65Th Anniversary Of D-Day Reflected In New Tour Film Of The Americans On D-Day Released In April

"I grew up in the early 1950's, and I have always been fascinated by the second World War," said Ellwood von Seibold, battlefield guide of Americans on D-Day S, the first battlefield tour film of WW2-Reflections, a division of Labyrinth Media & Publishing Ltd. of Dublin, Ireland.

Labyrinth specializes in WW2 battlefield tour DVDs for the U.S. market. "The Americans on D-Day" coincides with the 65th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy invasion.

"D-Day became a focus point of my interest, and I decided to live a dream and move to France and take people all around these areas," explained Seibold. "And the producer and director of WW2-Reflections said 'why don't we put one of your tours on film in Normandy'."

Seibold noted that WW2-Reflections had assembled a remarkable and accurate collection of soldier's testimony, stories and witnesses who survived one of America's most bloody battles in war history. Siebold, donning American and sometimes German uniforms, hops into an early model Army Jeep much like General George Patton rode in as he walks you visually shows and tells you what brave solider endured.

The film uses smart graphics and extensive use of veterans' recollections, as well as invaluable assistance from Dale Dye, a retired U.S. Marine captain who founded Warriors, Inc. - which specializes in training actors for war-themed film and television productions.

Dye was in France researching an upcoming film project and worked with Siebold on historical accuracy. "We are thrilled that he has supported this tour film," Producer Richard Lanni said.

"The Americans On D-Day provides an exciting insight into one of the most pivotal events of the 20th century," said Captain Dye. "I'm really proud to have a hand in this effort to provide a foxhole-level view of what happened in Normandy on June 6, 1944."

"I've seen a lot of tour videos that purport to give viewers an insight into what gallant Americans endured and accomplished on D-Day, but this one really hits the mark. The Americans On D-Day provides a stirring, GI-level look at one of the most momentous battles of World War II," explained Dye.

On the trailer for the tour film Dye said, "I am a big fan of Normandy Tour Guide and Historian Ellwood von Seibold, who takes you for a ride in his 1943 Dodge Command Jeep for the D-Day landings in the real time, you'll see the uniforms they wore and the weapons they used."

"If you can't afford a trip to tour the battlefields of Normandy, just get a copy of The Americans On D-Day and you'll get a stirring look at events that changed the course of World War II in Europe.

Ellwood von Seibold knows his history and how to present it to people in an exciting, understandable fashion. The insights and revelations in this work are extremely valuable to everyone interested in military history."

"We wanted to show a snapshot of that 'Day of Days' through the individual soldier's eye," Lanni said. "Ellwood, who is an incredible 62-year-old, who put on all the different uniforms, allowed he to be suspended on a rope ladder over a cliff, ran out of the freezing water on Omaha Beach at 6.30 a.m., crawled through hedgerows and shinned up trees."

The production shot its first interviews in 2007 with Howard Manoian, a veteran of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne who landed in Normandy on D-Day and returned many years later to live in the country that he helped liberate.

"With the addition of archive footage and stills we have turned this interview into a short biographical documentary under the title of 'A Soldier's Journey,' which we also hope to launch for the 65th anniversary," Lanni said.

(Movie clips are available at http://www.ww2-reflections.com/the-americans-on-d-day-press.html)

(Trailers at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJIjD-MaRJw&feature=channel_page)

Manoian was recently named a recipient of the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the French government. He will be presented with the award in June at St. Mere Eglise, where U.S. paratroopers suffered heavy losses during the Normandy invasion.