🎖️ New episodes premiere every other night this week, with the finale on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at 11 AM CT. See the schedule →
Award-winning WWI documentary series

A Golden Cross
to Bear

A Story of the 33rd Division in World War I

The only documentary ever made about Illinois’ 33rd Division and the 131st Infantry Regiment.

One hundred years after the bloodiest battle in American military history, a grandson goes looking for the soldier he barely knew. All five episodes, free on YouTube.

“A nearly perfect curative” for anyone who wanted America’s WWI story told.Roads to the Great War

All five episodes stream free on the KaneStar Productions YouTube channel. Subscribe so you don't miss a premiere.

Award-winning seriesAs seen on WTTW ChicagoAired on PBS stations nationwide
Official poster for A Golden Cross to Bear: A Story of the 33rd Division in World War I, showing WWI doughboys advancing beneath the 33rd Division's golden cross
Watch free on YouTubeWatch on YouTube
Now streaming · Episode 1

A New Kind of War

Private Gustave Amm came home from France in 1919 and kept what he saw to himself. A century later, his grandson Roger Amm goes looking for him, starting with a 1918 battle map, a gas mask, and the voices of the last WWI veterans, recorded in 1972.

“A nearly perfect curative.”

Michael Hanlon, Roads to the Great War
“With Veterans Day on the horizon, the series should be compulsory viewing.”
Steve Tarter, Peoria Journal Star
“This documentary brings things to life.”
Peoria Journal Star
“Learning so much more than what you read in history books.”
Roger Amm, to the Pontiac Daily Leader
Veterans Day premiere week

Five episodes. One week.

First broadcast on PBS stations nationwide during the World War I centennial, the series now streams free on YouTube. Each new episode premieres on the KaneStar Productions YouTube channel at 7 PM Central, every other night. The finale premieres at 11 AM on Veterans Day, the moment the guns fell silent in 1918. Tap Notify me on each premiere to get a reminder.

Watch nowWatch on YouTube
Episode 1

A New Kind of War

Retired music teacher Roger Amm of Ottawa, Illinois, begins researching his grandfather Gustave Amm, a Pontiac farmer who fought with the 131st Infantry Regiment. The search grows into a larger effort to honor everyone who served, on both sides.

Streaming nowFree on YouTube▶ Watch on YouTube
PremiereWatch on YouTube
Episode 2

Roadmaps

Roger watches active-duty soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 33rd Brigade Combat Team train against chemical weapons in Bloomington, Illinois, and his grandfather’s war takes on new meaning.

Thursday, Nov 5 · 7:00 PM CTYouTube Premiere🔔 Notify me on YouTube
PremiereWatch on YouTube
Episode 3

The Fogs of War

On the old battlefields of France, the remnants of trench warfare show Roger what his grandfather saw in the bloodiest battle in U.S. military history, ending at a memorial to the fallen.

Saturday, Nov 7 · 7:00 PM CTYouTube Premiere🔔 Notify me on YouTube
PremiereWatch on YouTube
Episode 4

In Foreign Fields

Historian and battlefield guide Randy Gaulke leads Roger along the route of the 131st Infantry Regiment, retracing his grandfather’s dangerous march from the Meuse River toward the heights of Bois Plat.

Monday, Nov 9 · 7:00 PM CTYouTube Premiere🔔 Notify me on YouTube
FinaleWatch on YouTube
Episode 5 · Finale

Home Fronts

Roger visits his ancestors’ town in Bavaria, makes a surprising discovery, and returns home to honor those who served in the “war to end all wars.”

Wednesday, Nov 11 · 11:00 AM CTVeterans Day premiere🔔 Notify me on YouTube
Never miss a premiereSubscribe to KaneStar Productions on YouTube and tap the bell for every new episode.
The story

47 days in 1918

The bloodiest battle in U.S. military history unfolded over 47 days in the fall of 1918. More than 26,000 Americans were killed and nearly 100,000 wounded in the Meuse-Argonne, an almost forgotten chapter of World War I. Among the men in the line was Private Gustave Amm of Illinois' 33rd "Golden Cross" Division.

One hundred years later, his grandson Roger Amm set out on a journey across the United States, France, and Germany to learn about the grandfather he barely knew, and about the men who served on both sides of the conflict. Along the way he found his grandfather's battle maps, walked the tunnels of Vauquois and the woods of the Argonne, and discovered that his grandfather had fought against his own family.

47days of battle
26,000+Americans killed
~100,000wounded

It is the only documentary ever made about the 33rd Division and its 131st Infantry Regiment. KaneStar Productions presents the award-winning, landmark five-part documentary series, produced in partnership with WTVP-TV, the PBS station serving Central Illinois, and the United States World War I Centennial Commission, in cooperation with the Illinois National Guard. It aired on PBS stations around the country during the World War I centennial.

KaneStar Productions
WTVP-TV · PBS
U.S. WWI Centennial Commission
Illinois National Guard
As seen on WTTW Chicago
Portrait of Private Gustave Amm in his World War I U.S. Army uniform
Private Gustave Amm, 33rd “Golden Cross” Division, 131st Infantry Regiment.
Credits
Written, directed & edited by
Kane Farabaugh
Produced by
Kane Farabaugh, Roger Amm, Jon Kassell
Videography
Jon Kassell, Kane Farabaugh
Historic consultants
David Mumper, Randy Gaulke, Dr. Chris McDonald, Adriana Schroeder
Original music
John McAllister
Artwork
Todd Weber
Post-production services
Daniel Skubal

WTVP-TV presents a KaneStar Production in association with the World War I Centennial Commission.

On location

Filmed where they fought

Filming A Golden Cross to Bear in the World War I trenches of France on a foggy morning
Filming in the World War I trenches of France.
Two men stand behind a white marble cross at an American military cemetery in France
At an American military cemetery in France.
Shorts

One minute in the trenches

Quick looks at the gear, the letters, and the men of the 33rd Division. Swipe for more.

Watch on YouTube

The Emmy-winning WWI series is now free on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Grandpa never talked about the war

Watch on YouTube

What WWI soldiers wrote on their gas masks

Watch on YouTube

Could you get a gas mask on in 9 seconds?

Watch on YouTube

“Need support.” A battalion’s desperate messages, Oct. 10, 1918

Watch on YouTube

Rats across their faces at night: life in the trenches

Watch on YouTube

Segregated in life, side by side in death

Watch on YouTube

Why they rub Omaha Beach sand on WWI headstones

Watch on YouTube

He carried mustard gas scars for the rest of his life

Watch on YouTube

An American soldier fighting his own German family

Watch on YouTube

Inside a 100-year-old WWI Army gas mask

Watch on YouTube

What mustard gas did to WWI soldiers

Watch on YouTube

WWI: tanks, airplanes… and still horses

Watch on YouTube

Crank-starting a rare 1916 U.S. Army scout car

More every weekNew WWI stories and Shorts on KaneStar Productions. Subscribe to keep watching.
Awards & recognition

An award-winning series

Recognized by the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Chicago Headline Club and the Association for Women in Communications.

★
Emmy® AwardWriter, Short Form
Kane Farabaugh
2017–2018 Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards
★
Emmy® AwardOn-Camera Talent: Program Correspondent / Narrator / Performer
Roger Amm
2018–2019 Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards
✦
Clarion AwardTelevision Documentary Series, Local or Regional
Association for Women in Communications, 2019
✦
Peter Lisagor AwardBest In-Depth News Story or Series, Television
Chicago Headline Club, 2018 Lisagor Awards
Also a finalist for Best Feature Series
✦
5 Emmy® Nominations2017–2018 Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards: Documentary, Historical · Program Correspondent · Program Editor · Promotions Editor · Short-Form Writer

At the Emmys®

Watch on YouTube

Emmy® acceptance speech: Kane Farabaugh

Writer, Short Form. 2017–2018 Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards.

Watch on YouTube

Backstage at the Emmys®

Roger Amm and Kane Farabaugh backstage at the 2018 Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards.

See the Emmy®-winning seriesStream all five episodes free on KaneStar Productions.
Meet the host

Roger Amm

“Curious, respectful, and very well spoken.”Roads to the Great War, on Roger Amm

For decades Roger Amm led the choirs at Ottawa Township High School in Ottawa, Illinois. In retirement he turned to a question he had carried his whole life: who was his grandfather, Gustave Amm, the Pontiac farmer who went to France with the 131st Infantry Regiment and never talked about the war?

Roger is the heart of A Golden Cross to Bear, on camera throughout the series, from the training grounds of Illinois to the battlefields of France and his family's hometown in Bavaria. His work earned him the Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Award for On-Camera Talent: Program Correspondent/Narrator/Performer.

The series was produced, written and edited by Kane Farabaugh, an Emmy®-winning journalist, Air Force veteran and former student of Roger's, with fellow producer Jon Kassell.

Watch on YouTube

Roger Amm wins the Emmy®

On-Camera Talent: Program Correspondent/Narrator/Performer, Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards.

In the news

Press & interviews

Covered by newspapers across Illinois, with Roger Amm and Kane Farabaugh interviewed on public television in Peoria and the Quad Cities and on radio across the state.

Watch on YouTube

WQPT PBS, Quad Cities: The Cities

Kane Farabaugh and Roger Amm on WQPT’s The Cities.

Watch on YouTube

WLMR Radio: The Veteran’s Show

Air Force veteran and filmmaker Kane Farabaugh on the documentary (Oct. 23, 2018).

Peoria Journal Star · Steve Tarter
WTVP documentary brings World War I to life (Nov. 8, 2018)
Read →
Spartanburg Herald-Journal · Samantha Swann
Spartanburg High band director makes music for the movies: composer John McAllister on scoring A Golden Cross to Bear (Feb. 23, 2020)
Read →
Pontiac Daily Leader · Paul Westermeyer
Amm documentary receives Chicago Emmy (Nov. 13, 2018)
Read →
Pontiac Daily Leader · Paul Westermeyer
Third Amm documentary to air (March 1, 2018)
Read →
The Times, Ottawa
World War I soldier Amm saga on TV Sunday (May 2018)
Read →
The Times, Ottawa
Farabaugh wins Midwest Emmy Award for A Golden Cross to Bear
Read →
WTVP PBS, Peoria · Consider This with Yvonne Greer
Roger Amm & Kane Farabaugh: A Golden Cross to Bear (full interview, Oct. 26, 2018)
Watch on PBS →
Review · Roads to the Great War
Michael Hanlon calls the series a “nearly perfect curative” for viewers wanting the American soldier’s WWI story (Oct. 22, 2019)
Read →
WCMY 1430 Radio, Ottawa
A Golden Cross to Bear with Kane Farabaugh and Roger Amm (July 5, 2018)
Listen →
Peoria Riverfront Museum · WTVP
Exclusive giant-screen preview screening and live Q&A with Kane Farabaugh and Roger Amm
Read →
Lincoln Land Community College
Professor Christopher McDonald consulted on the five-time Emmy®-nominated series premiering on WTVP and WILL
Read →
CastingWords
Congratulations to the award-winning documentary A Golden Cross to Bear (Feb. 2019)
Read →
WTTW, Chicago PBS
A Golden Cross to Bear on the WTTW broadcast schedule
View →
IMDb
A Golden Cross to Bear (TV mini-series, 2018)
View →
Own the series

DVDs

Every episode streams free on the KaneStar Productions YouTube channel. Want it on your shelf? Keep the complete series, or give it to the veteran or history lover in your family. DVDs ship from Ottawa, Illinois.

A Golden Cross to Bear poster

A Golden Cross to Bear

The complete five-part series, about 146 minutes. Not rated. Special feature: Consider This: A Golden Cross to Bear, hosted by Yvonne Greer with Kane Farabaugh and Roger Amm.

$20
Buy with PayPal
The Greatest Honor poster, Emmy-winning WWII documentary

The Greatest Honor

The Emmy-winning WWII documentary: a son's last chance to understand his father's war, from Le Havre to Linz with the 65th Infantry Division.

$20
Buy with PayPal
Something of Love DVD

Something of Love

The Emmy-winning 2013 documentary A Tribute to Roger Amm: the choir director who changed hundreds of lives in Ottawa, Illinois.

$20
Buy with PayPal
The Greatest Honor poster, Emmy-winning WWII documentaryA Golden Cross to Bear poster

The Combo: WWI & WWII Films

Own both award-winning documentaries, WWI and WWII, two generations of the Amm family, for one lower price.

$35 save $5
Buy with PayPal
Something of Love DVDThe Greatest Honor DVDA Golden Cross to Bear DVD
Best value

The Amm Family Trilogy: All 3 Films

Three generations, three award-winning documentaries: Something of Love, The Greatest Honor and A Golden Cross to Bear.

$45 save $15
Buy with PayPal

Shipping is $5 per order within the U.S. All sales are final; no returns. Secure checkout through PayPal. Pay with your PayPal account or any major credit or debit card; no PayPal account needed.

The Greatest Honor poster, Emmy-winning WWII documentary
Also from KaneStar Productions

The Greatest Honor

Before A Golden Cross to Bear, there was John Amm. A veteran of C Company, 260th Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division, he was part of the “tip of the spear” in the Allied push into Germany in the final months of World War II. On the 500-mile path from Le Havre to Linz, he and his fellow infantrymen witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust and the cost of war on the towns and camps they liberated.

He stayed mostly silent about it for almost 70 years. The Greatest Honor, produced with WTVP-TV, is the story of a son's last chance to understand his father's war, and to preserve the stories of the men he served with.

Also from KaneStar Productions · Watch free

Something of Love

The first film in the Amm family story. Something of Love: A Tribute to Roger Amm follows the longtime Ottawa Township High School choir director, his 17 state titles, the students whose lives he changed, and the night hundreds of them came home to sing for him. A real-life Mr. Holland’s Opus.

Produced by Kane Farabaugh, the 2013 documentary won a Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Award and began the trilogy that continued with The Greatest Honor (Roger’s father, John) and A Golden Cross to Bear (his grandfather, Gustave).

Something of Love: A Tribute to Roger Amm poster, Emmy-winning documentary by Kane Farabaugh
Don't miss an episode

How to follow along

  1. Subscribe to KaneStar Productions on YouTube.
  2. Tap the bell and choose All.
  3. Open each premiere and tap Notify me.
  4. Like and share with a veteran you know.