California Getting Closer

Meeting up with my Great Uncle Jack yesterday was great. He's had a few strokes, but, like many of the Chosin vets I have met, he's a survivor. And he still remembers Chosin like it was yesterday. My Uncle Jack served with Chesty Puller and the 1st Marines at Koto-ri. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to visiting with him again next time I am home in Pittsburgh.

One week to the day until we leave for Cali. Out plane tickets are bought, everything is set with our equipment on the west coast, and Brian has booked the rental car. The biggest and most difficult part-- booking locations and veterans for interviews-- is still in progress. We have to find places that are preferrably free-of-charge that are relatively isolated from crowds/ traffic noise/ etc. Not an easy task when you are unable to scout them out ahead of time and you can only ask questions over the phone. Brian is all over it though, and, as Marines, we are always good at adapting to the situation once we are on the ground.

I'm calling around to the California Chosin vets to book interview apointments. We have a pretty substantial list of names, but many members are either unlisted in the phone book, are in poor health, or have passed on. It's tough business. We are moving as fast as we can to get as many veteran's stories recorded as we can, but I can't help but feel like I wish I was working on this project a decade earlier. There is a lot of history that is gone forever that we will never get to go back and record. Time is short and we have no other choice but to attack.

S/F
Anton

Good week/ Family at Chosin

Brian and I went to a mixer held by our fiscal sponsor, the Independent Feature Project, earlier this week. They recently moved to a new location in Brooklyn, and held the event to celebrate. We had a chance to shake hands and talk with the staff at IFP. All great people from a great organization. They are a valuable resource for independent filmmakers in New York and we couldn't make this project happen without them. As a bonus, my Dad was in town for the day and came with us to the event. We had a great time, but didn't get too rowdy.

Tomorrow is an exciting day. Brian will be doing a taped inteview with NPR for future broadcast and I am meeting with my great uncle who served in the Marines and fought at Chosin. I had always heard about my grandfather and his three brothers who fought in WW II in the Army and Navy, but nobody had told me that the youngest brother, my great uncle Jack, was a Marine or that he had fought in Korea. When word got around that I was working on this film, one of my mother's cousins filled us in. I was amazed. It made me think again about how Korea has really been "the forgotten war." I can only hope that this film exposes more people to how important this piece of American History truly is, and that we can do right by these veterans by telling their story.

Semper Fi,
Anton

California Prep

Well, it looked like we had a good chunk of time to get ready for Califonia, but we had to cut that time in half once we took a second look at the calendar. Our original plan had us leaving on May 11th, but we realized that we would be trying to compete with veterans' Memorial Day plans at the end of our trip. Not good. We moved our departure date to the 5th, so Brian and I now have roughly one week to get logistics in place for 16 days of shooting in 8 locations across California and Arizona. Adapt and overcome. Ooh rah!

S/F
Anton

Florida Day 6

Amazing day today. We interviewed a veteran named Jerry who served with the Army in the 31st RCT on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir. His unit was drastically short on everything from ammo to communications equipment, but his story was proof that this battle was hard fought by Soldiers as well as Marines. Probably one of our best interviews yet, and the first that we've had with a gentleman who was a part of Task Force Faith-- a crucial piece of the Chosin Reservoir story. Jerry and his wife Phoebe welcomed us into their house as if we were family, and we enjoyed some home-made Lebanese food and good conversation before it was time for us to get back on the road. We were truly honored to be so welcomed.

We've got a long drive back north tonight, then it's time to get started on planning for California. May is just around the bend.

Semper Fi,
Anton

Day 5.

Last night was the first good night's sleep we have gotten in days. For some of us, weeks. Good times. We are crashing at a local Econolodge. Far cry from the last digs. Can't say that I recommend it. But in a pinch, it does the job. I would normally say that I would rather sleep outside, but since there were severe thunderstorms and tornadoes overnight, it was worth it to get the room.

Rough stuff in the interviews today. Their war is not too different from ours. The biggest difference is the time and place. The VFW worked out great as a shooting location. The post commander, Mark Goss, is a Marine and he really went above and beyond to make sure that we had everything that we needed. He runs a tight ship and we had a great time last night having a few beers with the other members of the Chester McKay VFW Post 7978. Thanks for everything!

We had a few more cancellations for tomorrow. It's hard to get the veterans to agree to meet with us, but even harder when they cancel on us. Thankfully, we can scramble really wll and plug the gaps.

Tim Kennedy, from the University of Tampa (also a Marine and tanker none the less) got us in touch with a great veteran, Lou. Memory like a steel trap. Tim runs a top notch film program at UT. Since he is a Marine I am not surprised. The proof is in the students. We met em. Top notch. Good work Tim. Thanks for the help.

Semper Fi,
Brian

Pictured to follow.

Day 4. Tired.

Thank God we are Marines. We haven't really slept in a few days and the drive to Tampa was tough. We are clocking in about 3 hours of sleep a night. Nice. But as always, no one is shooting at us so we have no room to complain.

We hit the Marine Corps League, Holiday Detachment, in New Port Richey. Must say Marines always look out for Marines and that Det is great, but I would expect nothing less. It's always good to see Marines from all generations getting together. This was our longest day yet. We had a few beers at the bar and had to look for a new. The Det was great but there was too much traffic noise to contend with so we went on the hunt. Anton found a great place at the local VFW.

Semper Fi,

Brian

Florida Day 3

Whew. Long days. Long nights. We hit the pool tonight. This is a family place, so a handful of Marines covered in tattoos and drinking beers ended up clearing all the families from the pool area. At least the hot tub was nice and hot. We had a great day of interviews. Every time we talk with our Chosin heroes we are honored and privileged. We learned an amazing story about Marine legend Chesty Puller today. Every night at bootcamp on Parris Island, we sung the Marines' Hymn before hitting the rack and hollered, "Goodnight, Chesty, wherever you are!" A veteran who served with Chesty at the Chosin Reservoir told us that every night before the sun went down, Chesty would walk the lines with a bullhorn to give a speech before the sun went down, and would finish with, "Goodnight Marines! Get ready, they will be here in about five minutes." (He was referring to the Chinese, who attacked relentlessly through the night just after sundown). In response, the Marines all across the lines would holler from their fighting positions, "Goodnight Chesty!" I never knew where the tradition came from until now. Got to get some sleep. Time to head up near Tampa in the morning.

Semper Fi,

Brian

Florida Day 2

More great interviews at an equally great location. Long days of non-stop production means no room to enjoy the wonderful location. We got to talk to some great men and are always humbled in their presence. As a matter of fact, today was actually kinda crazy. We had a couple of wild men on the roster. Not only did I laugh like crazy, I also feared that if we all hit the bar after the show that we could all be arrested. Wouldn't be the first time a group of Marines caused utter mayhem, wouldn't be the last. Adside from a few cancellations for the following days - Great day.

Semper Fi,

Brian

Florida Day 1

We arrived in Ft Myers late last night. We are fortunate to have recieved the support of the Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa. I like to think that I have "been a few places," but this is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. The interview room is amazing, the staff is amazing-- the water, location, you name it. If you are going to stay in South West Florida, I highly recommend staying here - at least for a night. Amazing.

Moving on. We had a long drive, taking turns sleeping on the floorboards. The mini-van wasn't as big as we thought it would be. Nonetheless, it does the job and we made mission.

Today was jammed packed and we could not have been more honored to sit with these heroes and hear their stories. We especially appreciate these men taking time over Easter weekend to meet with us.

Got in a little work out, a few bean burritos from Taco Bell. Gonna hit the pool and hit the rack. Nice. Until tomorrow.

Semper Fi,
Brian

Gearing up to Drive

Here we go. Florida. This is the first of the "big four" trips that we are embarking on this year. Naturally, due to retirement and general distaste for the cold, many of the Chosin vets have migrated to warm climates. I can't blame them, and the crew and I are not feeling too bad about having to travel to sunny Florida to meet them. Compared to the weather in Korea, Iraq was an inferno, but there is no way that I want to retire somewhere that is freezing cold.

We will be filming the road trip and behind the scenes, so stay tuned for new videos to meet the crew.



Semper Fi,

Brian

Pre-Deployment Work Up for Florida

Our first deployment for the film is getting closer. Over the past week, Brian and I have been finishing up the logistics for production in Florida. Dick Bonelli and Wally Dugan of the Southwest Florida Chapter of The Chosin Few have been indispensible in our preparations. Support from the Chosin vets has been great, and it looks like we may get the opportunity to sit and talk with as many as 30 or 40 members of the SW Florida chapter. There are a few more details to work out, and then we will hit the road next Wednesday.

S/F
Anton