Veterans well into their 80s recall days of valor and years of indignation on “A Distant Shore: African Americans of D-Day” (6 p.m. today, History). All of the solders interviewed here stormed the beaches of Normandy in June 1944. And like every soldier of their time, they entered a segregated military.

Segregation at southern bases came as a shock to many Northern blacks. Soldiers from Detroit and Chicago did not go to the back of the bus without a fight. Soldiers eager to enter combat were often relegated to support duties and subject to abuse from officers.

It took well into the 1990s for the military to admit that there had been systematic discrimination in the awarding of medals. President Clinton awarded eight belated Medals of Honor to black WWII veterans, but only one was alive to receive it.

¢ The small screen salutes the big screen on the 79th Annual Academy Awards (7:30 p.m. Sunday, ABC).

Time was, Oscar was the night to fete really big and really good pictures from the past year. Where have they gone? Now, Hollywood movies seem to come in two varieties: big-budget blockbusters with little critical recognition (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) and prestigious “small” films (“The Last King of Scotland” and “The Queen”) that receive Oscar nominations despite limited theatrical release.

“Titanic” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy were the most notable exceptions to this rule. And the years those films won Academy Awards saw a dramatic rise in ratings for the Oscars ceremony. But when the biggest Oscar buzz involves independent films that few viewers have seen, don’t expect an enormous or passionate audience.

Rather than honor films that packed theaters, the Oscars have become mere promotion for the DVD release of the winners and nominees. Will we soon see a day when the formality of the theatrical release is dispensed with and movies go directly to DVD, where viewers can watch them on their huge home televisions?

The choice of Ellen DeGeneres as host is a wise one. Above all, she’s a huge fan and showbiz enthusiast. Previous hosts – including Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and, to some degree, Steve Martin – projected an aura of being too cool for the Oscars. In contrast, DeGeneres brings wit, affability and humility to the gig. I look forward to her performance.

Tonight’s highlights

¢ Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs perform on “Crossroads” (8 p.m., CMT).

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Iraq war veterans protest the ongoing conflict; Holocaust survivors return to a Czech town where they were interned.