Today marks our last day of shooting in California. We finished up in San Rafael yesterday and stopped by the Downs' house for one last home cooked meal. They had thrown us an impromptu birthday party on the night of the 17th (Adam and I both have our birthday on that day, and Brian's is next week). Phil and Debbie really made us feel like family for the weekend. Thanks guys.
After we finished shooting last night, we caught a quick nap and then departed at 8pm for a 13-hour drive to Arizona for our last interview. We met with a gentleman by the name of Ed who served with the Army's 31st Regiment in Korea. Ed's unit was surrounded by three divisions of Chinese in the east side of Chosin Reservoir. After five days of holding off the enemy, the regiment was almost completley out of ammunition and began a withdraw with all of their dead and wounded. Led by LtCol Don Faith, the 31st fought their way through multiple Chinese ambushes and road blocks. Faith was killed during the battle and posthumously awarded the medal of honor.
Adam, Brian, and Ed (K Company, 31st Regiment)
After the convoy was ambushed and halted, the Chinese Communist Forces burned all of the wounded alive in the back of the trucks. To make a long story short, Ed miraculously survived after being shot in the head, beaten, and left for dead with no winter clothing in 40-below temperatures. He made his way to the ice on the reservoir where he was saved by LtCol Beale and some other Marines who had driven through enemy lines in jeeps to recover as many survivors from the 31st as possible. We spent almost three hours talking with Ed and we were honored to be welcomed into his home today.
Well, we have some editing to do tomorrow so that we can submit our project for a grant from our fiscal sponsor, the Independent Feature Project, then we have a few meetings in LA on Thursday before getting on a plane back to the East Coast on Friday.
S/F
Anton
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