We'll Meet Again

Culture Series / 2 Seasons

Join Ann Curry for a new series featuring dramatic reunions of people whose lives crossed at pivotal moments. View history through their eyes and hear stories of heroism, hope and the forging of unbreakable bonds.

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Journey to the US on the USS Henry Gibbons

1m 51s

Ben Alalouf describes arriving with his family in Naples in 1944 having been on the run for three years from the Nazis. There he was lucky enough to get a place on the USS Henry Gibbons, an American troop carrier that had been sent to rescue nearly a thousand refugees.

Benjamin and Ben Search for Long Lost Friends

44s

Ninety-year-old Holocaust survivor Benjamin Lesser describes losing his family in the horrors of the concentration camps during WWII. He’s looking for the fellow survivor who became like a brother to him. Ben Alalouf describes arriving in the USA in 1944 on the USS Henry Gibbons, a troop carrier sent to help Jews fleeing the Nazis.

Ben Arrives in the US and befriends Seka

3m 34s

Jewish Refugee Ben Alalouf tells of his arrival at an old military camp in Oswego, New York in 1944. He and his family were so relieved to at last be safe, having run for their lives across Europe with the Nazi forces on their heels. The camp was later called “Safe Haven” and for nearly a year Ben developed a friendship with a little girl called “Seka.”

Benjamin Describes Arriving at Auschwitz

2m 22s

Holocaust survivor Benjamin Lesser describes arriving on a cattle car at Auschwitz concentration camp. He recounts seeing the ashes on the ground and not knowing what they were. A Nazi officer tells Benjamin that it is the ashes of Jewish bodies that have been burned. Benjamin not only loses his younger brother and sister to this fate, but is also threatened that a similar horror awaits him.

Episode 2 Preview | Surviving the Holocaust

30s

Join Ann Curry as Holocaust survivors search for those who gave them hope in the darkest days. One wants to find the friend he left behind when he didn’t move to Israel; the other hopes an old photo will reunite him with the girl who was his first friend.

Meeting Dr. Katz in the MASH Hospital

2m 25s

Finance clerk Roger Wagner describes being wounded by enemy fire during a training session at the Long Binh Base in Vietnam in 1967. Roger was transferred to a MASH hospital where surrounded by the wounded, many of them missing limbs. He was informed that he would most likely have to have his left leg removed in order to save his life.

Roger Begins His Search for Dr. Katz

1m 51s

Roger Wagner visits Dr. Norman Ritch at the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, where he is shown his medical record from Vietnam. The document charts Roger’s operation to save his leg and reveals the information Roger needs.

Dave Describes Meeting Bruce Grable in the Chinook

5m 24s

Dave Johnson and wife Judy describe their reaction to receiving news that Dave would have to serve a third tour of Vietnam in 1971. During this tour while conducting surveillance across the border in Cambodia, Dave's helicopter was shot down. Stranded in the jungle under enemy fire, Dave believed his time was up. But Commander Bruce Grable chose to fly his massive Chinook helicopter into danger.

Dave has a Breakthrough in His Search

1m 10s

Dave Johnson has reached out to the Helicopter Pilot’s Association in the hope that one of the retired pilots may know where Commander Bruce Grable went to after Vietnam. It has thrown up a result, and now Dave has uncovered the current number and address for the retired helicopter pilot.

Episode 1 Preview | Saved in Vietnam

30s

Join Ann Curry as two Vietnam veterans search for the heroes who saved them. An Army officer searches for the helicopter pilot who rescued him, while another soldier wants to reconnect with the surgeon who saved his leg from amputation.

Paul Visits the UNH Library to Search for Clues

3m 48s

Paul Tosi visits the University of New Hampshire library to search for any clues to the current whereabouts of Wayne April. The archives offer up a potential lead and Paul is overcome by Wayne’s achievements and his need to see Wayne again.

Tom on Marla: 'She Accepted Me Unconditionally'

3m 40s

Tom Dicioccio tells Ann about his relationship with his high school friend Marla Epstein. He describes the moment he came out to Marla, before she quickly disappeared from his life. Tom explains why he wants to see Marla again.

Tom Follows Clues to Northern California

3m 29s

Tom Dicioccio has followed clues to Klamath in Northern California and the last known whereabouts of his friend Marla Epstein. He meets a local business woman before asking for help in the post office. He is shocked to discover that Marla is still homeless.

Starting the First Gay Student Organization at UNH

3m 10s

Paul Tosi recounts how fellow University of New Hampshire student, Wayne April, set up the first Gay Student Organization on campus. The newly formed organization received backlash from the local Governor Meldrim Thomson.

Episode 6 Preview | Coming Out

30s

Join Ann Curry as those whose lives were changed by the early days of the gay rights movement reunite. Tom wants to find the childhood friend who urged him to come out, while Paul seeks a fellow student who inspired him to stand up for his beliefs.

Threatened for Supporting Civil Rights

2m 41s

CORE campaigner Fatima Cortez Todd describes the threats she received and the dangers she faced for supporting the civil rights movement. She explains how brave Thelma Caulfield and her family were in the face of this danger.

Sherie Turns to Archives for Clues to Lefty's Whereabouts

3m 27s

Sherie Labedis travels to Charleston, South Carolina to meet with Professor Jon Hale at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Professor Hale has been searching for information on activist Louis ‘Lefty’ Bryant and has some information to share with Sherie.

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