Meet Carol Caldwell-Ewart, BRAVO!’s Associate Producer. You’ve seen the name in the credits, perhaps even met Carol, but we’d like to tell you a little more about her.
Carol was our friend in Sonoma County long before we moved to Idaho and became filmmakers, and was quite interested and encouraging when we decided to tell the story of the Vietnam War through the experiences of Bravo Company during the Siege of Khe Sanh.
In spite of the fact that she works fulltime-plus, has many interests and talents such as editing, business and creative writing, travel, pottery, family and dance, Carol asked what she could do to support our efforts. She believed in what we were doing, and knew we couldn’t do it alone.
Carol Caldwell-Ewart. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers
So Carol set forth and developed and managed three separate Indiegogo fundraising campaigns which were all successfully funded. Had it not been for these efforts, and her own personal donations, we would not have had the resources to complete BRAVO!
Once we had all our material gathered and interviews completed, it was time to choose an editor, and Carol played a significant role here as well. We were fortunate to hear from Vietnam veteran and long-time sound and film editor, John Nutt, who was interested in working with us, but we had not met him face-to-face—he lived in California and we are in Idaho. Once again, Carol stepped up. She went to see John for that critical first meeting and subsequently was confident it would be a good match. Sure enough, she was spot on.
Carol joined us at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County when we were there for the final sound re-mix. This was to be the first time she gained a glimpse of the breadth and power of the story she had worked so hard for. She was with us when we screened it to the employees of Skywalker Sound in Lucas’ state-of-the-art theater.
Once the film was ready to be shown to invitation-only crowds, Carol then asked to host one of our very first screenings for our northern California donors. She pulled out all the stops with the location, the food and beverages, and the huge crowd of friends, family and supporters.
Since then, Carol has attended many of our screenings, working in the background to be sure all the details were attended to, and handling DVD sales to enable us to talk with people. She has designed and printed programs, and pitches in to help the hosts when they need it, such as checking sound equipment, arranging food on platters, and directing guests to the venue. She is an excellent spokesperson.
We are also extremely grateful when we send text off to Carol and ask her to don her editor’s hat (of course, it’s a red one…Carol’s favorite color). We may have struggled and struggled to word something well and just not been happy with it. In a matter of minutes, Carol has reworded it to be exactly what we wanted.
Carol Caldwell-Ewart manning the goody table on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers
Over these last four years, Carol says she has grown to love the men in the film and admire their courage in telling this story. Yet in all this time, she had met just one other Bravo Company Marine besides Ken. So when she learned there would be a significant number of the men in attendance at our recent screening in Springfield, IL, she decided to travel there to meet them. Carol flew there at her own expense, and knew each face the minute they walked in the room.
Little did each of them know whom they were meeting…this amazing woman who has championed them and their story from the very beginning. She has stood by them and honored them and given a great deal of herself to be sure the film did not languish in some obscure corner. Fortunately over the time Carol was in Springfield, the men did come to know her too.
And so here, on behalf of everyone involved with the film, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for all you have given, Carol, with no expectation of anything in return. We appreciate your warm smile, your keen mind, your generous heart, and your belief in all of us. May you receive the same degree of friendship you give so well.
Carol Caldwell-Ewart and BRAVO! Marine Mr. Ben Long get acquainted in Springfield, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers
On the screening front, BRAVO! will be screened at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, Illinois on July 24, 2014. Sponsored by American Legion Post 758, this event begins with registration at 5:00 PM. The film will be screened at 5:30 with a Q & A session with Co-producers Betty and Ken Rodgers and BRAVO! Marine Michael E. O’Hara following the screening. Complimentary snacks will be provided and there will be a signature bar with beverages of your choice.
The program will end at 8:00 PM. Reservations are required. To reserve your seats please go to the Eventbrite registration page @ https://bravofilm.eventbrite.com/.
Please note, this event is business casual: no jeans, no denim, no shorts; shirts must have collars. If you would like to host a screening of BRAVO! in your town this summer or fall, please contact us immediately.
BRAVO! has a page on Facebook. Please “like” us and “share” the page at https://www.facebook.com/Bravotheproject/. It’s another way you can help spread the word about the film and what it is really like to fight in a war.
Last week Betty and I flew into Chicago, rented a car and drove down to Springfield, Illinois, the burial place of our 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. We traveled there as the guests of the Staab Family and to screen BRAVO! at the Hoogland Center for the Arts as part of a Flag Day benefit for the planned Oak Ridge Cemetery Purple Heart Memorial in Springfield.
We arrived in town and were met by BRAVO! Marine Tom Quigley, a native son of Springfield who was instrumental, along with PJ Staab and the Staab Family, in making these events happen.
The next morning, Betty and I met Tom at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library where Tom and I were interviewed by local radio personality Jim Leach of WMAY radio. Betty, Tom and I were impressed with Jim’s knowledge of the Vietnam era and the Siege of Khe Sanh in particular. You can hear the interview here: http://wmay.com/assets/podcasts/20140612jlsBravo.MP3.
Later, Betty and I walked down to the Hoogland Center for the Arts where we met with their events manager, Vanessa Ferguson, and checked out the facilities for the screening. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in at the First Presbyterian Church and looked at their seven fabulous Tiffany stained glass windows and the pew where the Abraham Lincoln family sat during church services.
Left to Right: Tom Quigley, John Cicala, Michael E O’Hara, Cal Bright, Ben Long and Bruce Stuckey. Photo courtesy of Ken Rodgers
During the day, Bruce & Francine Jones and Bruce & Judy Stuckey arrived. Bruce Jones, alias T-Bone, was a radioman for 81 Millimeter Mortars and spent a lot of time on patrol with Bravo Company. Bruce Stuckey was a radio man for Bravo Skipper Ken Pipes. That evening, we all went out for dinner at Saputo’s Italian Restaurant where we were joined by Tom’s wife Nancy and daughter Erin Parsons and her family. If you are ever in Springfield, I suggest you try the fare at Saputo’s. It is rumored that Al Capone liked to dine there, and as we tucked into our ravioli and manicotti and other dishes, I imagined seeing Al parade in with his entourage, all wearing natty summer suits and two-toned fancy shoes, ladies of the night hanging onto their arms.
Also arriving in Springfield later that night was BRAVO!’s associate producer, Carol Caldwell-Ewart.
The day of the screening, Betty and I and BRAVO! Marine Michael O’Hara, who had arrived early that morning, toured the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum—definitely worth the fees and the time it takes to watch the films, view the exhibits and look at all the memorabilia.
BRAVO! Marines Cal Bright and Ben Long with his wife Joyce, and John “Doc” Cicala who was one of Bravo Company’s corpsmen, arrived that day too. We all met at the Hoogland before the screening and had a moment to visit while Carol, Betty and I worked with the staff to make sure everything was in order.
The very capable A/V tech estimated that over 300 folks came out to donate funds to help build the Oak Ridge Cemetery Purple Heart Memorial and to watch BRAVO!. The evening started off with a reception hosted by the Staab Family. Right before the film was shown, Master of Ceremonies PJ Staab introduced all of the Khe Sanh vets in attendance, and we were honored by an enthusiastic standing ovation from the audience. I haven’t ever been honored like that since my return from Vietnam in 1968. You must recall that the Vietnam Veteran wasn’t particularly popular back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Somehow we were blamed for our political leaders’ decisions, so the standing ovation was particularly heartwarming. And the ovations didn’t stop there! We were also honored at the end of the film as the credits ran, and yet again before a snappy and informative Q & A session that followed.
The scene at Staab Funeral Home in Springfield, just before the Ride in Honor bike run. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers.
The next morning, all of the BRAVO! folks met for a special breakfast and then as some headed home, five us—Michael E. O’Hara, John “Doc” Cicala, Carol, Betty and I—traveled over to the Staab Funeral Home where lines of motorcycles threaded across the parking lots in anticipation of the annual Ride in Honor, a bike run to four of the area’s veteran’s memorials.
I had never been around one of these bike runs—I’ve heard about them—so it was exciting to see all the bikes with their multi-hued frames and the colorful characters who were riding them. Again, the bikers chipped in funds to participate in this event with the proceeds going for the Purple Heart Memorial.
Just prior to the run, PJ Staab invited us to meet his Aunt Catherine, the last of the World War II era Staab generation. We of course said, “Yes,” and followed PJ upstairs to visit with Aunt Catherine for a while. And what a delight! She’s seen the film twice and wanted to meet us.
Then it was off in a roar of engines to the veteran’s shrines, the first being the Oak Ridge Cemetery where the planned Purple Heart Memorial will be built. Also located at Oak Ridge is President Lincoln’s tomb as well as commemorative tributes to the men and women who fought and died in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Michael E. O’Hara, Doc Cicala, Bob Cowles, Tom Jones and I made up a detail that placed a wreath on the Vietnam War Memorial.
I have never been a part of anything like the placing of the wreaths, so it was humbling to be a participant. Both Bob Cowles and Tom Jones have been instrumental in getting the Purple Heart Memorial project off the ground. Betty and I first met Bob Cowles, a US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, when he arranged for us to interview Tom Quigley for BRAVO! in 2010 at the Springfield VFW Post. Tom Jones, also a Vietnam Veteran and Navy Corpsman who served with Force Recon, is the author of the novel LOST SURVIVOR about an African-American’s journey to fight in Vietnam.
Left to right: Bob Cowles and Tom Jones. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers.
After placing the wreath at Oak Ridge, we proceeded to travel to the memorials at New Berlin, Spaulding and the National Veterans Cemetery at Camp Butler where we again placed wreaths at each location. We were treated to a poetry reading and to a trumpet rendition of “Taps.” Before departing Camp Butler, the crowd of bikers lined up and hugged and thanked each one of us for our service. It was intimate and humbling for each of us. For a generation of veterans who were pretty much shunned by their country, it is amazing, after 46 years, to be getting some thanks for what we did. We were young then, and wanted to do what was required, and we wanted to do it well.
We finished the day with another trip to Saputo’s, this time with PJ Staab and his lovely wife Ruth. For me it was sausage and peppers with a side of spaghetti. And they got the red sauce right.
Thanks to PJ Staab and the Staab Family, to Jessica McGee, to the Marine recruits who acted as ushers at the screening of the film, to the Hilton for our lodging and the Hoogland Center for the Arts for a screening venue, to all the folks who came to see BRAVO! and to Springfield with its wonderful memorials. And thanks to Carol Caldwell-Ewart and to the men of Bravo and their wives for traveling to participate in this special weekend.
If you would like to host a screening of BRAVO! in your town this summer or fall, please contact us immediately.
BRAVO! has a page on Facebook. Please “like” us and “share” the page at https://www.facebook.com/Bravotheproject/. It’s another way you can help spread the word about the film and what it is really like to fight in a war.
BRAVO! Marine Michael E. O’Hara was the guest speaker at the Brown County, Indiana, Memorial Day celebration hosted by Veterans of Foreign War Post 6195. The event was held on the courthouse lawn and Brown County’s fallen veterans of war were honored. Michael O’Hara is an articulate and passionate man who, when he sets out to do something, does it with an eye to perfection. His speech is moving and memorable and does us all proud. You can read Michael’s speech here:
On a separate note, as we move into the summer season, BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR will be screened in a number of places. Here’s what we can tell you about future showings right now. We hope you will join us or send an interested friend or relative.
• Springfield, IL – The Staab Family of Springfield presents BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR on June 13, 2014, 7:30 PM, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts located at:
420 South Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois.
The film’s producers, along with several of the men featured in the film, will take part in a Q & A session immediately following the screening. Never before have so many of BRAVO!’s stars attended any one screening. You will meet Cal Bright, John Cicala, Ben Long, Michael E. O’Hara, Betty Rodgers, Ken Rodgers and Tom Quigley. Springfield is Tom Quigley’s hometown. Also in attendance will be the film’s Associate Producer, Carol Caldwell-Ewart.
This is a free event, but donations will be gratefully accepted for a proposed Purple Heart Memorial at Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Here’s a link to the radio ad about this event. You will hear the voices of Dan Horton, Steve Wiese and Michael E. O’Hara. Staab Family IN HONOR WEEKEND 060414
Michael O’Hara in Vietnam
• Chicago, IL – Union League American Legion Post 758 presents BRAVO! on July 24, 2014 at the Union League Club of Chicago. More details to follow.
• Southern California – We are screening the film in Southern California around The Marine Corps Birthday and Veteran’s Day. Specific times, dates and locations to follow.
• If you would like to host a screening in your town this summer or fall, please contact us immediately. DVDs of BRAVO! are available. For more information go to https://bravotheproject.com/buy-the-dvd/.
BRAVO! has a page on Facebook. Please “like” us and “share” the page at https://www.facebook.com/Bravotheproject/. It’s another way you can help spread the word about the film and what it is really like to fight in a war.
The cream-colored walls of San Quentin were shrouded in a cold mist as Betty, Associate Producer Carol Caldwell-Ewart and I arrived at the prison to screen BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR on Saturday, March 29, 2014.
The visitor parking lot was crammed with the vehicles of people who were lining up to get inside and visit prisoners incarcerated at San Quentin. As we waited our turn, we observed a steady stream of people going in and out, the sounds of bells and buzzers announcing things we did not understand.
As the sky drizzled a slow rain, we were greeted by Mary Donovan, Executive Director of Veterans Healing Veterans from the Inside Out, the organization that sponsored this screening. Mary does a lot of volunteer work with the veterans inside San Quentin.
At the gate an imposing guard barked out names of people who would not be allowed to go in for one reason or another. He wore a hooded jacket over his uniform and stared at each of us and our drivers’ licenses as we walked through. We were joined there at the gate by Vietnam War Marine Terry Hubert, the Vietnam Veterans of America’s chairman of the Veterans Incarcerated Committee. Terry has been and still is a big supporter of BRAVO!.
Also joining us were Marine Steven Wiegert who served with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Vietnam and Sunny Campbell, Lt. Colonel, USMCR Retired. Steven and Sunny spend a lot of time on the inside of San Quentin working with veterans, as well as other inmates. Also joining us was Rhonda Harris, a veteran who is—by providing housing assistance, higher education prospects and employment opportunities—instrumental in helping other veterans integrate into the mainstream society through an organization called The Veterans Resource Center.
We screened the film at the protestant chapel inside San Quentin and the facility had good audio/visual equipment and a proficient A/V Tech named Steve. The prisoners in these venues don’t volunteer anything other than their first names and we always feel there is a good reason for this, and not because I know what that might be, but because I can feel it in the tenor of the time and place. We never ask them what they “did” to get inside and it is really none of our business.
This is the second time we have shown BRAVO! inside a California state prison. A lot of people remark that surely the experience of screening inside a prison has more import or carries more gravitas than a screening outside a prison. I don’t think there is much difference. All screenings are unique. The one thing I can say about screenings with inmates in a correctional institution is that we, the filmmakers, receive well-thought-out questions and the viewers exhibit a lot of emotion. After some thought, I think this may come about as a result of the prison environment being a day-to-day war zone. These men know fear similar, I suppose, to what we experienced at the Siege of Khe Sanh.
Folks often wonder why we would take our film into the prisons to show to the veterans, and Betty and I would say that even though these men (and women) have done things that earned them a prison sentence, that fact cannot, in our opinions, be allowed to detract from the service—especially the honorable service—they have given their country.
Another big OOORAH to Marine Brenton MacKinnon for all the work he did to bring this screening about.
After leaving San Quentin, we (including Carol Caldwell-Ewart) met with BRAVO! Marine Steve Wiese and his wife Deborah for dinner and talked about the screening that was to happen the next evening, March 30, aboard the SS Jeremiah O’Brien at Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco.
March 30 is a banner day for the Marines of BRAVO!. It was the date of the Payback Patrol that plays a large part in the lore surrounding the film, and is also Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.
A large crowd of friends, family, veterans, volunteers and supporters made their way to the dock, up the ship’s gangway, through a hatch and down another gangway into the saloon amidships where the event took place. Many of the folks wound their way through the museum and other areas of the ship before things got started. Over 150 folks viewed this screening in a genuine nautical environ (one of two surviving World War II Liberty ships) that added ambience to what was being depicted on the screen.
After the screening, BRAVO! Marines Steve Wiese and Ken Rodgers joined with Marines Lou Kern and David Moragne, as well as BRAVO!’s film editor John Nutt (also a Vietnam veteran) for a lively Q & A with the audience. Lou and David were with Force Recon at the Khe Sanh Combat Base during the Siege. Moderating the Q & A as well as acting as Emcee for the evening was Tom Croft from Santa Rosa, CA. Tom was a United States Navy dental tech in Vietnam. He worked on Marines’ teeth during the day and then treated wounded Marines at night as a Corpsman.
The Jeremiah O’Brien screening would not have been possible without the efforts of our nephew, Troy Campbell, who is the Executive Director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District, and Eliz Anderson, Office Manager, Corporate Secretary and benevolent angel of the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. We also want to thank the captain of the ship, Patrick Moloney, and all the ship’s many volunteers for their efforts to make this event such a success.
Thanks to Nick Bovis and Al Casciato of San Francisco’s historic Gold Dust Lounge for providing food for the evening, along with Eliz Anderson who donated cookies and beverages. And as always, a big OORAH to Carol Caldwell-Ewart for managing the myriad administrative tasks that always arise at each screening. Thanks, too, to Bon Mot PR, FX Crowly, Inc., Hancock Sea Squadron, and Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf for helping make this event happen.
We met up with a lot of old friends at this, our first screening in San Francisco, and made some new ones, too, which is always appreciated on our end. We feel that one or our primary duties with this film is to educate, but we also like to broaden our circle of friends.
DVDs of BRAVO! are available. For more information about purchasing BRAVO! DVDs, go to http://bit.ly/18Pgxe5.
BRAVO! has a page on Facebook. Please “like” us and “share” the page at https://www.facebook.com/Bravotheproject/. It’s another way we can spread the word about the film and the Vietnam War.
Betty and I are pleased to announce that we will be joining Ken and Sharon Pipes for two screenings of BRAVO! in Southern California. Ken Pipes was the company commander of Bravo Company during the Siege of Khe Sanh and is one of the Marines featured in the film.
The screenings will be held as follows:
Saturday, March 22, 2014
In Vista, CA, at American Legion Post 365 beginning at 9:00 AM. A meal will be served by the Legion after the screening. There will be a $5.00 admission fee.
In Fallbrook, CA, at VFW Post 1924 beginning at 2:00 PM. A question and answer period will be held after the screening. The Patriots Ministry, an organization that provides meals for units preparing to deploy overseas, will provide a meal after the screening of BRAVO!. Admission fee is $10.00.
Net proceeds from both of these screenings will benefit the American Combat Veterans of War, a 501(c)(3) organization that helps veterans.
Then on March 29 we will screen BRAVO! at San Quentin state prison where a large number of veterans are incarcerated.We will be joined at this screening by our associate producer, Carol Caldwell-Ewart and BRAVO! supporters Terry Hubert and Tank Kostenius.
The following day, Sunday March 30, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien welcomes the general public to a screening at 6 PM, with tickets starting at $35 ($45 at the door) and available online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/bravo-screening-on-the-ss-jeremiah-obrien-tickets-10299252341. Light refreshments will be served. MC for the evening is Mr. Tom Croft. Joining the filmmakers will be honored guests Ken and Sharon Pipes, Steve and Deborah Wiese, and Lou Kern. A panel discussion will follow the film.
The O’Brien, a WWII liberty ship, is docked at Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 45, in San Francisco. This is your opportunity to tour the ship prior to the screening. March 30 is also Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, as well as the anniversary of “Payback,” a significant Khe Sanh event that is recounted in BRAVO!
Please join us for the Southern California and/or SS Jeremiah O’Brien screenings, and we invite you to forward this email to your friends and relatives…anyone who should see this film. We love a packed house.
DVDs of BRAVO! are available. For more information about purchasing BRAVO! DVDs, go to http://bit.ly/18Pgxe5.
BRAVO! has a page on Facebook. Please “like” us and “share” the page at https://www.facebook.com/Bravotheproject/. It’s another way we can spread the word about the film and the Vietnam War.
Here we are nearing the end of 2013 and it has been a fabulous year to be involved with filmmaking and with the folks who have been viewers and participants with BRAVO!
Last month we screened the film at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nevada, as part of WNC’s veterans club celebration of Veterans Day, 2013. One of the memorable elements of that event was the number of young Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans who attended. Betty and I had intense discussions with those young vets about the film and how their experiences so often mirrored what the men of BRAVO! described in the film.
Before the screening at Carson City, Betty and I took a walk with Marine and BRAVO! supporter extraordinaire, Mr. Terry Hubert, up to the WNC observatory, enjoying a moment of relaxation before the show began.
A big thanks to Terry for his efforts in arranging the Carson City screening, to retired Marine Corps Major Kevin Burns who is the veteran faculty advisor at WNC, to the WNC Veterans Club, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 388, Marine Corps League Detachment 630 and the Nevada State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America, all of whom made this event a great success.
Earlier in the day, Betty and I had a great time with Terry Hubert and his granddaughter Kayla at the Veterans Day Parade in Virginia City, Nevada. It was a glorious day weather-wise and the streets were lined with a wide variety of parade onlookers including veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East wars. The parade featured hot cars, bands, ROTC units, horses, floats, veterans and characters dressed like the old-time denizens who lived in Virginia City back in the heyday of the silver boom.
At the Virginia City Veterans Day Parade: Nice tail gate. OORAH! Marine!
Moving on to California and the San Francisco Bay area, we stopped for a lunch of tacos with Khe Sanh veteran and big-time BRAVO! supporter Mike Preston. As so often happens with Mike and others, our conversation tilted mightily toward deceased Khe Sanh heroes.
On November 14th we screened BRAVO! at College of Marin in Kentfield, California, in association with the College of Marin Veterans Association. A big thanks to Craig Wheeler and Ben Wilson of the college veterans and to Vietnam veterans Brent MacKinnon and Ted Wilson for all the work it took to put this screening together. College of Marin’s James Dunn Theatre was a first-rate venue, and the college’s catering department prepared a delicious array of food for the reception
The audience was varied with veterans present from a variety of our nation’s conflicts. Also attending were BRAVO! film and sound editor John Nutt (a Vietnam veteran) and his wife Ann. The Nutts brought an interested group of independent filmmakers to view the film and discuss its historical, artistic and technical aspects. Included in this particular group was filmmaker Christopher Beaver who has been a valued consultant on the production aspects of BRAVO!
We finished up the evening at College of Marin with a panel discussion emceed by Craig Wheeler. The panel included Vietnam Veterans Ted Wilson, Brent MacKinnon, Sunny Campbell and Ken Rodgers.
At the Virginia City Veterans Day Parade: Check out Kayla's cool cap!
Associate Producer Carol Caldwell-Ewart was on hand to help us manage the screening details and as always she did a great job.
Deceased Marine and BRAVO! interviewee Dan Horton was represented at this screening by two of his cousins, Janet and Kathryn Horton. It was a real pleasure to meet them, to see the similarities they had with Dan, and to remember Dan’s and my time together at Khe Sanh and after.
On the following day we traveled to San Francisco to discuss a possible screening of the film at Fisherman’s Wharf on March 30, 2014, which is Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day and the anniversary of a major event for Bravo Company during the Siege. A big shout-out goes to nephew Troy Campbell, Executive Director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit Association, for helping us make this contact. And yes, it was the opening day of crab season, and what do you suppose we ate?
It was a great trip that capped off a truly stellar year for the film in which screenings were hosted in Fresno, Clovis, Sonora, Soledad Correctional Training Facility, Kentfield and Santa Rosa, California, Casa Grande, Arizona, Reno and Carson City, Nevada, and Moscow and Eagle, ID. In addition, BRAVO! was screened for six-hundred-fifty-plus active duty Marines at Twentynine Palms, California where Bravo Company’s beloved skipper, Ken Pipes, represented Team Bravo.
2013 also saw the release of DVDs of the documentary film for purchase. The response has been good and we appreciate all the folks from around the country who have bought copies of BRAVO!.
Last but not least, we were honored to be featured, along with BRAVO!’s own Steve Wiese, on Dialogue on Idaho Public Television, a news program hosted by Marcia Franklin.
Things are already shaping up for 2014 as we are in negotiations for screenings in Las Vegas, Nevada, San Francisco, Modesto, Fallbrook, Sacramento and Sebastopol, California, and another screening in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Thank you all who support BRAVO!
DVDs of BRAVO! are now for sale with a limited-time special offer at http://bit.ly/18Pgxe5.
On October 30, 2013 BRAVO! was screened in two locations to nearly 700 viewers. Mid afternoon, the film was shown at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, to 550 active duty Marines. Thank you to Colonel Michael Robinson, G-3, at the Combat Training Center at Twentynine Palms, for putting the screening in motion and making it happen on the ground.
Left to Right: Bill Rider, Jim Kaylor, Colonel Mike Robinson, Ken Pipes, Lt. Colonel Sean Hankard (Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines), Retired Sergeant Major Tom Brown. Photo courtesy of Ken Pipes.
Thanks too to BRAVO! Skipper Ken Pipes for his tenacious drive to screen BRAVO! at Marine Corps facilities across the nation. Ken and his lovely wife, Sharon, drove up to Twentynine Palms along with BRAVO!’s staunch friend, retired Sergeant Major Tom Brown. Traveling with the Pipes was the mayor of San Diego’s Special Advisor on Veterans Affairs. Mr. Bill Rider, who was a squad leader in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines at Khe Sanh. Also in attendance was Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sergeant Jim Kaylor, who served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines at Khe Sanh.
You will see in the photograph below, left to right, Jim Kaylor, Bill Rider and Skipper Ken Pipes talking about Khe Sanh after the screening of the film. We love to see the backs of all those Marine Corps heads.
Jim Kaylor, Bill Rider, Ken Pipes. Photo courtesy of USMC.
Later, about four-hundred miles north and several hours later, BRAVO! was screened at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building. Vietnam Veterans of America Redwood Empire Chapter 223 sponsored the screening. A big thank you to Mr. Ken Holybee and the members of Chapter 223. A big shout-out also to Carol Caldwell-Ewart, associate producer of BRAVO!, for facilitating the screening in Santa Rosa, and for her hospitality.
The room set up for the Santa Rosa screening. So many attendees we needed more chairs. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers
The viewers at the Santa Rosa screening were a wonderful mixed group of Vietnam Veterans, friends of the producers, and folks old and young.
While in Santa Rosa, Ken and Betty Rodgers met and discussed filmmaking with instructor Brian Antonson’s film production classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. Novelist, writing instructor and good friend of BRAVO! and Ken and Betty Rodgers, Jean Hegland, helped arrange the visits to the film classes and we are very grateful to Jean for all her efforts.
Members of VVA Redwood Empire Chapter 223. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers
NEWS ON UPCOMING SCREENINGS:
The Eagle Public Library, November 6, 2013, at 6:30 PM, 100 N Stierman Way, Eagle, Idaho. Admission is free. The producers will be present at this screening.
Carson City, Nevada, on Veterans Day, November 11, 2013 at Western Nevada College. The screening will take place at 4:00 PM in Marlette Hall. This event is free to the public and is sponsored by the Nevada State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, VVA Chapter 388, the Carson City Marine Corps League, and the Student Veterans of Western Nevada College. Come meet the producers! Thank yous are due to Marine and Vietnam veteran Terry Hubert for his efforts in making this screening happen.
College of Marin, in Kentfield, CA, on November 14, 2013 beginning with a reception at 5:00 PM, screening of the film at 6:00 PM, followed by a Q & A with local veterans. Admission is free. The screening will be at the James Dunn Theater on the College of Marin campus. Come meet Ken and Betty Rodgers.
We ask for your help in sharing this information about screenings with Vietnam veterans and anyone else who would or should be interested in seeing our film. With your help, we will get this story and history into the hands and hearts of many.
OTHER NEWS:
DVDs of BRAVO! are now for sale with a limited-time special offer at http://bit.ly/18Pgxe5.
On October 16, 2013, BRAVO! Marine Steve Wiese, Betty and I were interviewed by Marcia Franklin of Idaho Public TV for her show, Dialogue, which will be aired on Idaho Public Television on November 8, 2013. In the studio we had a small audience that included Steve’s wife, Deborah and BRAVO! supporter extraordinaire, Ben Shedd, who won an Academy Award in 1979 for his documentary film The Flight of the Gossamer Condor. We enjoyed our time with Steve and Deborah who came up to Boise from the Sacramento, California region at the invitation of Marcia Franklin. Some clips of BRAVO! will be shown during the interview which also includes a lively discussion moderated by Marcia. The discourse centered on the Siege of Khe Sanh, Vietnam, Marines, war’s impacts and the making of the film. We couldn’t be more pleased and found it a real privilege to work with Marcia, and can’t wait to share the Dialogue program with you. If you don’t get Idaho Public Television, we will provide a link after the program airs which will allow you to see the entire interview plus some web extras which will not be in the main one-half hour broadcast.
From left to right, Marcia Franklin, Steve Wiese, Betty Rodgers, Ken Rodgers. Photo courtesy of Idaho Public Television.
In separate news, we have the following information on screenings of BRAVO!:
Santa Rosa, California on October 30, 2013, 6:00 PM in the Lodge Room of the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, California. This screening is sponsored by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 223. Admission is free. Donations accepted. A Q & A period with the film’s producers, Betty and Ken Rodgers, will be held after the screening. Refreshments will be served. Much thanks to BRAVO! Associate Producer Carol Caldwell-Ewart and Vietnam veteran Ken Holybee of VVA Chapter 223.
Betty Rodgers
Also on October 30, 2013, BRAVO! will be screened as a Professional Military Education session at Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Corps Base, Twenty-Nine Palms, California. The screening will be at 2:00 PM at the base theater followed by a Q & A session with retired Lieutenant Colonel Ken Pipes, BRAVO! Marine and company commander of Bravo Company, 1/26, during the Siege of Khe Sanh. This is a Marine Corps event.
The Eagle Public Library, November 6, 2013, at 6:30 PM, 100 N Stierman Way, Eagle, Idaho. Admission is free. The producers will be present at this screening.
Carson City, Nevada, on Veterans Day, November 11, 2013 at Western Nevada College. The screening will take place at 4:00 PM in Marlette Hall. This event is free to the public and is sponsored by the Nevada State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, VVA Chapter 388 and the Student Veterans of Western Nevada College. Come meet the producers. Thank yous are due to Marine and Vietnam veteran Terry Hubert for his efforts in making this screening happen.
Ken Rodgers, co-producer, co-director of BRAVO!, photo courtesy of Kevin Martini-Fuller
College of Marin, in Kentfield, CA on November 14, 2013. Admission is free. More details to come. Come meet Ken and Betty Rodgers.
Casa Grande, Arizona, at the old Paramount Theatre on February 13, 2014. More details to come. The producers of the film will be on hand to talk about BRAVO!
Fallbrook, California in late March 2014, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Details to come. Thank you to BRAVO! Skipper Ken Pipes for his efforts on behalf of the film.
Modesto, California in late April or early May 2014. More details to come. Thanks to Khe Sanh brother Mike Preston for his efforts in making this screening possible.
And finally:
In recognition of the 238th birthday of the United States Marine Corps on November 10, 2013, of Veteran’s Day, and of the 2013 Christmas holiday season, DVDs of BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR will be available at the price of $19.95, no sales tax and no shipping through December 27, 2013. Take advantage of this special offer and buy copies for yourself, your Marine or veteran, your school or local library, a historian, or anyone else who would be interested in this insightful story.
In about six hours we will be screening Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor for about one-hundred friends and supporters in Santa Rosa, California.
Before the showing, Betty and I will be sharing the stage with the film’s fundraiser extraordinaire, Carol Caldwell-Ewart. Carol has arranged for us to screen the film at the 6th Street Theater.
Our editor, John Nutt, and Ray Doyle, whose recording of “Mick Ryan’s Lament” is excerpted in the film, will both be on hand for the screening as will Steve Wiese, an interviewee of some importance in the movie.
The weather here is gorgeous, Indian summer, and it should be a beautiful day to watch this powerful film.
In the latest update to the saga of Bravo!, co-producer Betty Rodgers remembers the people who made the film possible. And the events. And a few places.
The next step on our serendipitous journey was hearing the news from our profoundly creative editor, John Nutt, that he had arranged to complete our final sound mix at Skywalker Ranch in northern California. Yes, as in Lucas Films, as in George Lucas! John had said all along it would be great to mix it there, but these fledgling filmmakers knew little of the possibility. The thought sounded very exciting, but when the mixing room was actually scheduled, it was nearly overwhelming.
John also explained that we needed to call and make arrangements to stay at Skywalker Inn because the days would be very intense, and we wouldn’t want to make the long drive to and from Skywalker Ranch every day. It is located out in the hinterlands of Marin County. So yes, we have confirmed our reservations.
As if that weren’t enough excitement, we then learned from John, a Stella recipient himself, that his colleague Mark Berger would do the final mixing. Mark has won four Academy Awards and several Stellas (the British equivalent of an Oscar) for his work. The thought of being in the mixing room…at Skywalker Ranch…with Mark Berger…and John Nutt…and my own husband who was a courageous Marine and is a brilliant mind, author and teacher in his own right…wow. This is the stuff of which filmmakers’ dreams are made.
And it’s not just in the film end of this enterprise, but in all the avenues down which we need to proceed. We can’t help but remember one of the first people to volunteer their expertise. Dave Beyerlein, a website developer and cousin of a dear friend of ours, knew we were trying to put together something for Bravo! A former Marine himself, Dave patiently guided us through the steps and did most of the work setting up www.bravotheproject.com. Our feeble attempts to learn social networking skills were then rescued by Eric Jacky, Amanda Turner, and now our nephew, Galen Rodgers. All these youngsters are carrying us, Bravo Company, and this film with them into the future.
Bravo! has also received media attention: The Springfield, IL, State Journal-Register, the Alamogordo Daily News, the Idaho Statesman, the Casa Grande Dispatch, the Arizona Republic, Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star, and probably others we aren’t even aware of. A friend of mine since high school, Frances Rae, wrote about Bravo! in northern California’s Territorial Dispatch. Author and radio personality Amanda Turner has scheduled Ken for her show, the Writer’s Block, on September 15. Tune in for live streaming on your computer at Noon MDT at www.radiowritersblock.com.
And so here we are today, scrambling to make all the final decisions and tie up loose ends, dealing with licensing and rights and permissions and where our dollars will best be spent. And we realize how this project would have never come this far, this fast, without the continuing support and encouragement of our generous donors, friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, strangers, and people who know and respect the veterans who gave so much. There are people who have checked in with us regularly with an inspiring thought, a word of encouragement, a nudge in the right direction, who understand the enormity and complexity of our undertaking. There are people who have bent over backwards to provide helpful advice and information as we walk this path.
And all of this…all of it…because of the 18-year-old boys who were not afraid to put their own lives on the line, to go off to war on foreign soil in order to help preserve freedom and save a country from oppression. They saw horrors they never want their children or grandchildren to experience, they did exactly what they were trained to do, they lost buddies and witnessed and exhibited heroism, and they will never forget this experience that changed their lives forever. This is the story we are telling in Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor. We are telling it because these men speak for all veterans, everywhere.
In the words of Alan Heathcock, author of VOLT (www.alanheathcock.com), “This film is an important historical and human document, priceless in its truth. I saw an early cut of this film and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. The men of Bravo Company, who survived the siege of Khe Sanh, deserve to have their voices heard.”
Carol Caldwell-Ewart, Team Bravo’s online impressaria, says, “I saw the current cut of the film last night for the first time, and I believe that all who see it will be powerfully moved. It tells the story of this siege and its aftermath in the lives of the men who fought there with no flash and no glorification—it simply reveals the beauty of their love and sacrifice, their pain and courage and endurance.”
We have two days left on our Indiegogo fundraising campaign. Donors have carried us over the top, but there are many more expenses ahead. Please help spread the word so more people can join our other generous donors and be part of telling this important story. www.indiegogo.com/bravo-common-men-uncommon-valor.
Bravo! co-producer Betty Rodgers is getting her camera ready to take to western Marin country.
