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In 1944, 982 refugees from 18 European countries were brought to the United States as guests of President Franklin Roosevelt.   FDR agreed to admit this small token group in lieu of a much larger plan to create many safe havens all over the country and bring in possibly hundreds of thousands of refugees. The camp was Fort Ontario Army Camp in Oswego, NY. Through interviews with former refugees and archival footage, Safe Haven, tells the story of America’s only refugee shelter for Holocaust victims. Robert Clary, a former refugee, hosts.

Airs 5/29 at 4 a.m.

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uses the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia to exemplify the challenges of Climate Change, sea level rise, rising salinities, weather extremes and other changes that includes local, state, regional and national implications. The effects of Climate Change are far ranging including property and land loss, human health impacts and significant economic and sea life impacts. The impacts examined in this program are not unique to Georgia and South Carolina but reflect the far reaching implications of Climate Change on the entire Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts.

Airs 5/28 at 3 a.m.

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Through the lens of independent documentaries, AMERICA REFRAMED brings to audiences compelling stories that illuminate the changing contours of an ever-evolving America. The social issue series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future. Hosted by Natasha Del Toro.

#616 “Island Soldier” – – follows members of the Nena family from one of the most remote islands in the world to the training grounds of Texas and the battlefields in Afghanistan. The death of Sapuro “Sapp” Nena in Afghanistan makes waves through his tiny home island of Kosrae – where nearly everyone is connected to the U.S. Military directly or through family members. In an attempt to heal from his own deep wounds, Sapuro’s best friend in the Army, Mario Robles, heads to Kosrae with his family to meet Sapp’s parents for the first time and pay his respects on Veteran’s Day. It is an emotional gathering of two families, from opposite sides of the world, brought together by loss, love and honor. Airs 5/28 at 8 p.m.; 5/29 at midnight; 5/29 at 8 a.m.; 5/29 at 2 p.m.

American Reframed Website

Island Solider Trailer

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Each week Independent Lens brings you an original documentary film made by one of the best independent filmmakers working today.

• #1920 “Served Like a Girl” –  – Director Lysa Heslov’s powerful documentary, SERVED LIKE A GIRL, follows several American women who were wounded in action and are now transitioning from soldier to civilian after serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Struggling with PTSD, homelessness, broken families, divorce, serious illness, and military sexual abuse, these remarkable women harness humor to adapt to the emotional, social and economic challenges they face, through the MS. VETERAN AMERICA competition. Balancing beauty and brawn, they are guided by event founder and veteran Major Jas Boothe, using the competition to regain their identities and way of life that they sacrificed in foreign wars.  It is an engaging and honest look at an often unseen veteran reality.

Airs 5/28 at 6:30 p.m.; 5/29 at 1:30 a.m.; 5/29 at 9:30 a.m.; 5/29 at 3:30 p.m.

Idependent Lens Website

Served Like a Girl Website

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What is it really like to go to war? Filled with terror, pain and grief, it also brings exhilaration, and a profound sense of purpose. In Going to War, renowned authors Karl Marlantes and Sebastian Junger help us make sense of this paradox and get to the heart of what it’s like to be a soldier at war. Veterans of various conflicts reveal some universal truths of combat with unflinching candor.

Airs 5/27 at 10:30 p.m.

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G.I. Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II tells the story of the 550,000 Jewish American men and women who fought in World War II. In their own words, veterans both famous (director Mel Brooks, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger) and unknown share their war experiences: how they fought for their nation and people, struggled with anti-Semitism within their ranks, and emerged transformed.

Airs 5/27 at 9 p.m.

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Remembering Vietnam: The Telling Project takes viewers behind-the-scenes as national performing arts organization, The Telling Project, works with Minnesota veterans of the Vietnam War and armed conflict in Laos to create a play in which veterans share their stories. The one-hour program follows the cast – including former Army nurse Mary Beth Crowley, Marine veteran Ken Plant, retired Navy service member Ken Sholes, 20-plus-year Army Veteran Ray Wilson, and the son of a Laos army officer, Khang Yang – through interviews, time spent with their families and friends, and rehearsals culminating in a performance with an invited audience.

Airs 5/26 at 7 p.m.

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POV presents an array of groundbreaking and distinctive perspectives on contemporary life as chronicled by some of America’ s and Europe’s most visionary non-fiction filmmakers.

• #3015 “Almost Sunrise” – In an attempt to put haunting combat experiences behind them, two friends embark on an epic 2,700-mile trek on foot across America, seeking redemption and healing as a way to close the moral chasm opened by war. Almost Sunrise is an intimate, vérité film that eschews stereotypes and instead captures an unprecedented portrait of veterans — one of hope, potential and untold possibilities.

Airs 5/26 at 11 p.m.

POV Website

Almost Sunrise Trailer

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The National Memorial Day Concert features uplifting musical performances, documentary footage and dramatic readings that honor the military service of all our men and women in uniform and their families at home. One of PBS’ highest-rated programs, featuring an all-star lineup. the multi-award-winning television event has become an American tradition.  The concert unites the country in remembrance and appreciation of those who gave their lives for our nation and serves those who are grieving through the mission put forward by Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.”

Airs 5/26 at 8 p.m. (repeats 5/26 at 9:30 p.m.)

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On D-Day, a roughly 7,000-yard stretch of beach in Normandy, France given the code name “Omaha” proved to be the Allies’ biggest obstacle to the success of Operation Overlord. The assignment to take Omaha Beach, establish a beachhead, and move inland into France was given to two American divisions — the already battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) and the untested 29th Infantry Division (The Blue and the Gray), who had yet to see any combat in World War II. American Naval Combat Demolition Units also hit the beach that day, writing their own individual stories of horror and heroism. Seven decades after the “Boys of Omaha Beach” landed, many veterans are returning to this part of the Normandy coast for the last time. Other soldiers who were there on D-Day have also come back for the first time since that historic day, looking for closure as they enter the final years of their lives. OMAHA BEACH: HONOR AND SACRIFICE shows the very personal stories of several veterans as they return to Omaha Beach and documents the celebration in Normandy that continues to this day as a result of their acts of courage and determination on June 6, 1944.

Airs 5/25 at 7 p.m.

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