History Happy Hour Episode 54: Canada's Battle for Normandy

With places like St. Mere Eglise, Point du Hoc, Omaha and Utah beaches etched in our historic memory, Americans can be forgiven for spending most of their time focusing on the incredible courage of their own soldiers, sailors and airmen on June 6, 1944. The landings, however, were just the beginning. There were many terrible days to come. Host historians CHris Anderson and Rick Beyer s one of the worst of those days with historian and author David O'Keefe, author book, Seven Days in Hell, about the terrible battles fought by the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada around Caen. In particular, we look at July 25, 1944, when 325 resolute Canadians, Brits, and Americans from the Black Watch of Canada marched into the maelstrom on the slopes of Verrieres Ridge. DAVID O’KEEFE is an award-winning historian, documentarian and professor at Marianopolis College in Westmount, Quebec. He served with the Black Watch and has spent decades researching their history. He has created and collaborated on more than fifteen documentaries for the History channel and National Geographic and has appeared on CBC, CTV, Global Television and other networks. He is the bestselling author of One Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe. He is also the co-creator and host of the Canadian television program War Junk. He lives in Rigaud, Quebec, with his wife and children.