I believe the experience of Company G, Third Battalion, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, one of the most decorated units of the “Forgotten War” is an ideal miniseries for the Korean War in the vein of Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Generation Kill, and Masters of the Air.
A set piece would be on July 4th when Shelby draws his men up in parade formation on the banks of the Rio Grande. Five of his officers take the Confederate flag, weigh it down with rocks and wade into the river. Then they gently lower it into the water. Former Confederate officers, officials and soldiers watch from the bluffs on the American side. Mexican soldiers look on from the southern bank. Shelby, in a rare show of emotion, tears off the black ostrich plume from his hat, wades out into the water and throws it into the folds of the flag. Tears run down the cheeks of hardened veterans as the flag disappears beneath the muddy waters. From now on, Shelby’s men will follow his ragged battle-scarred guidon. From then on, this stretch of the Rio Grande will be known as the Grave of the Confederacy.
Logline: When 46 hard-fighting Irish-Texan cannoneers face off against an invasion of 15,000, it will result in the only medals issued by the southern Confederacy.
Short Pitch
It is called The Battle of Sabine Pass
It is a war action movie.
In the vein of 300.
It is like Fury meets Glory.
It follows ambitious, jovial Irish officer Dick Dowling
And young runaway drummer boy John Drummond
As they fight to free the Texas coast from Yankee invaders and prejudice against Irish and Catholic immigrants.
Problems arise when most of the Texas army is pulled from the coast and Dowling and his forty-six men find themselves the only ones to stop an invasion of 15,000.
Together their skill, training, dedication to each other and Gaelic love of fighting will result in one of the most lopsided victories of the war.
The idea came to me when I read a paragraph about the battle in The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts by Burke Davis and it grabbed hold of my Irish and Texan descendent soul.
My unique approach is focusing on one unit of artillerymen called The Davis Guard and their struggles with military life, war and bigotry against Catholic Irish.
A set piece would be when Dick Dowling is standing on top of the mud pile called Fort Griffin. He has told the Davis Guard that their officers want them to retreat. “What say you,” says Dowling in a thick Gaelic accent. “No, no!,” reply his men. “Shall we fight,” he ask them. Fight, fight, fight,” they reply in unison. “It’s too hot to walk back to Sabine City,” one jokes. Just then a courier rides up. He carries a small Confederate flag. Dowling grabs the flag, crawling higher on the parapet and waves it toward the approaching gunboats. “Dick Dowling is a dead man before that flag shall come down!”
Target audiences would be men and women 20-70, teenagers, military buffs, action movie fans, history buffs, Civil War reenactors, naval buffs, Navy veterans, service members and their families, Catholics, Irish Americans, Irish people, and of course, Texans.
Audiences would want to see it for its epic stand of fighting Irish against overwhelming odds, its action, adventure, and themes of courage, brotherhood, honor and devotion to duty.
Short Pitch
It is called Carrying The Flag
It is a War Drama.
In the vein of Fury.
It is like Glory meets All Quiet on The Western Front.
It follows epileptic washout Private Charles Whilden
And young veteran officer James Armstrong
As they fight to survive the hellish combat of the Overland Campaign
Problems arise when their regiment is almost annihilated and they retreat, disgracing themselves in front of General Robert E. Lee
Now together Charles’ dedication to his duty and James’ respect for him will help them achieve victory and save the army.
The idea came to me when reading Carrying the Flag by Gordon C. Rhea, which is a more exciting read with more intimate details than some novels.
My unique approach would be a focus on a few soldiers, their intimate army life, horrific combat experience, and the effects of their actions upon the overall campaign.
A set piece would be when Charles and James are pinned down in bloody mud by heavy firepower from Union troops positioned atop high ground known as The Bloody Angle. Confederate officers who rise to lead charges are immediately cut down. They can’t retreat across the bullet swept open ground behind them. Charles reaches for the regiment’s battle flag. No words are spoken as James hands it to him. Charles climbs up the barricades, slippery from the pouring rain. Then he begins charging the Angle. Soldiers rise up from the trenches, gather around him and rush the high ground. Charles becomes a target for Union minie balls. He’s hit in the shoulder but continues. He shakes from epilepsy but holds the pole steady. Then he sees that the flag is coming loose from the pole. If it falls and floats away, the charge will falter. He grabs the flag from the pole, wraps it around his body, and, as a human flagpole, rushes on toward the Angle. He and his comrades reach the high ground. Hand to hand combat breaks out as men wrestle in the mud. Finally, the Yankees retreat and the high ground is in the Confederate hands thanks to Charles’s bravery.
Target audiences would be men (18-80), military service members and veterans, war movie fans, history buffs, Southerners, Civil War reenactors, and gamers.
Audiences would like to see it due to its unique battlefield scenarios of the Wilderness and The Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House, themes of courage, bravery, devotion to duty, brotherhood, and redemption, and the human interest story of a washout overcoming his past and epileptic handicap to just once do something significant in his life.
Go see Devotion in theaters! You will consider it time well spent and will not regret the $7-$15 price of a ticket. I do not usually do movie reviews, but since I have written a blogpost about Adam Makos’ book, I have decided to give my thoughts on J. D. Dillard’s adaption. Who knows, I …
A set piece would be when the 5th and 7th Marines, including 600 wounded walking with the help of ice-glazed tree limbs, march into Hagaru. They had fought their way there over fourteen miles for four days and three sleepless nights. Their comrades gather on the surrounding hills to greet the arrival of their comrades who were covered with ice and stubble. At 600 yards from the perimeter, the column stops. The wounded and frost bitten who could walk, crawled out of their trucks and fell in line with their comrades, their boots stomping the snow in perfect cadence. In the snow. As the column enters the perimeter, some grunts join them, marching along side the column “From the Halls of Montezuma…”They began singing “…To the shores of Tripoli…” It is the Marines Hymn. “…We will fight our nation’s battles…” Rugged veterans were brought to tears. “Look at those bastards,” they say. “Those magnificent bastards.”
A set piece in a movie would be when he developed dysentery. Knowing that he was humiliated because others had to clean up after him, the other prisoners staged a mass break out of fake dysentery. When the guards give them more medication, they promptly passed it on to the father.
Black Beauty meets Hamburger Hill during the Korean War. Because of its human-interest story involving the bond between men and their animal during drastic times is why I believe Sergeant Reckless deserves a movie honoring our Korean War veterans.
The story recorded in Devotion showcases the best about humanity. Jesse and Tom were the finest America had to offer. Jesse’s determination to become a pilot is shining example of the determination that comes from following one’s dreams. Tom’s actions on December 4, 1951 are an example of the power of friendship. Hopefully, the film adaptation tells the story with the polish and finesse that it deserves. My prayers are with the production. May its success at the box office pave the way for more major films about the Korean War so that the veterans and fallen of “The Forgotten War” remain unforgotten.
It’s called The Last Stand of Fox Company
It is a War Action Drama
It the vein of Blackhawk Down
It is like Fury meets Hacksaw Ridge
It follows spit-and-polished but tough disciplined Marine officer Captain William Barber
And fatalist Patton-like Chinese American Marine Lieutenant Kurk Chew-Een Lee
As they battle overwhelming Chinese Communist forces and the sub-freezing conditions of the North Korean mountains in their fight to save 30,000 UN forces from 120,000 Communists
Problems arise as nearly every man in Barber’s Fox Company is wounded, the artic conditions ruin their equipment, and a wounded Lieutenant Lee has to go AWOL after slapping in the hospital a soldier with PTSD
Together their determination, resilience, comradery, skill and cunning hold a vital mountain pass for five nights and six days and help evacuate UN forces while inflicting heavy damage upon the enemies of freedom.
The idea came to me when I was listening to an audiobook version of The Last Stand of Fox Company by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury and heard Korea referred to as “The Forgotten War.”
My unique approached would be the multitude of conflicts the soldiers fight, from the Communists to the weather, to each other, and in the case of Lee, racism.
A set piece would be when Lt. Lee is leading the relief column for Fox Company throw the frozen mountains in the dark of night. He is wearing a pink sully-drop air panel so his men will not lose him in the dark or, worse, mistake him for the enemy, since he looks, well, Chinese, and accidently shoot him. He holds up a hand. The column stops. He advances through the dark, approaching a Chinese position. He knows a few words in pidgin Chinese, so he fools the commies into letting him come into their lines. Then he pulls out a grenade, throws it. After the blast, he mows the place with gunfire. Then he motions for the column to continue.
Target audiences would be military historians, history buffs, war movie fans, military servicemen and women, veterans, Korean War veterans and their families, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, South Koreans, fans of video games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, fans of Top Gun: Maverick, and men and women (teens-50s)
Audiences would want to see the movie due to its themes of bravery, courage, comradery, fighting for freedom, resilience in the face of adversity, overcoming harsh conditions, Lieutenant Lee’s triumph over racism, the thrills, excitement and suspense of battling and defeating overwhelming odds, the heroic ordeal of saving tens of thousands of lives, and remembering America’s forgotten heroes of the Korean War.