat was submerged east show .eized -- east southeast at the same time he saw another

vessel which later proved to be a neutral dutch ship on a reciprocal course heading south. mirlo cross to directly in front of 117. they suspended mine laying operations in order to torpedo at a depth of about 10 feet. crossing a distance of 400 meters the torpedo found its target in about 35 seconds. striking mirlo just forward of her engineering spaces. not long after germany surrendered later that year her u-boat records became accessible to enable intelligence officials. toy would have been able read the war diary. onwrote that at 4:30 p.m. august 16 he fired a single torpedo that struck the loaded tanker steaming northward at wimple shoals. document titled

list of sunken ships attributed to 117 clearly shows that on the 16th of august the u-boat sank a tanker by a single torpedo. in a pocket at the back of the navy's report the book german submarine activities on the atlantic coast were two folded charts. enemy mining activities on the atlantic coast featured a list of minefields and the number of mines at age. this information being provided by the german government following the signing of the armistice. according to the information provided by the german government nine minds had been planted at wimple shoals. below that is the name's accounting of the german minds which were either swept up and destroyed or resulted in damage to or loss of an allied vessel. listed that have been found and destroyed east of wimple shoals by the minesweeper uss teal a couple of weeks after the mirlo disaster.

attempt mine was attributed to the sinking of the mirlo. the u.s. navy invented the 10th mine in order to fit their in contrast to testimony that the tanker had been torpedoed. was arm auto gears codename for the world war i anti-mine device known officially as parent veins that about $1 to have -- million worth of ships during the war and cargoes not to mention an unknown number of lives. a detailed explanation of how caravans were used was published the year after world war i ended an effort -- that consisted of the curve torpedo shaped devices attached to a vertical

week for a kite. when deployed the speed of the ship would force each of these veins to span outward to a distance of 100 feet on either side of the ship. if the towing cable encounter the mooring line of an enemy mine the mine would be yanks outward of the ship where it would be caught by a cutting device and severed from its mooring anchor. to thee would then float surface where it could be safely destroyed by gunfire. because mirlo had been telling her parent veins it would have an extremely unlikely for her to have been sunk by a mine. perhaps the final nail in the coffin against the navy's mine argument is this book published who quoted his own cable that he had sent to the secretary daniel reporting that german mines do not rise from the bottom to their set depth they 24 to 48 hours after

had been laid. this feature was intended to prevent a u-boat from accidentally being sunk by one of its own minds. obvious toe been navy investigators that mirlo had not been sunk by a mine. and i must add that none of the reported secondary explosions that were caused by mirlo striking a mine after she had been torpedoed contrary to what some historians have suggested. the reported secondary explosions that were caused bythe questio'l all want to ask is why insist aat the mirlo was sunk by mine and not a torpedo. after much analysis on my part of the sources is my conclusion that the u.s. government thought that it was better for the american public to be told that allied ships were being sunk by mines and not torpedoes because the navy could relatively easily sweep up mines but had very few practical ways to defend against submerged u-boats sinking our because allorpedoes

of our destroyers were operating on the other side of the atlantic at that time. hasmirlo story is one that been told over and over. the sources for all of these previously published accounts are nearly always the same. they rely on captain williams's statements along with u.s. government official reports all of which i found to be rather cursory and colorless. as atly at the outset research historian and nonfiction writer who prefers to voice his own trail i was not particularly inspired to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. have long been an ardent to vote take of 19th-century american historian francis parkman's belief that the narrator of historical events must be a sharer or spectator of the action he or she describes. i have also been inspired by american historian david mccullough who said no harm is

done to history by making it something someone would want to read. that beacon of wisdom is the navigational aid i which i try to steer my historical prose. american historianfor the mirloo find a way without inventing content to take the reader with me into the middle of the action. when she was torpedoed. a board boat number 1046 as she entered the burning sea in search of survivors. with wordse picture rather than with a paintbrush. as it happened in the 11th hour of the project team victor albert wilde. third officer of mirlo and his amazing eyewitness recounting written in his own hand and a series of letters he wrote in the months before his unexpected death in 1970. by the good graces of the i wasal park service gratefully provided copies of mr. wilde's personal papers while in the midst of trying to

figure out how to tell the mirlo story from a new fresh and interesting perspective. memories they the preserved apparently had been slumbering for nearly 50 years in a file drawer at the national park service is roanoke island headquarters waiting to be rediscovered and shared with the world. his testimony resurfaced at a especiallyious time the centennial year and you and i are going to be the beneficiaries. there are no known other attributable firsthand canceled the disaster by the other 41 surviving mirlo crew members. wilds is the the centennial yeau and i are going to be the beneficiaries. there only one. very quickly after reading this i realized there was no need for other perspectives. what victor wilde put into writing was the heart and soul of the mirlo story. the thread that would bind together the different elements of the event that would connect to the incomparable lifesavers of hatteras island.

and a german u-boat that precipitated arguably the greatest coast guard rescue in u.s. history. we were making for wimple shortly off cape hatteras and following the gulfstream under the heat of the august sun on that day the gasoline in the ships tanks had expanded and periodically the valve caps for the tanks had to be opened to release the fuels vapors and relieve pressure in the tanks. on top of their anxieties of encountering a u-boat, the danger of an inadvertent spark igniting the ships combustible atmosphere kept everybody in the mirlo on edge. victor wilde constantly struggled to remain awake as the fumes from that cargo wafted through the open ports in the wheelhouse. periodically he said he would splash his face with cold water from a junkie kept with him for that very purpose. at 1:00 p.m. he relinquished the wheelhouse to second officer jim

burns and retired to a wooden bench in his cabin. must have dozed off and then all of a sudden there was a terrific explosion and my cap pictures all seemed to cave in on me. i jumped up and ran out on deck. as i did there was another explosion. to my lifeboat station and found it started and lowered in the water with a second officer. this was the lifeboat i was in charge of. i think the second officer had gotten panicky. wilde went back into the wheelhouse where he found who had beenams trying to assess the damage to his ship and steer mirlo to the west of the beach. with her engine destroyed mirlo was significantly losing headway. the roarshouted above of the flames to his third officer that the starboard lifeboat had also just been launched. that meant that 17 men were still aboard the ship. engineers,ostly

stokers and governors gathered at the stern. there was only one more vote remaining. it was more than half a football field away from the bridge still hanging from its davits behind the deck house. normally the route to the deck house from the bridge was via an elevated catwalk above the tanks and down the center of the ship. but the act half had been of steelinto a tangle on the main deck by the initial explosion. victor wilde. there was only one way to get to that boat and that is to crawl along the bulwark which was no more than a foot wide. so we started to crawl like cats wrote wilde. he could see some of the men from the overturned number two lifeboat. when they lowered that boat with jim burns in it it flipped upside down. --se men were differently

desperately trying to remain afloat in the water. one of them was 18-year-old tom the two. the second marconi operator on act -- asked victor's wife if she thought they would be safe. it was going to be the first ocean voyage. now six weeks later the awful scene below became forever memory whereilde's he later recalled that his in their lastates seconds of life were not calling for their wives or their sweethearts but were calling for their mothers. what strange things enters one's minds. i could see the poor officer putting his arms up and going down calling for his mother. oh god i thought, please save me from this fate. williams and wilde reached the number three lifeboat. once on the water williams and his men had to get themselves away from the tanker as fast as possible.

there were so many men in that little boat that it was nearly impossible for them to deploy oars and roll away. now the captain of a tiny lifeboat instead of a 400 foot long steamship shouted for the men to put up the boat's mast and voice the small sale that they called a leg of mutton. to moven were they able away from the tanker as she was in her final mournful death throes. as wilde wailing vividly recalled like a fatally wounded creature fire and smoke poured out of the fishers in marlowe's halls and then it happened. the tanks of the aviation fuel ignited. wilde after getting not too far away from the ship she was still wailing. what it seems like to be her end. and then she went up. what a sight. and then the fire started. went skyhigh and the sea became one massive flames because the flames were

beginning to catch up with us. i could feel the heat of the fire. some of us in the small boat again to take off their life jackets and were about to jump overboard rather drowned in the burnt alive. not long after the john allen mitch and has coast guard serviceman arrived on the scene. unfortunately the constraints of time today will not allow me to share much more but i do encourage you to read this little but important book into the burning sea. in closing i have this to add from the end of the book. albert wilde could never forget what he experienced at wimple schulz offer a dandy in 1918. the visions of his drowning shipmates. the seemingly inescapable fires. the heroic efforts of the jobless men of the life-saving station in their little motor surf boat and the pretty young whohter of captain midgett loaned wilde her bedroom the night of the rescue. each moment killed victor

mind and recurred in his dreams for the rest of his life. wilde's wife annie was six months pregnant when he left aboard mirlo in july 19 18. tanker's of the destruction reached england and he was mistakenly informed that her husband had been killed along with captain williams. what a surprise and relief it must have and when were's third mate returned home safe and sound. a month later on the 10th of october there daughter was born. they named her joan mirlo wilde. 1970 wilde was curious if any of the valiant knight -- lifesavers from rodanthe he were still alive. he wrote a letter addressing it simply to midgets, rodanthe he north carolina. reacheder eventually , captain john is

pretty young daughter who had loaned wilde her bedroom during the night of the disaster. over the next few months they corresponded. when onee in the book reads victor wilde's letters to bethany great the lessons of history and the true essence of the lifesavers like this becomes evident. of the lifesavers can be found not just in metals or silver cups or state-of-the-art coast guard cutters. even in the preservation of a historic life-saving station. it is found in the flesh and blood and lives of families who would not have lived had it not been for the unselfish act of kurdish by john allen midgett -- kerr age by john allen mitch -- courage by john allen midgett. you must realize that had it not good for your father i would not today he wrote from

london a few months before he died in december of 1970. i can see now lying in the bed facing this in the front of your house water on fire will today m london a few months before he died in december you convey to your family and brothers my regards and tell in for a if it had not brave man saving us off the oil tanker mirlo i would not have had the lovely family that i have. and that ladies and gentlemen lest we forget is the legacy of the outer banks lifesaver as it continues to be today for all of our first responders, firefighters, swiftwater rescuers, law enforcement officers and members of our armed forces who all people safe. inc.. -- keep us safe. thank you. [applause] questions? yes. i, wethe end of world war did not occupied germany as we did after world war ii.

did thepoint in time war diary become available to the u.s. navy? >> is my understanding that it was right after the arm is this. the germans maintained control of their archives until 1945 when the british captured them in the americans were allowed to make a microfilm copy which is what the national archives and records administration still has a copy of. >> the united states navy would be disingenuous with regards to the torpedo versus mine routine. they simply didn't know. >> if you look at the published it clearly says that these thatds regarding the minds

were laid on the east coast of the united states was provided by the german government and that was published in 1920. that i wouldn't have had the entire -->> that the problem. if united states navy is going to be criticized, did they have access to the primary source. the chart clearly stated that at wimple shoals that nine mines were laid. but the chart below is that they added a 10th mind because they had said that mirlo had struck a mine. but what they have the documentation to prove otherwise? the big document in your argument here is the one from the kgb. he torpedoed that ship.

is going to hide this, it has no reason to hide it. i'm arguing that what you are running into probably is a statement of confusion. it certainly could be one of the explanations. it was also based on how the navy was releasing information to the news media at the time that they really prefer the public to think that these ships were being lost to mines rather than torpedoes. >> we have no documents to prove otherwise. you can see it either way. yes. that's a good point. any other comments, statements, questions? great. thank you. [applause] the c-span bus was recently in honolulu, hawaii for the 39th

stop of her 50 capitals tour. join us next weekend october 6 and seventh as we feature our visit to hawaii on c-spanjoin u6 book tv and american history tv. hawaii's history and culture as well as public policy issues facing the state. next saturday on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern on washington journal. the director of hawaii's office of planning will talk about homelessness and lack of on book tv onsing c-span2 at an. stuart coleman on his book on the life of legendary native hawaiian surfer. then a visit to the university of hawaii at west oahu for the extensive book collection of late u.s. senator daniel inouye. our way we can continues on c-span on washington journal. jeff marcolina, executive director of the blue planet foundation on renewable energy efforts in hawaii.

on american history tv on c-span3. at 2:00 p.m. eastern we visit the valley of the priest along the north shore of oahu and --lation -- con lesion polynesian voyaging society. three short documentaries about why. -- polynesian voyaging society. in 1956 film soldier in hawaii. the silent film the hawaiian island. in the 1952 film long jeans kronos group watch away weekend next weekend on c-span book tv and american history tv. weekend on thei free c-span radio app. we are featuring the honolulu mayor. tonight on railamerica, historians edward l'engle and julie same join us to explain the 1990 film the lost battalion

about world war i battles along the western front in france. here's a preview. >> have significant was it that this was filmed in france? the budget of this silent film? >> very significant. it would have also gone a great way towards increasing the audience.r the you have the real heroes of the battle in the real place where the battle took place so that would have an something for the audience. it would have been very powerful. couldroduction company have used that in their marketing materials explaining how realistic the film is. that would have potentially gotten people into the theaters to see it. >> compare the german soldier versus the french british american soldier in terms of preparation training. germans were highly

trained. they were veterans. they had been fighting for four years. they were many of them young boys or older men as they had taken terrible casualties. actors withxture of actual veterans. you see the chinese brothers. the americans were better fit. they were fresher. more aggressive. scene does go back to what you said earlier. saving private ryan. >> there are accounts of soldiers. he was one of the few officers who was actually willing to go in and depict what happened. charles wilsey wouldn't do that. mcmurtry definitely had shellshocked but he was a rock. truly he walked all over the pocket to keep the men together.

stock was a millionaire worker from new york city. who fell to the sense of duty that he needed to serve. watch the entire world war i film tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern on railamerica. -- real america. you're watching american history tv. >> monday night on the communicators. the administrator of the national telecommunications and information administration discusses the trump administration's spectrum policy. he's interviewed by communications executive senior editor howard busker. wanted to shift views to spectrum because i know we'll have to talk about spectrum. 5g is the headline almost every day now. is the u.s. going to win the race to 5g >> we are in it. that's for sure. we are in the trunk

administration spending a lot of time looking at the data and seeing what we can do to help the private sector get to where it needs to be. if you ask people around the we are the undisputed leader in 4g lte. we are trying to leverage that into 5g. china is trying to be the first. it will be a race. we are confident american industry and the american private sector is doing the things they need to do to push us forward. communicators" monday night at 8:00 on c-span2. university history professor ned blackhawk and patricia limerick discuss the

interactions between native americans and white settlers in the 19th century. they talk about the impact of trade alliances on native americans and their struggle to retain their autonomy. this 50-minute program was held in aspen, colorado, part of a program hosted by the aspen institute. >> i am the only one who needs an introduction since i have not been up. . i am terry anderson. i will be moderating this session and speaking at a couple more. in.have seen ned and patty action you know how did i met -- you know how dynamic they are. i hope i do not stifle that. from amazon, i ordered the book mentioned earlier on my cellphone. i am a big fan of amazon prime. i am kind of