Local veterans part of DVDs featuring Tom Brokaw.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

Just in time for Memorial Day, Eugene-based Timeless Media Group has released a compelling three-DVD package that combines news anchor Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" interviews with the local production company's own videos featuring the recollections of World War II veterans.

Brokaw, the well-known anchor of NBC's evening news who recently retired, wrote "The Greatest Generation" in 2001. The bestseller was a tribute to the men and women who came of age during the late '30s and early '40s - those who fought in the war and worked in the factories, then later settled down to work and raise families during a period of extraordinary growth.

In the aftermath of the book's publication, Brokaw and NBC presented several news programs based on his book interviews.

Norm Anderson, president of Timeless Media Group, said his collaboration with NBC resulted from a conversation he had with a colleague who works for the network. When Anderson learned that NBC wanted to release the Tom Brokaw programs - he offered to take on the project.

Timeless Media Group has made a name for itself creating DVD documentaries highlighting key figures and periods in U.S. history and popular culture.

Last year, their three-DVD series on the D-Day landings was aired in its entirety on a local TV station.

The company also has a series looking at recent American history through the eyes of former news anchor Walter Cronkite, titled "Cronkite Remembers."

But the Brokaw material didn't add up to three DVDs worth of programming and Anderson wanted to follow his well-established series format, so he proposed adding material from his own video archive.

Timeless Media crews have extensive interviews with about 1,000 war veterans describing their combat experiences, material they've also passed on to the U.S. Library of Congress.

"The legacy of these people is being lost," Anderson said. "That's why I get so fired up about this work."

Anderson proposed supplementing Brokaw's interviews with some of his own material, and after reviewing it, NBC agreed.

The DVDs include segments that focus on the Normandy invasion, interviews with a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, the quest of a woman reaching out to the soldiers who were with her father when he died, and the extraordinary recollections of the otherwise ordinary men and women who served.

Prisoners of war, paratroopers, medics and infantrymen all talk candidly about the war. Eugene residents including former Mayor Les Anderson are among the veterans sharing their memories.

Some of the material highlights the often difficult relationships between the World War II-era generation and their children, who did not face the challenges of growing up during a depression and who felt differently about being called on to fight.

The DVD package is available locally and online.

DVDs AVAILABLE

In stores: At Fred Meyer, Costco and coming to Bi-Mart soon.

Online: Visit www .tombrokawdvd.com; price is $27.98