Regardless of the war, regardless of the politics, South Dakotans throughout their history have always answered the call to battle when their nation has asked.
The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are no exception.
In fact, South Dakota has one of the highest casualty rates of any state in the Union.
Earlier this year, independent filmmaker and photographer Bill Goehring of Sioux Falls, Republican activist and blogger Pat Powers of Brookings, and Democrat activist and blogger Todd Epp began discussions of producing a film on South Dakota’s Fallen–the killed and wounded South Dakotans who as soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and guardsmen–have paid the highest price or a very high price in defense of their nation.
With a nod from South Dakota Public Television, we three native South Dakotans have decided to produce an hour long documentary that tells the stories of our state’s fallen. While the interview subjects might discuss politics, this will not be a political film. The three producers have three different views about the war on terrorism. What we share, however, is a belief that the stories and memories and sacrifices of these South Dakota servicemen and women should be honored and never forgotten.
We hope to let the servicemen and women, their families, and their friends tell their own stories of heroism, loss, heartache, victory, and duty.
Thus, we need your help.
We are looking for wounded and non-wounded returning veterans who want to tell their stories or the stories of their fallen comrades. We are looking for the famlies and friends of the fallen to speak about their loss and love of their heroes. We are looking for photos and videos from the battlefield. We are looking for whatever you think will help tell stories that need to be told.
We are also looking for financial support, whether from individuals, corporations, or groups.
If you have questions about the project or would like to submit ideas for interviews or materials please contact:
Todd Epp
610 S. Grand Ave
Harrisburg, SD 57032-2008
(o) 605.334.0446 (m) 605.351.5021
(email) epplaw(at)gmail(dot)com
Website: South Dakota's Fallen
The website/blog for the project will grow in the coming months with more information about the project, with clips and photo of works in progress as well as stories from behind and in front of the camera. We are currently in the pre-production stage and hope to begin shooting interviews in November 2007 with a completion date of sometime in 2008.
I hope you will join us in honoring South Dakota’s Fallen.
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