On behalf of Ken and Sharon Pipes, their son Tim, grandson Connor, and Ken and Betty Rodgers, we wish to extend our most heartfelt thanks and gratitude for making the screenings of BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR at the Vista, California Alvin Myo Dunn American Legion Post 365 and the Fallbrook, California Charles E Swisher VFW Post 1924 such resounding successes. We were all left nearly speechless at the warm welcome and genuine hospitality we received at each of the venues. The overwhelming emotional reaction and positive comments were tremendously validating to all of us.

We want to extend a special thanks to Marine Bill Rider, who endured the Siege of Khe Sanh along with his fellow Leathernecks in the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. Bill is the President and CEO of American Combat Veterans of War, an organization of warriors helping warriors integrate back into non-combat environments. Net proceeds from both of the screenings went to American Combat Veterans of War to assist in funding their programs.

The Vista screening began bright and early at 09:00 on Saturday, March 22, 2014, and the standing-room-only 90+ intrepid folks who attended were treated to a continental breakfast of pastries, yogurt, fruit and coffee.

It was good to see David Burdwell, a sniper and member of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, standing outside the Vista American Legion Post, waiting for us to arrive. (Ken and Betty were delighted to meet David and learn that he is one of the Marines in the archival footage used in the film.)

Special thanks are also in order to American Legion Post 365 Commander Haywood Bagley for representing his Vista post at this screening and to Junior Past Commander Chris Yates for all his promotional and technical work in making the morning screening in Vista possible. Chris, retired from a twenty-year career in the USMC, owns a lot of enthusiasm and expertise, which he brought to bear on this project. Ooorah, Chris Yates! Thanks, too, to post board member Raymond Johnson for taking photos of the event and for creating an awesome poster that both Post 365 and we used to promote the event.

Ken Pipes, The Skipper

At 14:00 on the same Saturday, 125+ viewers joined us in Fallbrook for the second screening of the day.

The afternoon meal at the conclusion of the screening at VFW Post 1924, prepared and served by the Patriots Ministry under the guidance of Tom Langan, was absolutely outstanding, as was the song sung by Tom’s beautiful daughter. Kudos, too, to all those who helped Patriotic Ministries make the tri-tip meal happen—what wonderful folks they all were.

The set-up for the afternoon screening went smoothly and efficiently. We extend our thanks to Robert Styles and Retired Master Gunnery Sergeant Ken Etherton for their onsite suggestions, supervision, enthusiasm and technical expertise. Also, we thank past Fallbrook VFW Commander Berry for the excellent job he did as the MC for the event.

The set-up in Fallbrook would not have been as smooth had it not been for the hard work of the Fallbrook Senior Volunteer Patrol deployed under the able command of the chief administrator, Retired Navy Commander Manny Ortega. We’d like to express our thanks to all the volunteers who so graciously gave us that important boost over the finish line.

Also, it was good to see several members of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Vista unit present and aboard—each righteous and honorable men and Marines—Retired Sergeant Major Brown and Retired Gunny Delgado (both USMC) and Corporal Tutera, who was stationed at the Danang, South Vietnam AO—back in the DAY!

We also send to one of our benefactors, Mr. Mark Van Trees, sincere thanks for the very special and deep-felt appreciation and support he and his organization extended to the American Combat Veterans of War and the Patriotic Ministries. The items that were selected and shipped out here by Mark and the folks at Support the Troops could not have arrived at a better and more opportune time. Thank you, Mark, for making this happen. Those items will go to Marines and their families who have just returned from duty overseas and/or who are in special need.

We wish to relay our appreciation to Retired USMC General Carl Hoffman, Retired Colonel of Marines Lyn Hays, and the Marine officer currently commanding the 5th Marine Regiment, Colonel Jason Q. Bohm, for honoring us with their surprise attendance. Also a surprise attendee was BRAVO! Marine, Ron Rees, whose two daughters made it possible for him to share the Fallbrook screening with us after traveling from his home in Oregon.

We would be remiss if we did not mention how honored we were to have former California State Senator and Mrs. Bill Morrow with us as well as Tom Stinsen, who represented current Fallbrook area State Assembly Member Marie Waldron.

Also joining us was Mr. Alex Dominguez from Norwalk, California. Alex is a veteran of Khe Sanh, a Marine, and a stout supporter of BRAVO! No matter where we screen BRAVO!, Alex might show up to support our efforts.

The support of these fine men, women and Marines and all the other folks they brought with them will not soon be forgotten.

In closing, on behalf of all Bravo 1/26 Marines, we thank you for your support, encouragement, positive comments, and for remembering those of our companions who are no longer with us. To all those who have made this project and so many others possible: SEMPER FIDELIS!

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.

Yesterday I awoke early, when the dark still hung from the eaves and leered into my dreams like spirits of long-lost warriors. It was January 21, 2014. Most January 21sts are like that for me…an early awakening, an early rising, coffee and pondering January 21, 1968, the beginning of the Siege of Khe Sanh.

Here in Idaho it was dark and foggy and the stench of inversion settled into every crevice it could get its stinky fingers into. I thought about the men I served with and where they are now, if they are anywhere, and what they are doing and whether or not I am in contact with them. I thought about the day before the beginning of the Siege, and how it became clear to me that my experience in Vietnam was about to become more violent, and I thought about the night before as Puff the Magic Dragon spit curving arcs of red death at the NVA out in front of my bunker. I thought about the awful shock of being awakened around 5:30 AM on the 21st by a crescendo of terror that shook the ground, and frankly, shook me, too.

Still groggy from sleep, I got my gear and bolted into the trench, and light and fire and noise drove me into the bottom of the trench, on my face. Something thudded into my lower back below my flak jacket. My back and jungle dungarees sizzled and I smelled singed flesh and I wondered if I could move my legs. I started screaming, “I’m hit, I’m hit.”

Steve Foster, who was in my fireteam, scrambled over and began to laugh. Normally you would think that someone who would laugh at another man’s wounds was really weird but if you knew Foster, well… He scraped whatever was on my back and got his face close to my ear and said, “It’s only clods.” And then he laughed some more.

Ken Rodgers at Khe Sanh, Courtesy of the Estate of Dan Horton

I rose and went to my fighting hole and someone came by and ordered me into the machine gun bunker close by which was manned by wounded men, one with a huge gash in his shin and another with his face bandaged so he couldn’t open his mouth, and his arm in a sling. We watched outside for the enemy to overrun us, but they never came. The gas from the exploding ammo dump, which was close by, forced us to put on gas masks.

It wasn’t much better for the next seventy-seven days. And a lot of those days were worse than January 21, 1968.

For years I kept my memories of that day secret. Only I was allowed access to those terrifying moments that crept up my spine and stopped me in the middle of whatever I was doing. Nobody cared much about what happened to me at Khe Sanh unless they knew me well or were at the Siege or went through something similar. All of us Vietnam Vets were hibernating, I think, until it became cool to have been a veteran of the Vietnam conflict. As long as we let our memories sleep, we were almost the same as being gagged.

But now, the stories are rolling out of us like a river that has finally thawed. We are speaking and we are telling our story, about our war—not our fathers’ war, but our war—which in its own way was as nasty and deadly as any war fought any time or place.

Part of the story of Khe Sanh has been told by Betty and me in our film, BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR. It is not the only story, by any means, but it is my story and it is the story of the company of Marines I served with and in many ways it is a story that speaks for all Vietnam Veterans and maybe even veterans of other wars.

Marine and BRAVO! supporter extraordinaire Terry Hubert says that our job—Betty’s and mine—is to educate, and we hope that the film educates folks about what Vietnam Veterans went through and what it means to us now. There are messages in the film, it seems, that speak to some universal truths about conflict and humanity.

Part of the way we are educating America about the Vietnam War is by traveling around the country to give screenings. We are getting set to hit the road and travel to my home town of Casa Grande, Arizona, where we will screen the film in the historic Paramount Theatre on February 13 at 7:00 PM. In addition to educating folks, the proceeds from the screening of BRAVO! (entree fee is $10.00) will help fund the Pinal County Veterans Memorial.

If you are in the area, come by and catch a look at this powerful and poignant film. We’d really like to meet you, or get reacquainted if we have already met. You can find out more details about the Casa Grande screening at http://www.paramountfoundation.org/EVENTS.html.

On March 22, 2014, BRAVO! will be screened at VFW Post 1924 in Fallbrook, CA. BRAVO! Skipper Ken Pipes lives in the area and will be on hand along with Betty and me when we show up to screen the film. More details to come on this screening.

On March 29, 2014, BRAVO! is provisionally scheduled to screen for veterans incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California. As soon as we know more, we will provide the information.

On March 30, Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, we will be on board the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, The National Liberty Ship Memorial at Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA. The proceeds from this screening will benefit the SS Jeremiah O’Brien’s Memorial. Again, more details are to come.

Another way we are trying to educate the public about the Vietnam War is through the sale of DVDs. 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.