THE WAR, a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four quintessentially American towns.

In this excerpt from episode one, Sidney Phillips of Mobile, AL describes how he set out to enlist in the Navy... but ended up in the Marines.

THE WAR, a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four quintessentially American towns.

Directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick describe the challenges they faced in assembling thousands of hours of film footage into the finished series.