Beautifully crafted and incredibly emotional, Sunken Roads: Three Generations After D-Day follows the steps of American WWII veterans across Europe in an experience where history, memory, and the spirit of those who served during WWII are felt in every frame.

There have been many documentaries about WWII, yet there is something about Sunken Roads that is different, special, meaningful. It all comes from an honest place of exploration and endearment, not so much for the idea of war, but for the men who fought in WWII.

For director Charlotte Juergens it all began with her great grandfather Pat, a WWII veteran. Although Pat passed away before Charlotte was born, his presence looms large with his voice, speaking about his wartime experiences, opening the film. Rich in tone and almost poetic in speech, it is a voice that Juergens has inherited, with her narration throughout Sunken Roads both calming and informative. Where narration is often an annoyance in most documentaries, Juergens presentation and use of it is a vital addition.

Juergens’ need to explore her grandfathers’ experience in WWII leads to an unexpected proposition: to chaperone two WWII veterans across Europe for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Of the two men it is Don McCarthy who makes the biggest impression. Ninety-years-old at the time of filming, Don quickly plays the role of guide to young Charlotte, as the two bond over the course of their trip.

Ceremony and ritual break-up their trek across hollowed ground where wars were fought by men barley in their twenties, a fact that no doubt affected the early-20-something Juergen, as she comes upon the same foxholes that these men hid in, the same sunken roads that these men treaded on, and the same fields that these men died on. The stories told by Don and others are harrowing. The use of archival footage, so expertly weaved into this intimate exploration by editor Mark Juergens (To Be of Service), provides further context to a war fought over 70 years ago, but is still very much alive in the minds of the men who fought in it. Jordan Plotner (Strange Deal) and Mark Suozzo’s (American Splendor) lullaby compositions brings it all together to create a melancholy and stirring work.

Juergens succeeds in making her first feature a triumphantly impactful one, with Sunken Roads: Three Generations After D-Day a documentary that intimately delves into the memories of men near the end of their time, a “greatest generation” increasingly dwindling in number. May their feats and their stories forever be cherished as they are here.