Southeastern Channel to air new episode on World War I in the Florida Parishes
Monday, October 29, 2018
by: Tonya Lowentritt
SOUTHEASTERN CHANNEL TO AIR EPISODE ON WORLD WAR I IN THE FLORIDA PARISHES - The soldiers who fought in World War I and their immense sufferings are highlighted in a new episode of the Southeastern Channel’s award-winning history show “The Florida Parish Chronicles” titled “Southeast Louisiana and the Horror of World War I.” The episode debuts on the Southeastern Channel this Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. and will air multiple times until Armistice Day (Nov. 11). The Southeastern Channel airs on Spectrum 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and St. Helena parishes. The 24-7 broadcast can also be viewed online via its live stream at thesoutheasternchannel.com.
HAMMOND – The little-known impact of World War I on the Florida Parishes is explored
in a new episode of the Southeastern Channel’s award-winning history series “The Florida
Parish Chronicles.”
“Southeast Louisiana and the Horror of World War I” will debut on the channel
at 8 pm. on Saturday, Nov. 3. The Southeastern Channel, Southeastern Louisiana University’s
educational access station, airs on Spectrum Cable 199 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany,
Livingston and St. Helena parishes. The 24-7 simulcast also streams live on the channel’s
website at thesoutheasternchannel.com.
Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon said the episode is a partnership
between the channel and Southeastern’s Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies that
is currently displaying a new exhibit to commemorate the centennial of World War I.
Sporting a mock trench, battlefield diorama and a number of war-related items and
artifacts, including letters home from local soldiers, the exhibit focuses on the
wide range of implications of the war at home and in Europe. The display is located
on the third floor of Southeastern’s Sims Memorial Library.
“Since it is the centennial of World War I and, relative to other wars, the actual
impacts and horrors have received little attention, we wanted to preserve for our
viewers the memory and appreciation of those long-deceased soldiers and the great
price they paid for our country,” Settoon said. “We feel that our show not only complements,
but also highlights the outstanding World War I exhibit currently on display at the
Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies.”
The episode was written by show host Samuel Hyde, Southeastern’s Leon Ford Endowed
Chair, history professor, and director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies.
“Alternately known as the Great War and the War to End All Wars at the time,
in many senses World War I ushered in the era of modern industrial warfare,” Hyde
said. “Yet the implications of the transforming event are far less visible than the
attention-grabbing details of World War II. Everyone is familiar with the major events
of World War II.”
Hyde said that the two main reasons for the limited attention focused on World
War I are the close proximity in time of the Great Depression and outbreak of World
War II and the incredible suffering the soldiers endured during the Great War.
“Service in World War I was a horrifying experience,” Hyde said. “Not only were
the soldiers subjected to unprecedented slaughter and misery in the trenches, but
in the end it solved few of the problems that challenged the world before its outbreak,
and it created conditions that led to the next great conflict.”
The episode reflects extensive research by Hyde and the Center for Southeast
Louisiana Studies staff, along with additional visual research by Steve Zaffuto, Southeastern
Channel operations manager, who directed, shot, edited and created animations for
program.
The show includes period footage of war era film, along with scores of images
from the front lines and on the home front. Action sequences use Southeastern graduate
students and faculty, along with other actors.
The program also spotlights an interview with Southeastern history professor
Samantha Cavell, a World War I expert and descendant of Australian soldiers who fought
in the famed ANZACS division during World War I.
Settoon said the episode will air multiple times on the Southeastern Channel
through Armistice Day, Nov. 11, which is the day World War I ended in 1918.
The Southeastern Channel has won over 400 national, international and regional
awards in its 15 years of existence, including 17 awards from the Emmys with 62 nominations.
Video on Demand is available at thesoutheasternchannel.com.
