Rod Serling in World War II: The Twilight Zone and the 11th Airborne Division

Discovery the military service of Rod Serling, Hollywood's Angry Man, who fought with the 11th Airborne Division in World War II. Presented by Jeremy C. Holm, author, historian and 11th Airborne Division Secretary, in this lecture we'll cover Rod's training as a Paratrooper with the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment before the regiment joined the 11th Airborne Division at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. Rod and the 11th Airborne then participated in the famous Knollwood Maneuvers in December of 1943 before the division headed down to Camp Polk, Louisiana where Rod and his fellow Paratroopers got into frequent fights with the areas local armored units. The 11th Airborne Division then headed west to Camp Stoneman, California before sailing to Dobodura, New Guinea during the summer of 1944 where the Angels acclimated and trained to fighting the enemy in the Pacific theater's jungles. Rod and the 511th PIR were then committed to combat on Leyte in late November through Christmas of 1944. During thirty-three days of continual monsoon rains, Rod and his comrades fought the enemy from one side of Leyte to the other, while enduring near-starvation, tropical diseases, enemy infiltrations, leeches, and so on. Rod and the 511th PIR then parachuted onto Luzon in February of 1945 and fought hellacious battles with the Imperial Japanese forces to retake Manila and southern Luzon before the 11th Airborne was sent to be the first unit to land on Japan and guard the departure docks for the surrender ceremony onboard the USS Missouri in September of 1945. We'll discuss how Rod's WWII service led to several of the combat-related scripts that he wrote and how the PTSD he suffered from the war fueled some of his creative energies. Come learn about the military service of Rod Serling, a brilliant writer, producer, actor and loving father and husband. To learn more about Rod Serling and the 11th Airborne, you can purchase the following books on the Angels in World War II: 1. WHEN ANGELS FALL: FROM TOCCOA TO TOKYO, THE 511TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT IN WORLD WAR II - https://www.amazon.com/When-Angels-Fa... And 2. DOWN FROM HEAVEN: THE 11TH AIRBORNE DIVISION IN WORLD WAR II - VOLUME 1 CAMP TOCCOA THROUGH LEYTE CAMPAIGN - https://www.amazon.com/Down-Heaven-Ai... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links mentioned in this video: 1. 511th PIR online museum - www.511pir.com 2. 11th Airborne Division Association website - www.11thairborne.com 3. Rod Serling's appearance on the Jack Benny Show in 1963 -