Mighty Thunder is proud to post this documentary trailer from the studios of WRSE, sponsored by Pensacola State College and the following article from the Pensacola Gulf Breeze on the occasion of Father’s Day 2016. RTR and Mighty Thunder are beholden to contributor Bruce Herman for providing this moving tribute to the Fathers who left their families to fight and perish during the Vietnam War, and the amazing children they left behind.
RTR and Mighty Thunder congratulate WRSE, Pensacola State College, and especially Jill Hubbs for providing a world class film on a subject near and dear to our hearts and purpose for taking up space on the Internet — to remember those who, we the living, left behind in Southeast Asia in a war fought 50 years ago….
Some 20,000 American boys and girls lost their fathers during the Vietnam War. In a new documentary film produced by WSRE, several of these Gold Star children, now adult men and women, share their stories which serve as powerful testimonies about the true cost of war. WSRE will premiere “They Were Our Fathers” with a special Father’s Day broadcast at 7 p.m. on June 19.
The Gold Star designation is given to family members who have lost loved ones in United States military service during wartime. Every five years on Father’s Day, members of Sons and Daughters in Touch, a group formed in 1990 to locate, unite and support Gold Star children who lost their fathers serving in the Vietnam War, gather at the nation’s capital to honor their parents, reflect on their common grief and support one another, like no one else can.
Under the direction of Executive Producer Jill Hubbs, a WSRE production crew traveled to Washington, D.C. last June to document the gathering and record personal accounts.
The film is narrated in first person by Hubbs, whose father became missing in action during his second tour of duty in Vietnam on March 17, 1968. U.S. Navy Cdr. Donald Richard Hubbs was commanding officer of the VS-23 Black Cats and was stationed aboard the USS Yorktown in the Gulf of Tonkin when his S-2E Tracker reconnaissance aircraft disappeared off the North Vietnam coast.
U.S Navy Cdr. Donald Richard Hubbs with his wife Bereth and daughter Jill. Jill Hobbs is the executive producer of “They Were Our Fathers.”
“Each of these sons and daughters has a unique story to tell. We are bonded together by tragedy, but also joined together in patriotism, honor and respect for the fathers we loved and lost,” said Hubbs.
During Memorial Day weekend, Hubbs attended the retirement celebration for Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Vice President Joe Biden was a guest at that event.
Hubbs also accepted an invitation from the President of the United States to join him with a group of Gold Star children for breakfast at the White House on Memorial Day, where she presented President Barack Obama a copy of the documentary.
“They Were Our Fathers” was edited by James Roy. Ted King was director of photography. To learn more about the film, visit WSRE
Like this:
Like Loading...
Be the first to comment