You can find some of the best war documentaries on television every Tuesday night on WLRN - TV, starting at 8:00 p.m.
Secrets of the Dead: The World’s Biggest Bomb (8:00 pm)
Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world's largest bomb. The results exceeded all expectations about how big a bomb could be built. This is a story where the United States led the way, but then left the field clear for the Soviet Union to break all records.
Eisenhower’s Secret War Building Weapons, Talking Peace (9:00 pm)
With both the United States and the USSR in a position to use nuclear weapons in any conflict, the possibility of "mutually assured destruction" was entirely feasible. To think that the world as we know it could have ended in the 1950s may sound farfetched, but it was in fact a reality for those controlling nuclear weapons at that time.
Using his military experience, knowledge of science and technology, and diplomatic sensitivity, President Eisenhower played his "hidden hand" wisely, successfully positioning the United States economically and militarily as the strongest country in the world.
Marines of Montford Point: Fighting for Freedom (10:00 pm)
Hosted and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr., this documentary profiles the first African Americans recruits in the United States Marine Corps, beginning with their experiences at Montford Point Base, a segregated boot camp in the heart of the Jim Crow South. All-black battalions from Montford Point loyally served their country (some as officers) in three major conflicts — World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War — while fighting for their civil rights back home.
During the film, Montford Point veterans recount the racism they faced both within and outside the military and reminisce about the rigors of basic training, the harsh conditions of the barracks and the perils of combat.
