Missing Man Flyover in Huntsville, AL for the Medal of Honor Society Ceremony
A gathering of the largest number of MoH holders in the history of Alabama.

The celebration also recognized US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger with the American Spirit Award.

Col. Leo Thorsness, current president of the MoH Society.

Arion Pictures, LLC of Hot Springs, AR and Go Remote, Inc. Adventures …Not Vacations, of Madison, AL were recently notified they have been recognized with a national film award for their production of Injury Slight, Please Advise. The film is the accurate account and reenactment of a WWII fighter pilot’s survival in the wilds of New Guinea. The plane wreck is largely in tact in a very remote swamp and has been seen by fewer than 10 non natives since WWII. Steve Cushman, of Go Remote Adventures, was featured in the film and served as guide and the logistics coordinator for the filming that included hiking miles into the jungles of New Guinea to film the rediscovered P-38 fighter.

The feature length film, produced and directed by Josh Baxter, was among those recently recognized with a Telly Award. The Telly Award recognizes creative excellence in film and video production, television programming and commercials, and material produced for the internet. It is the largest and most prestigious award of its kind, receiving entries from all 50 states and 30 countries around the world.


Injury Slight, Please Advise was among the top films selected from more than 13,000 world wide production reviews and was judged by top advertising and video professionals. Injury Slight, Please Advise was recently shown at the Carnegie Institute in Washington D.C. for the GI Film Festival honoring American service members and was sponsored by Stars and Strips newspaper. A private showing was previously donated in Huntsville, AL with assistance from the Boeing Company and Monaco Theater in support of Tennessee Valley Honor Flight. (The Honor Fight program provides free charter flights to WWII vets to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C.)

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/07/lost-wwii-battlefield-found-war-dead-included/

Authentic Thud Configuration and Paint

My friend SSgt Matt Scales was driving to work at the Alabama Air Guard past the Southern Museum of Flight http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org/  near Birmingham airport when he had the idea.  Why not paint the markings on the museum’s display Thud exactly like the one Col Leo Thorsness flew in Vietnam?  The Thud is the nickname for the F105 fighter – Not famous for its dogfight and turning ability – but used effectively to knock out the SAM’s, surface to air missiles, supplied to North Vietnam by our “good friends” the Soviets. The F105 flights were known as wild Weasel flights, detecting and destroying launch sites to protect our bombers.  Of course, the bombers were out to protect infantry grunts like me by stopping the endless flow of war supplies to the south.  Weasels, like the fighter pilots of generations before them, used American initiative and fighter pilot “attitude” to figure out flight tactics that worked despite the limits of the aircraft and the type of mission.

SSgt Matt had recently read Col Leo’s book – Surviving Hell, A POW’s Journey.  I had sent Matt a copy of it after meeting him at Maxwell AFB during research there.  The book had just been released by Col Thorsness and he had just resettled in Alabama, so Matt was sold on the accurate replica idea.

I convinced Col Thorsness to agree to provide the details and answer the questions… while Matt persuaded the Southern Museum of Flight guys to undertake the marking and ordinance configuration effort both as an accurate preservation of this Thud/fighter with its role in the Vietnam War and as tribute to Col Leo Thorsness.  Col Leo is the holder of the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, and a former “guest” of the Hanoi Hilton.  Army guys, especially Army Infantry guys, are quick to point out – he won The Medal … while seated – in air conditioning… but I guess no Army guy has even done that. 

Matt and the museum guys are getting every detail right from the pilot who knows.  Pretty soon you and future generations – will be able to stop by the museum and see the real deal. -- I love it when history is preserved. 

• How the failed attempt by Americans to rescue POWs by raiding a POW compound that turned out to be unoccupied was viewed as a great success by POW’s.

• A critical secret known by Col. Thorsness and other POW’s via the tap code – was never learned by the North Vietnamese.

• How Col Thorsness’ faith and resolve sustained his endurance and his planned walk home.

• How POW’s embarrassed the North Vietnamese on the world stage by providing fake names.

• What Col. Thorsness first told his wife, Gaylee, by phone after 6 years about being gone for so long.

Since I’m acquainted with the author of this book, “Surviving Hell, A POW’s Journey”, I don’t claim my comments are unbiased.  My viewpoint is a bit different, as retired Army.  Col. (Ret.) Leo Thorsness spent his time in the USAF, and in the “Hanoi Hilton” and, by the way, he holds this nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.

My basis of comparison for “normal” as a fighter pilot is that one of my life’s very best friends was also a fighter pilot, the late Larry Counts, so I know it’s really hard to tell if any of them are what the military, retired military or even civilians call “normal” people.  Col Leo seems “normal” enough… friendly, soft spoken, cheerful and he has a charming wife, but he isn’t normal.  I suspected he wasn’t normal when I learned some of his background.  After a bit of time around him – I started to think he was … “normal,” aside from some of his physical scars visible in summer Alabama attire.  He makes light hearted reference to fun things like “going fast” and of taking care not to say the word “cockroach” aloud during a party at the bar (It’s a bar game all true fighter pilots “perform” – don’t say it aloud in a group of them with spirits) and he makes reference to good days when you can see door knobs on the inside.  He asks you questions.

But I learned he isn’t normal, after I heard him speak more formally.  He spoke mostly about fellow POW’s and about life. Nothing about winning America’s highest military award but…he can bring tears to your eyes…talking about life, making his point about the service of others … and, indirectly, about his own incredible service to this nation. Col Leo Thorsness proves there are heroes among us.

If you aren’t a liberal wimp who thinks: A. there is no evil in the world.  B. you can just “talk to’em”  and C. you don’t realize there are those who endure to serve this nation  - BUY his book.  On second thought, maybe the liberal wimps need to read it most of all.

Checkout Col T's new page - done by his friends - and order his Great book. www.leothorsness.com

New Guinea Native Storyboard

The native storyboard above was done by a native tribesman on the north coast of New Guinea.  New Guinea is known to have over 700 different tribal languages and few of them are written.  A common factor among the remote native tribes is the strong tradition of verbal history or story telling to “record” significant events, tribal battles or other incidents that have taken place in the family or tribe.  These carved storyboards are a means of recording events.  The carvings are sometimes on other items and I once admired very old, hardwood carvings on the sides of log drums in a native tribal longhouse that a museum would love to display. One other thing about the storyboards is that they work best as an outline reminder of story elements … when you already Know the story. 

Our great and accommodating dive operator hosts, Lesley and Tim, had this native storyboard made for us when we were in Papua New Guinea filming the WWII wrecked P-38 for “Injury Slight, please advise ”.  You may already be aware that producer Josh Baxter’s film title originated from the brief message sent weeks later by the WWII pilot following his crash and escape from natives after shooting a tribal leader with his .45 to avoid becoming dinner.  It is an incredible survival account. 

During our remote jungle trek in to the P-38 wreck site we shot an additional Hi Def video interview with a native who had been a boy in the village near the WWII crash site.  The amazing accuracy of the verbal tribal history tradition became apparent when the elderly native told the story with details that matched EXACTLY with what the surviving pilot had recounted.

(Both Josh and I had made it a point to follow the guidance of an anthropologist on the area and pretended not to know the pilot or the story. We did not want to contaminate the story, and we did not forget the pilot had almost been…. dinner. )  I would argue that parts of New Guinea continue to be the wildest places in the world.  Tribal wars, at times with bows and arrows, continue to be fought over important things, like stolen pigs, gardens or even …women.  Almost 2 out of 3 we would not, or not often, do in the “civilized” world. 

Even our translator was surprised when the native’s story included his comments, … and they found his boots, “like his” – he said, pointing to my hiking boots as we shot the interview in the rocks and sand of a river’s edge.  We knew the pilot has removed his boots in hope of making less noise as he was chased during his escape from the natives.  It was but one aspect of the verbal history that confirmed the details of the pilot’s escape and the location.  (To learn the added details, view full length documentary, “Injury Slight…Please Advise”.) 

The storyboard shows, at upper left, not just an airplane, but a twin engine, twinboom square tailed P-38 fighter, our request of that detail was followed by the native carver.  It was shown flying above native huts, then crashing near the river into trees and grass.  Note the second image of the P-38 fighter, to the right of the first image, is into the trees and has a broken right propeller, thus a crashed plane.  The American “soldier” with the helmet goes near the river, with fish, and makes initial contact with the native tribe.  He later contacts the Australians that are depicted with helmets that have cap bills – an effort lost in the translation that Australians wore cowboy style bush hats with turned up brims… Oh well – close enough that we “got it”.  Later still, out of view in the photo, he goes to a western style “box” house  as symbol of his return “home”.  Conveniently, not included in the storyboard, is the part where the pilot was jumped by the natives and forced to shoot his way out at close range with his .45.  Initially chased/tracked  into the jungle and surviving for weeks.  Although there is substantially more to the story … we got it from the tribal view and despite the native carver’s distance from the crash site and chase region… it is politically correct and the natives do not lose face...or tribesmen.

More information on Baxter’s production made in close collaboration with the ace pilot who is the featured character of the WWII documentary is on the “Injury Slight” page at www.injuryslight.com. 

Go Remote runs adventures… This storyboard account is just one aspect of the unique experiences and memories that Go Remote adventures offer.  Don’t take another “everyone’s been there” vacation.  Go Remote for a real adventure. (Some adventure applications require outdoor skills, but most require only good health and an adventurous spirit.)     
 

39th Fighter Squadron at Maxwell Air Force Base

It was recently my privilege to attend the 39th Fighter Squadron Assn. Reunion and to introduce producer Josh Baxter and the reenacted HD video documentary of the incredible New Guinea jungle survival account of the historic squadron’s own ace, Captain Sullivan. (See the added photos on the Go Remote main page or on the “Injury Slight, please advise” page at   http://www.injuryslight.com for details.  Some readers are already aware the title of the WWII P-38 fighter pilot’s film was repeated from a part of the brief radio message “Sully” sent to the 39th FS from an Australian radio outpost after escaping natives and 30 days of jungle survival, with no boots.)

Josh and I noted that no one left the large banquet room during the entire showing. Our jungle footage must have been “old news” to the vets in the room but we were pleased to have captured some of it.   

Josh and I gained a whole new outlook for the New Guinea jungle difficulties when we made the difficult 14 hour jungle trek in to the rediscovered crash site of the P-38 to film it last year.  Of course, we had a translator and local native guides with permission to make the trek.   Josh has added the footage of the wreck to the account. During that trek we located an elderly native who witnessed “Sully” in the village and recounted his escape through a translator in startling detail.  Although natives of New Guinea don’t often have written languages among their more than 700 different languages, their common practice is accurate verbal tribal history.  We had followed the advice of an anthropologist for the area and made no indication we knew the story … or Sully. We knew what almost happened to Sully.       

The banquet evening at the Maxwell Officers’ Club was made more unique since I was seated among both currently active members of the 39th (based in Texas) and the WWII vets who flew various fighters – including P-38’s.  It was a once in a lifetime event for me – as a retired Army guy and VN vet.   There I was, seated at a table with current “Cobra in the Clouds” squadron instructors of pilots  and with Blue 2, call sign of Lew Lockhart, the WWII P-38 wingman of ace “Sully.”  Table conversation was the current pilot quizzing of the vets about air engagement tactics, airplane capabilities, Japanese targets… etc.  Given the age of these veterans, it is not an event that will often be repeated before both topics and the vets fade into history.  

The evening was a history lesson – current and past – I wish that every American would experience.

Local Man's Story Hits Big Screen

Photo by Frederique Oliver