BRAVO! Co-producer and Co-director Betty Rodgers Muses on BRAVO!’s Supporters
Most people don’t stay for the credits at the end of a film, but almost without exception, our audiences have watched the entire run of credits as if riveted to their seats. I think this is partly because they want to remember the names of the men in the film. Plus, they are interested in the dedications…the veterans, living and deceased, who were honored by donors or the filmmakers.
For me, personally, the credits are always another journey down the BRAVO! road, the road paved with a myriad of memories. And at each screening, there seems to be a revolving number of categories that suddenly get my attention as if I am seeing them for the first time. Most recently it was the list of donors. We’ve often said this film wouldn’t be what it is…a powerful work of art…without our donors, and it’s so true.
The list is impressive and humbling, representing those who believed in us and in the story we wanted to tell. There’s everything from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation to other filmmakers, from Bravo Company Marines to veterans’ organizations, from Vietnam war-protestors to families who lost loved-ones. There are our own friends and family members. There are other Khe Sanh veterans and veterans from other combat areas as well as friends of friends. There are people who have since passed away, yet their gifts live on in BRAVO!
And so I sat there reading each name, once again overcome with gratitude. Every individual on that list is a meaningful part of BRAVO! We can never say “thank you” enough, but we can certainly try.
THANK YOU each and every one.
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Thank You Miss Betty and Ken as well. This would never have been done without Ken’s vision and your encouragement and making it actually happen. From Denver in ’09 when you first spoke of it until it’s completion you both have etched in stone the heartache, the bravery and the brotherhood as you have so eloquently portrayed the tragedy of Bravo Company. The memory of those brave Marines who we all saw fall will never be forgotten because of your good works. I knew 21 years ago when I first met you that you were such a special person. I just didn’t realize at the time just how “special” you really are.
Hugs
S/F Michael
Those are some pretty heartwarming words, Michael. I remember what you said to me when we were in San Antonio filming the interviews…treat this as if they were your own children. You make us feel as if we lived up to that, and it’s a comfort to know that because each of you were willing to be interviewed, this story and its message will live long past all of us. Semper Fi from this Marine wife, Betty
Warmly put, Betty, which matches the way you have always seemed to approach people and approach your world. You may remember Liaznn Bassham from Sebastopol; I have been performing in her reader’s theatre, “Voices,” which talks about homelessness and economic hardship. One of the characters is a Viet Nam vet and every time I hear his story — after multiple calamities he always tells himself, “I can survive this. I survived Nam” — I’m amazed at the myriad ways a person comes through horrific struggle and what scars that kind of trauma can leave. I wish that all vets could feel your warm way in the world, esp. those who have experienced the opposite of warmth.