Ken Rodgers is a former Marine who served with Bravo Company, First Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment during the Siege of Khe Sanh. Along with the other thirteen former Marines and one Navy corpsman in the film, Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor, is Ken’s story.
Ken has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco and a BS in Accounting from Arizona State University. In addition to the warrior’s life, Ken has lived as a sheep herder, a cattle man, an accountant, a land developer, a quality assurance officer, a real estate broker, a management consultant, a controller, a writer, a teacher and now a filmmaker.
“The passion from this story of the Vietnam War cooks inside me and boils over, boils over, boils over. My MFA in Creative Writing has rung the bell of narrative in my soul and naturally led to the making of this movie. The story of war is as old as mankind. Yet we still don’t understand it. I hope this movie ignites a flame inside the young of this world and helps them fathom why we do what we do when it comes to war.” You can find out more about Ken at www.kennethrodgers.com.
Betty Rodgers. Co-producer
Betty Rodgers
A lifelong photographer, idea-generator and jill-of-all-trades, I am stunned and deeply inspired by the process of documentary filmmaking. The opportunity to tell a story by engaging the worlds of heart, sound, and sight…to give others a voice, is richly rewarding. In producing Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor, the history of the men of Bravo Company at Khe Sanh will be preserved forever, no longer evaporating into thin air after each telling. Because of my husband, Ken, his service with Bravo Company, and the talent, passion and wisdom he brings to our marriage/partnership, together we create.
Carol Ewart, Associate Producer, Online Impresaria
Carol Ewart
I’m here making noise, while Ken and Betty make the documentary. It is an honor to be part of this project.
John Nutt, Film and Sound Editor, Sound Design
John Nutt
During my two years in the Army, I spent exactly 12 months in Vietnam as a personnel clerk for an intelligence (sic) unit. For two of those months, I stage-managed a production of THE FANTASTICKS. Working with a budget of $50 and a jeep (for use in stealing material), I helped several GIs and one woman put on the show. We were flown around the war zone in helicopters and C130 transport planes and set up in movie theaters, boxing rings, Special Forces bars, and hospital amphitheaters. Since THE FANTASTICKS is a musical, we had our own GI piano tuner, who often had to rebuild, not just retune, the pianos that we found waiting for us at our various venues.
I graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelors degree in Drama and received an MA degree from Stanford in Communications (film school). I have worked at Zoetrope Studios, Lucasfilm, and The Saul Zaentz Film Company.
As a picture editor, I have worked for Jerry Garcia (THE GRATEFUL DEAD MOVIE), George Lucas (THE EWOK ADVENTURE), Carroll Ballard (NUTCRACKER), Michael Ritchie (THE SURVIVORS), and others. I have edited features, TV specials, documentaries, commercials and educational films (including 25 childrens’ puppet films).
As a sound supervisor and sound editor, I have worked on more than 60 feature films; directly and creatively involved with Francis Coppola (JACK, APOCALYPSE NOW), Milos Forman (AMADEUS), Carroll Ballard (THE BLACK STALLION), David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, TWIN PEAKS, WILD AT HEART), Keith Gordon (MIDNIGHT CLEAR, WAKING THE DEAD, THE SINGING DETECTIVE), Wes Anderson (RUSHMORE), John Waters (SERIAL MOM, PECKER, CECIL B. DEMENTED), Tim Burton (ED WOOD), Phil Kaufman (THE BODYSNATCHERS), Rob Cohen (DRAGON-THE BRUCE LEE STORY, SKULLS), Robert Duvall (APOSTLE), Sean Penn (THE PLEDGE), Walter Salles (EXPOSURE), and many others.
I am a member of IATSE Local #700, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). For my work on AMADEUS, I was awarded a Stella BAFTA Award, which is the British equivalent of an Oscar.
John is a Vietnam veteran.
Mark Spear, Chief Videographer Mark Spear worked in the videography/photography/cinematography/audio field for over 20 years. He got his start shooting weddings on VHS with his step-father Dan Votroubek. From there he worked for Micron Technology shooting photos and video of products and events. His love for flying was fueled by aerial projects with the late CEO Steve Appleton and aerobatic pilot Greg Poe. His work for Micron also took him around the globe several times shooting in places like Singapore, Scotland, Italy and exotic Texas.
Mark Spear at the 2010 Khe Sanh Veterans Reunion
Mark worked for several media companies in Idaho’s Treasure Valley creating everything from commercial spots to documentaries. He created custom music, production assistant tasks, live camera operation, script writing, lighting, motion graphics, directing, talent coordination, location scouting, logistics organization, field audio recording, first and second unit cinematography and was pretty much a jack of all trades when it comes to telling stories with light.
He was the main videographer for BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR in San Antonio at the reunion where most of the interviews were recorded.
Sadly, Mark passed away on March 22, 2014 at the young age of 45; he was born in 1968, the year of the siege of Khe Sanh. We will always miss him, his fun-loving sense of humor, and his belief in our story.
Filmography
Videographer: Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor
Primary Field Audio Tech: Wings Over The Rockies starring Harrison Ford
Second Camera and Primary Field Audio Tech: The Hagerman Fossil Beds: A Snapshot in Time
Primary Field Audio Tech: Awesome Adventures!
First camera/videographer: Show Pilot
PLEASE CONTACT KEN AND BETTY HERE
bravotheproject_at_gmail.com ( be sure to replace _at_ with @ )
