George Stevens and the Special Coverage
Unit

"The irregulars Hollywood"

In February 1943, George Stevens joined the Signal Corps, the communications service of the army. He covers the North African countryside, then goes to London, where General Eisenhower gives him the order to gather a team of 45 people and to film the landing in Normandy. The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) will be placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).

The SPECOU consists of 45 people: critics like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan, and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, and Jack Muth; sound recorders like Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia; assistant editors, like Holly Morse, who had worked with Hal Roach.
Passeport militaire de George Stevens, 1943
Passeport militaire de George Stevens, 1943
Military passport of George Stevens,
1943 Margaret Herrick Library,
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California		 World War II Color Footage
George Stevens, USA
1944 1945 Footage courtesy
of the George Stevens Collection
at the Library of Congress, Washington

A very recent specifications document

In view of the landing in Normandy and the progress towards Germany, the OSS operators are receiving very detailed instructions on what they should do if they happen to cover "evidence of war crimes and atrocities"

The procedure followed to record the evidence of the atrocities committed explicitly sees the possible qualification as evidence, in court, of the complaints collected, whether they are written, oral, or filmed.
Stevens et son �quipe en tournage en France, s.d.
Stevens et son �quipe de tournage en France, s.d. 		Stevens and his team filming in France, s.d. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California