 |
|
Larry
Cappetto's
documentary,
"Lest They Be
Forgotten," will
be shown at the
Frankfort Convention
Center Sunday as part
of a Sept. 11
commemoration
ceremony.
State
Journal/Keren
Henderson |
Sept.
11 film recalls the heroes of
D-Day
By
KEREN HENDERSON
State Journal Staff Writer
This Sunday, Americans will
remember the dead and the
heroes from 9/11. Harrod
Brothers Funeral Homes has set
aside the day to honor
America's veterans and
servicemen with a showing of
the first documentary in the
World War II series "Lest
They Be Forgotten."
Documentary director Larry
Cappetto will introduce the
film at 6 p.m. at the
Frankfort Convention Center.
The one-hour documentary
details the 1944 invasion of
Normandy (D-Day) through the
stories of soldiers who
stormed the beaches.
"In the film, I try to
get across the fact that
freedom is not free,"
Cappetto said. "What
happened on Sept. 11 was an
attack on freedom. World War
II was an attack on freedom.
What we're going to see on
Sunday will instill an
awareness that we're still
defending our country. People
are still dying."
By nightfall of D-Day, 2,400
Americans were dead or
wounded. Cappetto interviewed
around 50 men who lived
through the day and compiled
their memories into one fluid
narrative.
"By the end of the movie,
we both were in tears,"
said Marchele Otten, of Harrod
Brothers Funeral Homes. She
and owner Mike Harrod watched
the film a few months ago and
decided to hold a remembrance
celebration to honor the men
who fought.
"It's
so important not only to
remember the people that have
died, but also to remember the
people still serving,"
Otten said. Her husband
is now serving in the Army in
Afghanistan. The
four-year anniversary of Sept.
11 seemed the best time to
show the film, she said.
Several
speakers will honor those who
have made sacrifices in the
past and continue to make
sacrifices today. U.S.
Rep. Ben Chandler, state Sen.
Julian Carroll and Brig. Gen.
Norman Arflack will speak.
Cappetto
said he is honored to bring
the film to Frankfort -
"to the heartland of
America where flags are flying
everywhere." Every
time he sees a flag or raises
the flag at his home in
Colorado, Cappetto thinks
about World War II. The
war captured his fascination
as a little boy and tugged at
his thoughts during his career
as a journalist. Now, he
is able to speak with his
heroes in order to tell their
story to others. So far,
he has interviewed almost 200
veterans and is working on the
fourth documentary in the
series.
He feels a
sense of urgency, knowing that
the World War II generation is
inexorably passing. Each
day more than a thousand
veterans die. He wants
to talk to as many as he can
before it is too late.
"It's
common for vets not to talk
about it - 75 percent have
never told their
stories," he said.
"It's a
very humbling experience to
have them open up to someone
for the very first time."
Veterans do
not shy away from Cappetto's
project. His waiting
list is so long that he does
not expect to reach them
all. His camera looks
straight into their eyes and
pulls out stories they never
thought they could tell.
They talk about the blood-red
beaches, walking over bodies
and burying their brothers in
the sand.
The whole
point of "Lest They Be
Forgotten" is not
gruesome stories that make
people cringe, he said.
The point is to help people
remember the sacrifices of the
past and pay attention to the
sacrifices men are making
today.
"I want
people to realize why we have
what we have," he said.
"It
doesn't come easy."
|
Archive
HomeFinder
Classifieds
