BY DAVID KRONKE

>TV Critic

Given how assiduously Ken Burns examines racial issues in his films (they were virtually a secondary theme in his epics "Baseball" and "Jazz"), it may seem a little peculiar that he was blindsided by Latino groups protesting his not having interviewed any Hispanic veterans for his 15-hour World War II documentary "The War."

"We weren't seeking any specific ethnicity," Burns says. "The real fact of the matter is not a single Hispanic came in when we were seeking people to interview, and we took it on the chin for that."

Burns' film examines the war through the prism of four typical American cities: Sacramento; Mobile, Ala.; Waterbury, Conn.; and Luverne, Minn. Outside of Sacramento, there likely weren't many Latinos living in those towns in the '40s.

Besides, Burns says, the sheer volume of material dictates that not everyone will get quality on-screen time.

"I am unapologetic about that," Burns declares. "We don't have WAC's (Women's Army Corps), we don't have WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), we don't have Merchant Marines. We can't be all things to all people. This is an impressionistic poem, not a telephone book. If it were a telephone book, it wouldn't be interesting."

There were Latino soldiers in the film's narrative, Burns said, but those complaining were "unwilling to look at the film we made. Rather than continue the argument, we decided to produce extra material that in no way alters the film we made."

Burns created the additional material after 21 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with his corporate sponsors and made vague threats about a boycott. Even with the added footage, made with the assistance of Los Angeles filmmaker Hector Galan and some of which airs tonight, a group called Defend the Honor is staging protests outside PBS stations in San Francisco, San Diego, San Antonio and Austin, Texas.

A daily comic strip even got in on the controversy. "Baldo," written by Hector Cantu, began a story line about a Latino veteran this past week that will run through Thursday in newspapers nationwide, including the Daily News.