Hispanics Unhappy with Burns Revision of WWII Documentary, 'The War'

Several Hispanic groups announced on Thursday that the aren't happy with Ken Burns' plan to edit his upcoming World War II documentary series, 'The War,' by including stories of Latino veterans during breaks at the end of each hour.

Both Burns and PBS have faced protests from many Hispanic groups due to the 14 hour documentary not including any Hispanics who served in the war.

The documentary is scheduled to premiere in September, which is Hispanic Heritage month. PBS is hoping that the WWII documentary becomes as popular as Burns' previous 'The Civil War' documentary series. PBS intends to sell a companion book and DVDs as well.

The documentary was made over a six year period and tells the story of the war through people from four communities. The communities are Mobile, Ala., Waterbury, Conn., Sacramento, Calif., and Luverne, Minn. None of the interviewees are Hispanic or Native American.

In response to the complaints from the Hispanic groups and veterans, PBS announced a list of steps it planned to take on Wednesday.

The first part of the plan is for Burns to seek out Hispanic WWII veterans to interview. The interviews would air during breaks at the end of each hour of the series. The film would otherwise have no changes, according to Burns' publicist Joe DePlasco.

Burns compares adding the Latino stories to amendments to the Constitution.

The national commander of the American GI Forum, Antonio Gil Morales, however, said Burns is treating Hispanic veterans as a footnote to the war by showing the interviews in that way.

"We want inclusion on this thing ... We owe it to the tens of thousands of Hispanics who died in the battlefields of the European theater, the Pacific theater and the African campaign, plus the hundreds of thousands that returned to this country that still faced hate and the same segregation and discrimination," Morales said.

The Hispanic groups want the documentary to be edited with new footage including Hispanic military service during World War II.