From the Amanpour Archive this week: Frozen in time - the untouched ruins of a French village standing as a dark reminder of Nazi atrocities 80 years ago.
#TheAmanpourHour airs 11aET Saturdays on CNN.

America's top general General CQ Brown, Jr. says the US currently has no plans to send military trainers back into Ukraine. 'Putting trainers into Ukraine... creates more risk really for NATO and NATO partners,' he tells me.

Actor/filmmaker Tom Hanks has been pivotal in immortalizing the legacies of WWII heroes.
On the 80th anniversary of D-Day I ask him why it is so important to document the price of freedom.

With war raging again in Europe and global democracy under threat from authoritarianism, why this D-Day anniversary is more important than ever.
#TheAmanpourHour airs 11aET Saturdays on CNN.

“Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler's ass out of Europe.”
Coming up on the show this week, 101-year-old WWII veteran turned TikTok star “Papa Jake” shares his moving D-Day memories.
#TheAmanpourHour starts 11aET Saturday on CNN.

“The doctor was with him. He was not alone, he was at peace and he was comfortable... She put his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, on her phone and he peacefully left us.” cnn.com/2024/06/06/us/…

On the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014, along with historian Taylor Downing, I toured Churchill's underground war rooms in London, nerve center of Britain’s World War II campaign... where I could practically still smell the cigar smoke.

“Freedom came from the sea”: Artist Anilore Banon on her epic memorial sculpture “Les Braves,” which honors the courage of those who risked their lives for freedom on D-Day, eighty years ago.

'It was the great communal effort and periodically in the United States of America, great communal efforts come to be, and they end up changing the world'. Tom Hanks joins me in Normandy on the 80th anniversary of the D Day landings that liberated Europe

'I will always have faith that the United States of America and the Western societies that have adopted the same sort of democracy cannot help but turn towards what is right.' Tom Hanks tells me why he believes America is always making progress towards 'a more perfect union.'

'That movie is a document that has to accurately reflect the tenor of that day... I like to think we captured it'. On the 80th anniversary of D Day, Tom Hanks tells me what they were hoping to achieve with Saving Private Ryan

'They put themselves here for what? Because it was the right thing to do... they were not gaining territory, they were not here for riches, they were not here to conquer anything. They were really here in order to mend the future.' Tom Hanks reflects on the heroes of D Day

“I don’t think I was a hero. I was just like everybody else. We were all in this together.” D-Day veteran Jake Larson is adamant that his bravery 80 years ago was not exceptional: “The heroes are up there. They gave their life, so that I could make it.”

At 101 years old, D-Day veteran Jake Larson is a bona fide TikTok star, “Papa Jake,” with nearly a million followers listening to his incredible stories – including how at 15 years old, he and his cousin lied about their age in order to enlist.

“Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler’s ass out of Europe!” 101-year-old D-Day veteran Jake Larson tells me that he knew exactly what they were fighting for 80 years ago today. “I lost friends, everybody lost friends. But we were soldiers. We were prepared

At 101 years old, D-Day veteran Jake Larson has returned to Normandy. He tells me that 80 years after D-Day, he remembers it “like it was yesterday. I got off the landing craft and I had water right up to my chin… We were all kids.”

For months Ukraine was badly short of weapons and ammunition. But now “a vast quantity of stuff has been moved in a very short amount of time & it’s making a difference,” insists Christopher Cavoli, Commander, US European Command. For Ukraine, “2024 is a force-generating year.”

80 years after D-Day, “we didn’t expect” to be facing off against Russia, NATO’s top commander Christopher Cavoli tells me. “We thought we were going to be in a better place. Over the last 35 years, we hoped for the best. But the alliance has always been ready for this.”

“We’ve seen large scale aggression, state-on-state, returned to the European continent,” notes Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “It hasn’t been here for decades – for 80 years it hasn’t been here, really because of the NATO alliance… It’s challenging times”.

“I’m not a hero… The heroes are up there. They gave their life.”

101-year-old D-Day veteran Jake Larson reflects on the bravery he and his fallen comrades showed 80 years ago today.

Our full interview airs at 7pCET on CNN International and tonight on PBS.