Post by tits on Sept 29, 2005 9:33:47 GMT -8
For those who are interested, here is the latest from Daniel of "Deep Sea Detectives" concerning the dive on my uncle's boat. Veda is my aunt and Rod is the cousin who got to visit the battle site in 1964 while on leave at Clark AFB.
"To all of those close to the Battles of Ormoc Bay:
Here’s an update of the documentary’s progress.
I traveled back to the U.S. during the month of August to conduct two interviews, essential for the completion of the documentary.
Richard Sementelli and his wife Margie live in Webster, NY, just outside of Rochester.
Richard was gracious, eloquent, and forthcoming with his incredible stories as a 20mm gunner aboard the USS Allen M. Sumner, which sailed with the USS Cooper and USS Moale during the Battle of Ormoc Bay. Through about four hours of interview time, Richard was able to cover many subjects, and share his deep emotions about his experience. The interview had a mix of components – humor, poignancy, grief, insight, skilled storytelling, beauty and much more. Thank you Richard, for your willingness. It’s deeply appreciated, and know that your contribution helps greatly to complete the story, and honor the men from these battles. Thank you Margie for enduring our invasion – I know it was perhaps more than you had bargained for. And thanks for the lunch you made for all of us. Mark, one of the couple’s three children, was also there – and we appreciate him scanning various photos and documents which will accompany Richard’s story in the film.
Telling stories about battles from WWII, and telling them in an even-handed way, takes some refinement of character. Richard has all of that and more. He does not invent, he does not embellish. Rather, he shares his memories with great clarity and with healthy doses of reflection and insight – about experiences very few on this earth share.
In the end, Richard felt like a brother to me – I enjoyed his temperament, his humor, his patience and his good will.
Veda Kelley and her daughter, Vickie, live in St. Charles, MO, just outside of St. Louis. Veda’s husband, Eunice Guilford, was killed when the USS Cooper sank on December 3, 1944 – at the age of 24. Rod, their son, was just 18 months old at the time.
We had a wonderful interview with Veda, and later Veda and Rod. Vickie also helped us out with some shots of herself and her mother in the living room. Veda, born in Arkansas, is all about Southern graciousness and charm – the natural kind of charm that makes one feel you’ve known someone for decades when you’ve only just met them.
Veda’s stories were rich, well told and possess the ability to draw viewers right in, right away. You just want to know more – and more and more. Although Veda’s story is heartbreaking, she was able to open up to allow a glimpse of what is unfathomable for many of us – losing a precious loved one, at so early an age, and under such tragic circumstances. This was balanced with good humor and well told, comic stories. In the end, viewers will know and understand, to some degree, the good and basic character of her husband, and what a loss it was. “He was just precious” as Veda says. Later, Rod shared stories about how he gradually learned of his father, through his father’s family, and the rich life he’s shared with them. Rod also opened up, allowing us to see the far reaching effect the sinking of the Cooper had at least on this one family.
By the time I left, I not only felt like a member of the family, they convinced me I was.
The time spent with the Sementellis and at Veda’s home are bright, bright moments in the making of this film. Going in to film is not a dry mechanical process of gathering stories – whole, sensitive chapters of lives are opened up and shared, perhaps in ways they have not been shared before. This is a gift – certainly for me, for them – and for viewers.
Other news. We’re now headed into the main edit of the documentary, which should be complete by December 1. After that, there will be numerous details and refinements to take care of – and we should have a complete and packaged film by early 2006 – something to send out for certain by Spring, 2006.
During this process, we’ve built an extensive graphics file composed of more than 500 articles, documents, photos, historical films – and more. There have been numerous sources in the U.S. – survivors of the Cooper, and relatives who lost loved ones on the ship - and men who served on the Sumner and Moale as well, who have contributed to this. Thank you! And please know your documents/photos are safe – and are being returned to you soon.
Ron Babuka and Fred Willshaw deserve special recognition. Fred is the webmaster of the Sumner website, which contains many graphics we’re able to use – but only at higher resolutions. Fred is also webmaster of navsource.org. He and Ron Babuka have spent considerable time and effort to get these elements to us at the higher resolution scans we need. Ron is the son of William Babuka, a deck hand who served on the Sumner, and a senior computer analyst at Cornell Univ. Ron’s been very instrumental in keeping information flowing among Sumner sailors through the years. He also assembled a track chart of the Battle of Ormoc Bay – found at www.dd-692.com/trackchart.htm
Thank you Ron and Fred – you are heroes to our production team.
Finally, we do have a taste of the completed documentary in our hands – a two minute trailer. It’s a great piece, created by our editor here, Kris Villarino. We sent it to the U.S. recently, to be shown at a reunion in early October. We’re also in the process of building a website for the documentary – and we’ll post the trailer there. Look for news of this within the next two months.
Everyone on our team is excited as the finished project slowly takes form, and as the puzzle shifts into place. The film is in capable hands here, with a skilled staff eager to apply their unique stamp to the project.
With gratitude,
Daniel Foster
Director / Writer
Daniel
-------
Daniel Foster
Director / Editor / Writer
Production
Bigfoot Entertainment (BVI). Ltd
+63-32-412-6090 Office, Ext
+63-32-412-6089 Fax
+63-915-3625990 Mobile
(323) 663-5457 Los Angeles
See Confidentiality Restrictions:
www.bigfootentertainment.com/restrictions"
"To all of those close to the Battles of Ormoc Bay:
Here’s an update of the documentary’s progress.
I traveled back to the U.S. during the month of August to conduct two interviews, essential for the completion of the documentary.
Richard Sementelli and his wife Margie live in Webster, NY, just outside of Rochester.
Richard was gracious, eloquent, and forthcoming with his incredible stories as a 20mm gunner aboard the USS Allen M. Sumner, which sailed with the USS Cooper and USS Moale during the Battle of Ormoc Bay. Through about four hours of interview time, Richard was able to cover many subjects, and share his deep emotions about his experience. The interview had a mix of components – humor, poignancy, grief, insight, skilled storytelling, beauty and much more. Thank you Richard, for your willingness. It’s deeply appreciated, and know that your contribution helps greatly to complete the story, and honor the men from these battles. Thank you Margie for enduring our invasion – I know it was perhaps more than you had bargained for. And thanks for the lunch you made for all of us. Mark, one of the couple’s three children, was also there – and we appreciate him scanning various photos and documents which will accompany Richard’s story in the film.
Telling stories about battles from WWII, and telling them in an even-handed way, takes some refinement of character. Richard has all of that and more. He does not invent, he does not embellish. Rather, he shares his memories with great clarity and with healthy doses of reflection and insight – about experiences very few on this earth share.
In the end, Richard felt like a brother to me – I enjoyed his temperament, his humor, his patience and his good will.
Veda Kelley and her daughter, Vickie, live in St. Charles, MO, just outside of St. Louis. Veda’s husband, Eunice Guilford, was killed when the USS Cooper sank on December 3, 1944 – at the age of 24. Rod, their son, was just 18 months old at the time.
We had a wonderful interview with Veda, and later Veda and Rod. Vickie also helped us out with some shots of herself and her mother in the living room. Veda, born in Arkansas, is all about Southern graciousness and charm – the natural kind of charm that makes one feel you’ve known someone for decades when you’ve only just met them.
Veda’s stories were rich, well told and possess the ability to draw viewers right in, right away. You just want to know more – and more and more. Although Veda’s story is heartbreaking, she was able to open up to allow a glimpse of what is unfathomable for many of us – losing a precious loved one, at so early an age, and under such tragic circumstances. This was balanced with good humor and well told, comic stories. In the end, viewers will know and understand, to some degree, the good and basic character of her husband, and what a loss it was. “He was just precious” as Veda says. Later, Rod shared stories about how he gradually learned of his father, through his father’s family, and the rich life he’s shared with them. Rod also opened up, allowing us to see the far reaching effect the sinking of the Cooper had at least on this one family.
By the time I left, I not only felt like a member of the family, they convinced me I was.
The time spent with the Sementellis and at Veda’s home are bright, bright moments in the making of this film. Going in to film is not a dry mechanical process of gathering stories – whole, sensitive chapters of lives are opened up and shared, perhaps in ways they have not been shared before. This is a gift – certainly for me, for them – and for viewers.
Other news. We’re now headed into the main edit of the documentary, which should be complete by December 1. After that, there will be numerous details and refinements to take care of – and we should have a complete and packaged film by early 2006 – something to send out for certain by Spring, 2006.
During this process, we’ve built an extensive graphics file composed of more than 500 articles, documents, photos, historical films – and more. There have been numerous sources in the U.S. – survivors of the Cooper, and relatives who lost loved ones on the ship - and men who served on the Sumner and Moale as well, who have contributed to this. Thank you! And please know your documents/photos are safe – and are being returned to you soon.
Ron Babuka and Fred Willshaw deserve special recognition. Fred is the webmaster of the Sumner website, which contains many graphics we’re able to use – but only at higher resolutions. Fred is also webmaster of navsource.org. He and Ron Babuka have spent considerable time and effort to get these elements to us at the higher resolution scans we need. Ron is the son of William Babuka, a deck hand who served on the Sumner, and a senior computer analyst at Cornell Univ. Ron’s been very instrumental in keeping information flowing among Sumner sailors through the years. He also assembled a track chart of the Battle of Ormoc Bay – found at www.dd-692.com/trackchart.htm
Thank you Ron and Fred – you are heroes to our production team.
Finally, we do have a taste of the completed documentary in our hands – a two minute trailer. It’s a great piece, created by our editor here, Kris Villarino. We sent it to the U.S. recently, to be shown at a reunion in early October. We’re also in the process of building a website for the documentary – and we’ll post the trailer there. Look for news of this within the next two months.
Everyone on our team is excited as the finished project slowly takes form, and as the puzzle shifts into place. The film is in capable hands here, with a skilled staff eager to apply their unique stamp to the project.
With gratitude,
Daniel Foster
Director / Writer
Daniel
-------
Daniel Foster
Director / Editor / Writer
Production
Bigfoot Entertainment (BVI). Ltd
+63-32-412-6090 Office, Ext
+63-32-412-6089 Fax
+63-915-3625990 Mobile
(323) 663-5457 Los Angeles
See Confidentiality Restrictions:
www.bigfootentertainment.com/restrictions"