In the Shadow of the USS Franklin

In the summer of 2020, after the COVID lockdown had relaxed, I was eager to get out of the house and went to the old Quincy Shipyard just south of Boston, only a few miles from my home. I visited the museum ship berthed there, the USS Salem (CA-139), the only preserved heavy cruiser in the world. … More Update #28 – Filming in Massachusetts on the USS Salem (CA-139) and at the Jesuit Cemetery

When the USS Franklin (CV-13) was bombed near the coast of Japan on 19 March 1945, countless acts of bravery, heroism, and self-sacrifice followed, many of which were later recognized. The men of the Franklin became the most decorated crew in U.S. naval history. Among them, Father Joseph T. O’Callahan became the first chaplain to be awarded the Medal of … More Update #27 – Filming in Massachusetts – Interviewing Jay O’Callahan

My first USS Franklin (CV-13) reunion was in July of 2017 in Boston. I had been invited by my friend Ray Bailey, a Franklin crew member. Ray had been a lifelong friend of my father’s, who was also a World War II Navy veteran (though he did not serve aboard the Franklin). After my father passed away, my friendship with … More Update #26 – Filming in Massachusetts on the USS Massachusetts (BB-59)

In 1969, NBC premiered The Ship That Wouldn’t Die, a documentary about the USS Franklin (CV-13). Filmed aboard the carrier before she was sold for scrap by the Navy, the program was narrated by Gene Kelly and featured interviews with men who were serving as officers or crewmen during the Japanese bombing attack on March 19, 1945. One … More Update #25 – Filming in Pittsburgh – Interviewing the Shields Family

In the late fall of last year, I started a side-project that stemmed from the research I have conducted for the documentary. Those of you who attended the Franklin reunion in March may remember hearing me talk about it. After years of research that has resulted in over 7000 pages of archived documents pertaining to the USS Franklin … More Update #24 – A Two-Part Series in Naval History Magazine and Music Rights for the Film

March 19, 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the bombing of the USS Franklin (CV-13) aircraft carrier near the coast of Japan during WWII. This anniversary was observed during the latest Franklin reunion that was held in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, fabulously organized and hosted by Susan and Darren Hamm. This also marked the final Franklin reunion that we will film for … More Update #23 – Final Reunion Filming for the USS Franklin Documentary – 2025 Mt. Pleasant, SC

For the final update of production from 2024, we will go back to the Alameda shoot that we conducted in July. In addition to filming at the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum, which you can read about in Update #19 on this website, we conducted an interview with a USS Franklin veteran family member, Don LaVigne, who is the … More Update #22 – Back to the Filming in Alameda

In October, we had a special production trip to Seattle and filmed in a sound stage for the first time in the project. The footage we captured in Seattle will make up the introduction of the documentary. In past videos, I’ve introduced the story of the Franklin by putting narration over a series of clips of footage … More Update #21 – Filming in Seattle

As we wind down the production and filming for the documentary, we are conducting wrap-up interviews with different Franklin families. In September, we spent a little time in Illinois to visit with some familiar faces. We started in Champaign Country, first interviewing Don Hamm and his son Darren in Mahomet. Don’s father, Bob, was a … More Update #20 – Filming in Illinois, Future Updates & Sad News

For our next filming trip, we went to the West Coast to conduct interviews at the USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum in Alameda, CA. There are five aircraft carrier museums in the U.S., and we have filmed on four of them: the USS Midway in San Diego, CA, the USS Lexington in Corpus … More Update #19 – Filming on the USS Hornet (CV-12) in Alameda, CA