We have been all over the USA showing Bravo! to groups of people who’ve invited us. It’s always gratifying when someone wants it shown locally in Southwestern Idaho, which happened last November. The Boise State Veteran Services Office hosted a screening as part of the Veterans Week activities on campus.

Attending that event were women from the local Eagle Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, also known as the NSDAR. Not long before meeting them in person, we learned that they had decided to nominate Bravo! co-producer Ken Rodgers for the NSDAR’s Founders Medal for Patriotism, a very prestigious national award given to a person “who has displayed outstanding patriotism in the promotion of our country’s ideals of God, home, and country.” As part of this country’s observance of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, this was intended to thank Ken for serving, and for telling the powerful story of his company of Marines through film.

Betty and Ken Rodgers. Photo courtesy of Don Johnson.

The submission involved a lot of effort, including letters of recommendation from across the nation. We were thrilled when we learned that the award had indeed been granted by the national committee, and that it would be presented locally by the Eagle Chapter.

So on May 12, we got dressed up and drove to the Bishop Tuttle House in downtown Boise for the event. When we arrived, the ladies busied themselves with setting up the podium, tying balloons and decorating tables while we greeted a wonderful crowd of friends, old and new.

Left to Right: Lance Thompson, Retired Marine Colonel Gary Randel, Retired Marine Colonel and Director of the Idaho Division of Veteran Services Dave Brasuell, Former Director of the Boise Office of Veterans Affairs Jim Vance and Ken Rodgers. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers.

We were gratified by the diversity and size of the gathering that came to be a part of the evening. These folks represented a chunk of the many friends that we have met in Idaho over the years.

Before the festivities commenced, Ken was awarded his own special tribute by eight-and-a-half-year-old Nicholle Bacon, a handmade certificate that was so spontaneous and so special he hung it in his office.

The program started with a welcome from Shannon Lind, an invocation by Jana Kemp, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Barbara Grant, and the American’s Creed led by Anita Allex.

The special award for Ken Rodgers created by Nicholle Bacon. Image courtesy of Nicholle Bacon.

Then we heard comments from three champions of Bravo!. Lance Thompson spoke about how Ken resolved to give voice to those who had so long kept silent. Elaine Ambrose noted, “We were – and are – exact opposites. Ken’s quiet, distinguished, respected, and reserved. I’m noisy, clumsy, tolerated by others, and regarded as a comedienne. But, we both love to write, we honor our military, and we love our country.” Norma Jaeger gave us two quotes during her comments: Isak Dinesen said, “All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.” Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater burden than carrying an untold story.”

Ken was then presented with the beautiful medal, and an American flag that has flown over both the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and the Idaho Statehouse in Boise. This was followed by Rebecca Bowen-Odom, who, along with her husband, Ron, was the mastermind behind the award. Rebecca read a congratulatory letter from Mindy Kammeyer, Reporter General of the NSDAR. Apparently Mindy was a flight attendant during the Vietnam War, serving our young men as they flew off to Vietnam, and then when they came back home again.

Ken spoke briefly about what the award and the film mean to him, commenting that he is not a rah-rah-let’s-go-to-war kind of patriot, but one who wishes to remember all who have dedicated a portion of their lives in service to our country. He closed his remarks by naming some of the men in his Bravo Company band of brothers who either lost their lives in Vietnam, or have since passed away. Those names became a very moving work of poetry.

A complete surprise was in store at this point in the program when Bravo! co-producer Betty Rodgers was presented with the NSDAR award for Excellence in Community Service for her part in producing the film.

Finishing up the evening with a bang was Idaho’s Senator Marv Hagedorn who spoke about his own military background, and then read a proclamation from the governor of Idaho, C. L. “Butch” Otter, declaring May 12 as Kenneth and Betty Rodgers Day! One of the whereas statements reads thusly:

Ken and Betty Rodgers, the evening’s awardees (center), along with the Eagle Chapter of the DAR. Photo courtesy of Don Johnson.

WHEREAS, those whom see “Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor” will forever remember the story of the Siege of Khe Sanh, understand that freedom is not free and recognize that combat lives on forever in the daily lives of those who have experienced it.

The proclamation further states that the awards represent our “combined efforts to honor the service of Vietnam War veterans and their families.”

And that is where we turn to you, dear reader, and say we share these accolades with every single person who has walked the walk with us in one way or another. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we thank the NSDAR for the recognition, and especially Barbara Grant for her energy in keeping us informed throughout the entire months-long process.

Boise’s KTVB Channel 7, the NBC affiliated station, was on board to record the ceremony. You can view a short clip here.

As BRAVO! Marine Steve Wiese always says, “Bravo lives on!”

If you or your organization would like to host a screening of BRAVO! in your town this coming summer, fall, winter or next spring please contact us immediately.

DVDs of BRAVO! are available. Please consider gifting copies to a veteran, a history buff, a library, a friend or family member. 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?ref=hl.

December is the season of short days, long chilly nights and reflection on what has passed and what is to come. For many it is a season of giving and of thanks. Recently, Betty and I have been thinking about what we have that we wish to give thanks for.

Last October at the GI Film Festival San Diego, after the master of ceremonies announced BRAVO! as the winner of the Best Documentary Feature, I stood at the podium with the award in my hand and prepared to give some kind of speech, maybe something I had been planning for, should we be lucky enough to win.

But instead of any planned words I might have scratched on a three-by-five index card, what flooded into my head was a vision of all the people who have worked on this film or, in some way, helped move the process along be it actually being interviewed, working on the film, helping fund the film, sponsoring screenings, writing blogs, or graciously passing the word. We love every referral.

At that moment at the podium, faces dodged in and out of my mind. Some I recognized, some were avatars of sorts, for all the folks who have helped BRAVO! along the way whom Betty and I have yet to meet in person.

For us, filmmaking is a group affair: storytellers, video makers, editors, sound people, music folks, promoters, sponsors, funders and the list goes on and on.

Recently we gathered at the home of film sponsors Elaine Ambrose and Ken McKay for a celebration recognizing BRAVO!’s success at the GI Film Festival. Joined by some of our earliest supporters, we enjoyed talking about filmmaking, BRAVO!, and a host of other issues and ideas including our newest film project which we will announce very soon. A hearty Marine Corps ooorah to Elaine and Ken for their generous hospitality.

The award for Best Documentary Feature at the G I Film Festival San Diego. Photo courtesy of Betty Rodgers.

That evening was one more example of the support we have received from our cohorts…cohorts in the creation of BRAVO!.

Literally hundreds and hundreds of people have stepped up to help us along the way and we wish to say THANK YOU for all you have done and continue to do.

If you or your organization would like to host a screening of BRAVO! in your town this winter, spring or summer, please contact us immediately.

DVDs of BRAVO! are available and there is still time to order copies for the holidays. Please consider gifting copies to a veteran, a history buff, a library, a friend or family member. They make great Christmas gifts. 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?ref=hl.

Into today’s entry, guest blogger and Bravo! supporter Elaine Ambrose remembers the year 1968.

In the spring of 1968, I was a high school junior in a quiet farming village in southern Idaho. I remember my teachers telling us that our United States soldiers were in Vietnam because we had to fight a war against Communism, and I believed them. During that same time, Ken Rodgers, not that much older than I, was a Marine fighting for the Siege of Khe Sanh. I probably was playing saxophone in the school band on the day he was ordered to “affix bayonets” and be prepared for hand-to-hand combat in a steaming hellhole full of dead and dying bodies.

Ken and I met forty years later at various writing events and organizations in Boise. I took some writing and poetry classes from him and enjoyed getting to know his talented wife Betty. What started as a mutual respect for creative writing has turned into a profound admiration and deep friendship between us. When I heard that Ken and Betty were doing a film about a battle in Vietnam, I was excited to view the preliminary cut. That eager excitement turned to painful tears after the initial screening of Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor. The story is too raw, too powerful, and too incredible to comprehend with just one viewing.

My husband, also a Marine, and I hosted an additional screening of the film at our home last year. It’s difficult to describe the intense emotions that overcame the audience, many of them born long after the war in Vietnam was over. After the film, several of us sat around and talked openly about our feelings. For those of us who came of age during the late 1960s, it was our first real discussion of the war that fractured the country. If I could, I would go back and ask my high school teachers: What did we prove? What have we learned? This film doesn’t provide the answers; it tells the story of what happened.

To make this film, Ken and Betty set out with an inspired vision and a lofty goal. They contacted Ken’s former soldiers, gathered old news reels, made important contacts, organized the initial filming schedule, and learned by the seats of their pants how to make, market, and distribute a film. Professionals in the industry discovered their project and offered their valuable contributions. The “buzz” started last year, and now the film is ready.

On a spring afternoon in Idaho when I was learning to play the notes of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Ken Rodgers and the valiant men of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, were following orders and fighting for their very survival for an unknown cause. This film, with its ragged view of profound fear, heartbreaking loyalty, and absolute bravery, is for the survivors, for those who didn’t come back, and for those of us who were home playing in the band.

Elaine Ambrose is an author and publisher from Eagle, ID. Her author web site is www.ElaineAmbrose.com and her publisher web site is www.MillParkPublishing.com.