Lest we forget. In honour of Remembrance Day, Corus Entertainment presents its annual memorial programming featuring History’s Days of Remembrance schedule, Global News’ live coverage of the Remembrance Day service from the nation’s capital, and a moment of silence on Remembrance Day across Corus’ 99 TV and radio stations spanning the country.
From Wednesday, November 9 through Friday, November 11, History’s three days of commemorative programming dedicated to those who served and continue to serve Canada will take viewers from the trenches of Vimy Ridge, to the beaches of Normandy, to the hills of the Korean War, and to more recent conflicts in the Balkans and Afghanistan, featuring multigenerational storytelling, powerful first-person accounts, and intimate interviews with a Canadian perspective.
“This is a very important time to reflect upon and pay our respects to the generations of brave men and women who have proudly served and continue to serve our country,” says Daniel Eves, SVP of Kids and General Entertainment, Corus Entertainment. “It’s an honour to use the History platform to commemorate Canada’s war stories, veterans, and soldiers through original content that will preserve their experiences and memories for years to come.”
History’s Days of Remembrance lineup kicks off with War Junk returning for its fourth season as a two-part event on Wednesday, November 9 and Thursday, November 10. The Canadian-produced series hosted by historian David O’Keefe and history buff and filmmaker Wayne Abbott, tells the stories of legendary battlefields by the objects of war left behind, and the emotional reunions as they connect the past with the present by locating surviving family members connected to battlefield artifacts. This season, the War Junk team investigates Operation Market Garden, one the largest airborne operations ever attempted and the inspiration for the epic war movie A Bridge Too Far, and the Rhineland Campaign, which marked the first Allied push into Nazi Germany that culminated with the crossing of the Rhine River, the last barrier to the heart of Hitler’s empire.
The acclaimed storytelling continues with the world broadcast premiere of Canadian documentary, War Story: The Damage Done on Friday, November 11. In the new, eye-opening one-hour special, five Canadian veterans aged 28 to 90 who served in Afghanistan, Korea, Bosnia, and WWII recall their own harrowing personal stories of combat, illustrated by stunning archival footage, and reveal how the impact of battle can last a lifetime. Despite serving in different conflicts and being generations apart, this moving special brings these soldiers together over the bond of war and the difficult healing process.
Rounding out the commemorative programming is the world broadcast premiere of original Canadian docudrama Black Watch Snipers, centered around one of Canada’s most renowned regiment, on Friday, November 11. Black Watch Snipers tells the epic ‘band of brothers’ story of five men who fought their way through WWII as a team of snipers and scouts. Their mission was to clear towns of Nazi soldiers who could decimate advancing Allied troops. Armed with nothing but their wits and their rifles, they endured the ultimate test of combat in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi tyranny. Most of these men are still alive, and their intimate, first-hand accounts of the hell they fought through are combined with compelling and dramatic re-creations of their battle experiences.
History’s Days of Remembrance will also feature encore presentations of Sector Sarajevo, 28 Heroes, Dieppe Uncovered, D-Day to Victory, War Story, Air Aces, The Great Escape: Secrets Revealed and many more. The new episodes will be available the day after broadcast on iTunes and History.ca where viewers can catch up on previous seasons of War Story, War Junk and other Remembrance Day programming.
In addition to History’s Days of Remembrance programming, Global News will once again provide viewers with poignant coverage of the Remembrance Day service from the nation’s capital. Canada Remembers, anchored by Global National’s Dawna Friesen from Ottawa, airs on all local Global stations as well as CHEX Peterborough and CKWS Kingston beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. The special will be repeated in Alberta at 10:30 a.m. MT. The Canada Remembers special will also be live streamed on globalnews.ca. A separate hour-long special of the service at the Vancouver Cenotaph will air on Global BC and BC-1 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. PT.
Corus Entertainment’s news-talk radio stations will carry live news coverage of Remembrance Day in their respective time zones. All of Corus owned FM radio stations will air special tribute programming that culminates at 11 a.m. with a moment of silence and the playing of The Last Post.
Also on Remembrance Day, all of Corus’ television channels and social media platforms will pause activity to observe a moment of silence.
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