Soldiers Heart Cyndi Briggs

In the the Season One Finale of Soldiers' Heart, you'll hear from a civilian with a message of gratitude for WWII GIs: Lesley Saner was a little girl in Manchester during the German Blitzkrieg. In this interview she vividly recounts midnight air raids, rationing, and the arrival of the American troops with their soccer balls and candy. This is her love letter to American service men and women everywhere around the world. 

Everett Smith served as an Army medic in the 30th Infantry Division, 119th Regiment, 3rd Battalion during WWII. He served in England, France, Belgium, and Germany, and was held briefly as a POW under Joaquim Peiper during the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Smith was interviewed several times over the summer of 2014 at his home in Winston-Salem, NC by Cyndi Briggs.

André Roche was born in Paris in 1921. He was visiting Bordeaux in the south of France when the Nazis invaded France. He lived under the Nazi regime before escaping over the Pyrenees to Spain where he was imprisoned for several months. After his release he was able to join the French Army where he served until the spring of 1945 when he was wounded in battle. His wife, Paule, served in the French Resistance and received the US Citation for Medal of Freedom for her work. 

In the second of two episodes, you'll meet Sydney LeBrun who served in the 75th Infantry Division, 291st Infantry, Company E, 2nd Platoon during World War II. In the Ardennes forest of Belgium, in the depths of the coldest winter on record, he met his fate. In this episode, you'll hear his incredible survival story and his vivid descriptions of war-torn Europe after World War II. 

In the first of two episodes, you'll meet Sydney LeBrun who served in the 75th Infantry Division, 291st Infantry, Company E, 2nd Platoon during World War II. Syd grew up in Long Island, New York, the second son of Jewish immigrants from France and Russia. He graduated high school just as the United States entered the war, and he found himself assigned to the infantry and sent to Europe to fight. In the Ardennes forest of Belgium, in the depths of the coldest winter on record, he met his fate. 

Mr. Henry Wilson served in the United States Army during World War II. As an African-American soldier, he was drafted not into the infantry, but into an engineering dump truck company, hauling troops and supplies, rebuilding roads and bridges, and de-fusing mines. He saw significant combat in France, Belgium, and Germany. He also experienced racism and brotherhood, both, with the troops in the Army.