It is a strange turn in American history. Fueled in part by an administration that has given his supporters little to cheer about since November of 2008, there is suddenly an appreciation of the American Military in Left-wing outposts like Hollywood and Washington DC. It is a moment unparalleled. The news of Usama’s death was greeted by cheering throngs of bureaucrats filling Pennsylvania Avenue, ecstatic that Hope finally got something right. As details about Usama bin Laden’s compound leak out, even the most strident Liberals in Hollywood can get on board, since it has now been revealed that Usama burned his garbage on site, rather than recycling.

Even more peculiar, The Internets are all a twitter about a movie depicting the killing of Usama bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that at least several of these films will be made. In fact, the White House has already scripted the crucial moment, the big scene when His fist comes down on the desk and He demands the mission be launched in the most mannish voice he can muster: “It’s A Go”

Of course, the sixteen hours he took to sleep on it, will probably be deleted by Hollywood. Maybe it might be rewritten to include a scene where he goes off into the White House Garden and prays for guidance, while his advisors did the sleeping.

Since the passing of John Wayne, Hollywood has found it difficult to make any heroic war pictures. Most of the pictures since “The Green Berets” have portrayed the American troops as either the bad guys, mentally ill, or both. Even in the great WWII tributes by Tom Hanks, American soldiers were depicted more as crying boys, than heroic men.

Modern Hollywood prefers anti-heroes. In order for them to depict a real hero, he has to wear a mask, a cape, and his underwear on the outside of his pants. (And most often, have a touch of mental illness.) But I suspect something different will now happen. The men of SEAL Team 6 will be treated as genuine heroes in the mold of John Wayne. (Pardon my sexism, I don’t think there are any women in SEAL Team 6 — although my fondest hope is the last thing Usama saw was an unveiled woman looking down that barrel, a woman with an education and a driver’s license.)

The prime motivator for making these films is just around the corner. There is a need to keep these images fresh in the conscience of America for the remainder of His term, and a sincere hope that “It’s A Go” will become the “Yes We Can” of 2012. Expect most of these films to be released 60 days before November 2012. (And much like the downplayed enhanced interrogations that led to the mission, don’t expect the Left to credit Citizens United v. FEC for that window.)

It is the kind of rescue scene that Hollywood has adored since “Birth of a Nation.” Just as the evil Republicans are about to take over Washington, SEAL Team 6 rides over the horizon in a formation of helicopters to save the Presidency from it’s own incompetence.

Mr. Spielberg, line one…

Basically, an in-kind contribution is a perfectly legal way around fundraising limits where you help your candidate and/or party in a way that doesn’t qualify as a legal contribution. For instance, GE contributes to Democrats through an in-kind contribution we like to call MSNBC. Same with AOL through the Huffington post. And…

Same with Hollywood. During the Bush years, the film industry did something it had never done before and that’s bring to life anti-American/anti-war propaganda films while America was still fighting that war. Long after the first few films had flopped, more were still greenlit — and in the case of “Green Zone” at the price of $100m more — in order to bring down Bush, aid Democrats, and lift the Leftist cause. At the time they thought they were aiding Hillary. But once Obama came along, same difference.

And here’s why they were willing to risk all that money and further alienate 50% of their customers…

The President could attend as many as three moneymaking events in a 24-hour period during his visit to Hollywood this month. …

Invitations have already gone out for a 4:30 p.m. event that day at Sony Pictures Studios, though Sony is only the venue, not the host. VIP seating is $2,500, and general admission is $250. Event chairs, hosts and other details haven’t been worked out.

But Katzenberg also is arranging a “high-dollar dinner” that night that he would co-host with Spahn and others. Insiders say Spielberg and Geffen would likely attend.

Depending on how the fundraising dinner is classified under campaign finance laws, it could cost each Hollywood A-lister as much as $30,400 apiece to dine with the president. ….

“Early response is so encouraging that they’re trying to throw together a third event,” an insider said.

Hollywood players are multi-millionaires and near-billionaires with more money than they know what to do with. There’s no way they’re going to restrict their contributions, and frankly they don’t have to when they control the levers of the storm and fury of motion pictures.

Contrast that with WWII when mostly Republican studio heads bit the bullet for their country and got behind both the war and FDR (who many loathed) after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Those men were imperfect, but they were Americans before they were Republicans. This new batch is just, well, imperfect.

I was just one man of a hundred and twenty five officers and enlisted men of the 607th Graves Registration Company. As a PFC, Private First Class, I and my buddies had the gut wrenching, solemn task of gathering the dead, starting on the Normandy Beach Head at age eighteen, weighing one hundred fifteen pounds… and very immature.

Our company was divided into four platoons, some landing on Omaha Beach on D Day and others on Utah Beach. We gathered the dead every day for eleven months from D-Day until the end of the war in Germany, May 8,1945.

The last cemetery, from which we operated in Eisenach, Germany, was disinterred by us the day after Memorial Day,1945. The war had ended for ALL of us on May 8,1945. For the dead, the true HEROES, it was anti-climatic. I will never forget them! For all too many, the graves bearing Crosses and Stars of David are just THAT. But to me each marker represents a real person, a soldier who gave his life at a young age. A face goes with each Cross or Star of David. A young face.

We had Germans digging the graves to be disinterred, as we re-identified the remains of American soldiers that were transported back to France, Belgium or Holland where they were again buried in temporary cemeteries, as no American soldier would be left in Germany.

I spent another eight months in Germany, some of that time waiting to see if we would have to go to the Pacific as the war still raged on there. It ended three months later when thankfully, President Truman decided to drop the Atomic bomb which although killing many unfortunate, it saved many thousands of American and Japanese lives if the war had gone on.

In early 2006, I was prompted by a retired general, David Grange, who I met in Belgium a few years earlier and a retired colonel, Paul Herbert, who said to me,”It is up to you WW II veterans to educate people in regard to the war.” “Have you ever thought about taking history teachers with you when traveling to Belgium, as you do?” I gave it thought that day and the following day, I called Dr. John Schmitt, the Assoc. Superintendent of Schools in Torrance, CA.

He had been a principal where my kids went to high school. I said, “John, I am going to do a documentary in Belgium, talking with civilians who lost their freedom during the Nazi occupation.” I want to take there, a young history teacher from each of your four high schools, to experience, first hand, the consequences of losing one’s freedom.” He said, “George, I was a military brat. My father, who was in the Air Corps, and my mother are buried in Arlington Cemetery….come in and see me.” (spouses of military can also be buried in National Cemeteries.)

That started me off on a filmmaking career.

I formed a 501 (c) (3) 100% non-profit organization and created a website: Let Freedom Ring.

Now funds had to be raised, which I personally accomplished.

Along with the four teachers… three females and a male… we went to Belgium. I also took with us two combat veterans who had seen a lot of action, including the Battle Of The Bulge, the greatest land battle the U.S. Army has ever fought. I also served there.

Nothing was rehearsed and with the help of Belgian friends, we started filming.

The documentary was called: “Let Freedom Ring…The Lesson Is Priceless.”

It was my daughter’s first hand at directing along with Michael Wunsch of Outpost Worldwide, Lenexa KS, that filmed and edited the documentary.

My daughter had desired to do a film about FREEDOM as she expressed to me when visiting the Normandy Cemetery in June 1994, on its fiftieth anniversary. It was the first time for me to revisit Europe and that cemetery that we initiated on June 6, 1944. I was not interested in going back. She, her brother and my fiancee…now my wife… urged me to go back which was fifty years later. I am glad that I did. It was like “closure” for me.

My children’s’ mother passed away in 1981 when they were aged eleven and ten, respectively….. I had never spoken much to my late wife about my wartime experiences.

In 2007, a year after doing my first film, I thought why not do another documentary, this time in France where I participated during the Normandy Invasion.

I again personally raised the funds to do another documentary, this time with three combat veterans who landed on D-Day and two high school history teachers…a female and a male, a young female journalist and a male high school student. Again, as with the first documentary, the teachers heard stories from the citizens who lived during the Nazi occupation and heard us veterans’ experiences as well.

That documentary was called: “Let Freedom Ring….Memories Of France.”

These documentaries were done to educate our youth on the sacrifices made by young people, many not much older than they, to stress the importance of FREEDOM and more specifically, the consequences of the LOSS of FREEDOM.

My intention, when funds are available which I am pursuing, is to get these films in DVD format into high schools and hopefully middle schools, eventually. The teachers who were privileged to take part in these films are doing a great job in their respective schools. One of my teachers, Lori Spradlin, has composed a lesson plan that will accompany the DVDs.

Both documentaries have been aired on ninety PBS stations, initially in November 2009, multiple times and again in May 2010, multiple times.

We expect both films will be aired on Military Channel soon, The schedule will be known as soon as a few details are worked out.

Now, I am working on my next film. Those details for another time.

A bientot….til later….as they say in France.

“Mr. Smith” is not only one of the greatest films ever made, but it also shows the love that Mr. Capra had for his adopted country.  For those of you that do not know, Frank Capra was an Italian immigrant.  He came to this country with his family as a young man and somehow ended up in Los Angeles during the early years of the motion picture industry.  He started in silent films as basically a gopher and eventually became one of the top five directors of the Golden Age of Motion Pictures.  Some would even argue today that he is one of the top five directors of all time.

In addition to “Mr. Smith,” Capra is also responsible for some of the great motion pictures of all time.  Among them are “It Happened One Night,” “Meet John Doe,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “You Can’t Take it With You,” and, of course, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  From 1933 to 1946, Capra was nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Director and won three.  “It Happened One Night” was the first movie to sweep the Oscars in all five major categories.  This did not happen again until “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest” in 1975.  It has only happened once since.

Capra single-handedly kept Columbia Pictures afloat.  He was the first of the star directors and one of the first to have his name about the title.  His movies were not just movies, they were Frank Capra movies.  And, they were basically all the same.  It was the little man taking on the establishment and usually winning.  Many of the current Hollywood stars love Capra and emulate him.  In fact, Adam Sandler has already remade two of Capra’s films, one directly and one indirectly; “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” and “Click” was basically a remake of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In “Mr. Smith,” Jefferson Smith, as portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, is appointed to the Senate from a small western state as a result of the death of the sitting Senator.  He is appointed with the intent of the political machine in his home state to maintain the status quo and to protect the illicit dealing of those in charge.  He is not supposed to upset the apple cart.

However, the machine in power underestimates Smith.  They see him as a dumb patriotic man who could be manipulated and controlled.  But, his patriotism and his love for the people create just the opposite.  He believes in the “city on the hill,” as did Ronald Reagan.  He believes that good will always triumph and that the evil and greedy will be defeated.

When he uncovers a scam within his state to further enrich the machine at the expense of young boys, he takes the machine on.  The machine fights back with all its force and attempts to destroy Smith.  But, Smith uses the rules of the Senate to his advantage and begins a 24-hour filibuster in an attempt to save himself and destroy the machine.  This last 15 minutes of the movie contains some of the most patriotic speeches ever put on film.  Smith quotes the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bible.  And, each of these quotes and dialogue in between show both Smith (and Capra’s) love for this country and its ideals.  It is without a doubt one of the most powerful 15 minutes in any movie ever made.

Another very poignant point of the film occurs when Smith first arrives in Washington.  Instead of going to his office and being controlled by his handlers, Smith wonders off and begins a tour of historical Washington.  The tour takes him to all of the major sites in the nation’s capital.  This sequence reaches its climax at the Lincoln Memorial where Smith sees a little boy reading the Gettysburg Address out loud to his dad.  During the sequence, Capra cuts to Smith and various other bystanders at the memorial including a black man.  Every line of the Address takes on a new meaning and leads us to an emotional high.  It is film making at its best.

In closing, I recommend that every one watch this movie and many of other Capra films.  You should also look up the series of war films that were made by Capra in response to WWII.  These films, known as the “Why We Fight” series, were made at the request of the War Department to educate the public on the reasons the US entered the conflict.  They too are very patriotic and full of Capra’s love for his country.

I just wonder, why doesn’t Hollywood show it’s love for America anymore?  Why does the product coming out of my industry only show the bad and not the good?  I just cannot answer that question!

I can never hear Frank Sinatra’s version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” without  hearing it as the music playing in the background while a WWII deserter was executed on Christmas Eve before battle weary soldiers watching stoically.

The film is episodic and loaded with cameos of great European actresses like Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Melina Mercouri, Elke Sommer, and Senta Berger in memorable and poignant vignettes. I had a mini crush on Albert Finney whom I had just seen in Tom Jones but he doesn’t appear until the end of  The Victors and portrays a drunken Russian soldier in Berlin confronting George Hamilton one of the main American characters. George Peppard, Eli Wallach, Vince Edwards, Jim Mitchum, and Peter Fonda round out the excellent cast.

This was Carl Foreman’s first and only stint as a director. He had a formidable career as a scriptwriter for classics like High Noon; Bridge on the River Kwai; Guns of Navarone and others too numerous and notable to mention here.

As I said, The Victors is not anti-war but rather a “War is hell but still necessary” film. This is evident in a moving scene where the soldiers have liberated a concentration camp and the prisoners are overwhelmed by their rescue, kissing the hands of their saviors. Mr. Crowther may have found this movie to be overly sentimental and trivial but any film that demonstrates the terrible sacrifices made by our military deserves a wider audience. 

What has always puzzled me is why this film has never been made available for the public in either videotape or DVD format. There are no scenes from the film available on YouTube that I know of and only posters of the film are online. Can anyone in Hollywood answer that?

—–

For years I watched this movie and like many Americans would come away with that warm fuzzy feeling.  But one character in this film always bothered me. In fact, I believe that the more appropriate title of Capra’s project should have been It’s A Wonderful Life – If You’re Harry Bailey! Think about it.  George Bailey’s kid brother makes out like a bandit in this flick.  And why is that?  Because Harry (Todd Karns) throughout this film is a steam-roller of selfishness. I will even go so far as to say that Harry Bailey (who was never intended to be a bad guy) is one of the most despicable characters in movies. In scriptwriting it’s formulaic that two villains be created to inject multiple layers of conflict.  Obviously Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) is the uber-villain.  But who’s the other antagonist?  That would be Harry Bailey, who plays his older brother for a sucker throughout the film.  In fact, Harry is either directly or indirectly the root cause of all of George’s miseries.

From a young age Harry seems to conspire to keep George (Jimmy Stewart) pinned down in Bedford Falls, freeing him to fulfill his own dreams while leaving his older brother’s aspirations in a broken heap.  As a child he falls through the ice compelling George to jump into the freezing water to save him and lose hearing in one ear for his heroics.

Later, after their father dies suddenly, a deal is struck whereby George surrenders his college money to Harry. The idea is that when Harry graduates he’ll come back and take over the family business, freeing George to once and for all leave Bedford Falls behind. For four years George stays shackled to their father’s Bailey Building & Loan, a small and wholly unfulfilling enterprise he despises, all the while counting down the days of Harry’s return while planning his future travels abroad.

But when the big day comes what does slippery Harry do?  After letting his brother sacrifice his best years to honor the deal, Harry comes home and announces: “Meet the wife!”  Whuuuh? No wedding?  Why not even a telegram?  There’s a reason for Harry’s secrecy of course. George learns through Harry’s new bride that he’s already lined up a sweet job with her father’s company.  In a brazen demonstration of sleaziness, Harry pulls George aside and says all guilt-ridden: “You’ve been holding the bag here for four years…and, well, I won’t let you down, George.  I would like to talk—“ Whamo! The older Bailey’s face reveals a man whose soul is ripped out and splattered onto the floor.  Great brother, huh?  He springs a heretofore unknown wife on an unsuspecting George and uses her presence to renege on their deal after four years of expectations that his purgatory was at an end.  George reluctantly stays at the Bailey B &L.  Harry, with his his degree in hand (the one originally intended for George remember) is free to move onward and upward and live a wonderful life.

One would think the advent of Word War II finally gives George a chance to see the world right?  Even if in uniform at least adventure calls.  Bzzzz! Sorry.  He’s got that bum ear and thus is 4-F.  America’s mobilizing millions of her citizens and shipping them off to all parts of the globe George so desperately wants to explore…but because his good ol’  kid brother was dumb enough to slip through the ice, he’s outta luck…left behind to fight the battle of Bedford Falls.

To add insult to injury, Harry, his ears intact, goes off to fight the war in the most exciting of fashions as a Navy fighter pilot.  Naturally he wins the Congressional Medal Of Honor (did we expect less?) while George frantically races around Bedford Falls looking for the eight grand that his dimwitted Uncle Billy – who was supposed to be working for Harry at this point remember – allowed to be stolen right out from under him by Potter.  It happened because Billy (Thomas Mitchell) is so distracted from bragging to Potter about the exploits of, you guessed it, Harry Bailey, that he moronically leaves the money in the old man’s lap and walks off.  Harry strikes again.

In the end, when everything works out okay and George doesn’t get arrested for fraud, Harry Bailey offers a toast: “To my big brother George…the richest man in town.” For now.  One wonders how long that will last before Harry pulls another self-centered stunt that will certainly benefit him at that same big brother’s expense. 

Don’t let that smile fool you Georgie boy.  Harry just probably wants something from you.

The contrast in what resulted from these two cinematic call to arms is as stark as it is revealing.

Paul Haggis and Julie Christie wear orange ribbons to the 2008 Oscars on behalf of the terrorists held at Gitmo.

In 1941, Hollywood both figuratively and literally went to war. Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney and many of the biggest stars of the day would eventually serve in the military and do so with great distinction. With the help of others, Bette Davis and John Garfield worked tirelessly to organize and run the Hollywood Canteen to bring Hollywood directly to our servicemen. And when they weren’t selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of war bonds here at home, too many movie stars to count went overseas to give our boys a firsthand taste of celebrity glamour and home. 

And then there were the films… literally hundreds of them meant to boost stateside morale, meant to remind us Why We Fight, meant to help America win the war.

In every sense of the word, this was Hollywood’s finest moment, where a community that was largely run by conservatives willingly set aside their political differences and united to rally around their commander-in-chief for the cause of America and the defeat of tyranny. 

Fast forward to today…

Never has an industry been more cravenly political and morally blind than Hollywood during our present struggle to defeat Islamic extremism. Tinseltown’s response to President Bush and America and our troops has been nothing short of the middle finger of betrayal. 

Though it remains the finest example of exactly what this country needs more of from our entertainment community, ”24″ was greenlit prior to 9/11. And yes, there was the safely sterile “United 93,” Oliver Stone’s  narrowly and safely focused “World Trade Center,” and ABC’s “Path to 9/11″ miniseries (which, for purely left-wing political purposes, the network refuses to rebroadcast or release on DVD). Regardless, these are the few exceptions that only prove the rule.

In January 1942, actress Carole Lombard died in a plane crash. She was on her way home to husband Clark Gable after selling two-million dollars worth of war bonds at a rally in her home state of Indiana.

In the darkest days of the War on Terror and during the worst of it in Iraq when our soldiers and Marines and the Iraqi people could’ve used any help they could get, the anti-American Leftists who currently infest the film-making community sided with our enemy through the production of one propaganda piece of moral equivalence after another; a celluloid flood of dishonest, divisive and morally illiterate films each created with the obvious intent of undermining America’s resolve to defeat terrorism and to create an ally in the Middle East through the righteous (and costly) liberation of the Iraqi and Afghan people.  Furthermore, through a number of insidious documentaries, one of the freest and wealthiest industries in all of human history spent millions to produce and promote the worst of America through the creation of cinematic mountains based on conspiratorial mole hills.  

To further their nihilist agenda, Leftist Hollywood would see 25 million innocent Iraqis abandoned into a meat grinder of terrorism and death squads. Most unforgivably, in film after film after film, these moral degenerates have attacked our troops as dupes, victims, monsters, and no better than the enemy.

This hasn’t been the work of just edgy, indy outsiders either. Some of the biggest names in the business are behind this assembly line of artistic embarrassments that – at best, by default — give aid and comfort and side with the most vicious, imperialist, racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and theocratic enemy we have ever faced. And even with each of these cinematic disgraces bombing at the box office, our fat and privileged “Patriots Through Dissent“ have even more planned. 

There are certainly exceptions, those like Gary Sinise whose efforts on behalf of our service men and women have been classy, apolitical and tireless. But again, these are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Despite the tireless efforts of Leftist Hollywood (and their media allies), Iraq is now closer to success than ever, America hasn’t been attacked again, and the president they worked so hard to elect has held tight to the policies of his ”evil” and/or “stupid” predecessor, including rendition, Gitmo and the Patriot Act. 

And so we can only hope that the appeasers who make up today’s Vichy Hollywood live long enough to see the history they are on the wrong side of forever document them as the disgraceful cowards they are.

—–

That afternoon there were some thunderstorms and we were inside for some TV watching. I happened upon “The Best Years of Our Lives,” a film by William Wyler. To say it’s the kind of film that Hollywood doesn’t make anymore is the mother of all understatements.

Made in 1946, the film follows the lives of three American servicemen who are returning from “The War.” They are viewed heroically by the filmmaker and the other characters. In two shorts scenes (one is above) where minor characters try to say that the war was wrong or that the country was duped, those same characters are strongly and quickly rebuked.

To show how much Hollywood has changed in 54 years, “The Best Years of Our Lives,” this “glorification” of the American fighting man, won eight Oscars, including one special for Harold Russell, a veteran who had lost both of his hands during a training accident in the service. I try to watch the movie every year around the Fourth to remind myself of how uplifting and inspiring film can be.  I also love watching the scene where Dana Andrews chews out the haughty lady and loses his job.

If you have never seen the film make it part of your Independence Day weekend.

The 1998 film, just released on Blu-ray for the first time, stands as one of director Steven Spielberg’s towering achievements – no small praise given his iconic resume. Hanks gives a bravura performance as the head of a gifted ensemble, a Captain whose leadership pushes a rag-tag group to save a very special soldier.

The film’s first 20-odd minutes remain the most brutal depiction of World War II combat ever committed to film. It’s enough to make a grown man weep watching young men march straight into gunfire, many of them shredded before they even step foot on Omaha Beach.

Spielberg goes a bit overboard here, reveling in the kind of gore that would make “Saw” fans blush to hammer home the hellish conditions.

We see much of the chaos through the eyes of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) – the deafening bomb blasts, the need to restore some semblance of order and the fear welling up as the earth shakes below them.

The story then switches to the other side of war – notifying families that their sons have died in battle. In the case of Mother Ryan, that means telling her three of her sons have been lost – and the whereabouts of the fourth – Pvt. James Ryan – remain a mystery.

So Capt. Miller is assigned to bring Pvt. Ryan back home before his mother must mourn the loss of her entire brood.

War films too often give us characters who don’t pop off the screen or, worse, are interchangeable when the bullets whiz by. Here, Spielberg casts a motley crue of actors, from Vin Diesel to Edward Burns, whose distinct personalities bring the war home.

And they all get a chance to shine, although Giovanni Ribisi turns in the most wrenching performance as a medic who can’t save himself after a blistering gun fight.

Compare that to productions like “The Pacific” currently showing on HBO, which showcase far less identifiable heroes.

“Ryan” might be Spielberg’s last epic movie of consequence. His recent films, from the disappointing “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” to the morally dubious “Munich” reveal a filmmaker whose talents may be in permanent decline.

Even “War of the Worlds,” which featured one of the greatest action sequences in modern memory – the aliens initial assault on Boston – limped to the credits with a milquetoast resolution.

“Ryan” tromps over familiar topics – the horrors of war, the price of a single human life and retaining one’s humanity in the belly of battle. Spielberg elevates each with haunting sound effects and rich compositions that feel painterly at times.

The film’s extras come on a separate disk, but the wealth of material makes hitting the eject button a tiny price to pay. Spielberg offers both an introduction to the film as well as some parting thoughts, while the cast discuss the boot camp-style measures they undertook to bond as a faux fighting force. The documentary “Shooting War” lets war photographers share some remarkable stories about their efforts to bring the battles home to U.S. viewers.

“Saving Private Ryan” will always be remembered for the beach battle sequence and the silence Captain Miller experienes after a deafening bomb blast explodes nearby. But the rest of the nearly three-hour film is just as remarkable, proving Spielberg was just the right director to salute the Greatest Generation on celluloid.

A quick chat with Ciampa tells you not to bet against him. Ciampa, a veteran of five campaigns in Europe including the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, already has two documentaries under his belt.

He might have gotten a late start on filmmaking, but he’s making up for lost time now.

“It went from mission to passion to obsession. I’m obsessed with this,” he says.

Both “Let Freedom Ring: Lesson is Priceless” and “Let Freedom Ring: Memories of France” have been shown on PBS stations nationwide, and the latter played at the 2009 G.I. Film Festival. But he also wants them to be shown in classroom across the globe.

“It’s not just about freedom, but what it’s like to lose their freedom,” says Ciampa, who will be attending this year’s G.I. Film Festival which runs from May 11-16 this month.

Ciampa, who oversees the nonprofit site Letfreedomringforall.org, has spoken to students in different parts of the world, and their reactions are often similar.

“I talk to the kids there about the loss of freedom. It opens their eyes,” he says. “Imagine someone breaking your door down tonight [to arrest your parents] and you never see them again.”

A few brave students ask some pointed questions.

“One little girl in Antwerp asked me, ’did you ever see Hitler?’ I told her, ’No, if I did I’d have shot him,” he says.

Ciampa’s first two documentaries focuses on teachers who travel to WWII battlegrounds to hear veterans describe the war – and the freedoms they fought so valiantly to protect. It’s Ciampa’s way of enlightening teachers in a way textbooks can’t.

He hopes they’ll pass on those lessons directly to their students.

But Ciampa’s new documentary will be different. He plans to focus on heroes who flew dangerous daytime bombing raids during the war.

The idea came from a man who, at the age of 9, saw a fighter plane crash near his home. That pivotal event in his young life sparked an effort to study those who carried similar missions out across Europe as well as give more information to the families of the fallen pilots.

Ciampa, who hopes to start shooting his new film in October, isn’t looking to strike it rich with his documentaries. His goals are more modest, and he won’t give up easily.

“I’m too close to too many things. I want to film in October. I’m gonna keep going,” he says.