Despite the Allies’ defeat of Germany in Africa, General Dwight Eisenhower was extremely unhappy with how the campaign was photographed. And so he ordered the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to organized a unit that would chronicle the American drive through France and into Germany. After basic training, I became part of SPECOU– Special Motion Picture Coverage Unit (Allied Expeditionary Force).

We would receive a commendation from Eisenhower after the war. The general wrote: “The members of this unit displayed unusual determination and zeal, frequently in disregard of personal danger. As a result, a distinct contribution has been made to the archives of this major phase of the war against Germany.”
©Phil Drell