Check back to get updates about the project!
I am very excited to announce that A Return to the End has been selected to screen at the 2016 G.I. Film Festival in San Diego on September 18th. I am incrediblely grateful to the selection and planning committee for this opportunity to share our story. You can find information about our screening below as well as the schedule for many other fantastic films. More to come!
It's been a few weeks but I wanted to post a quick update. We made it back from our trip to Vietnam with some fantastic material. As post production continues I wanted to share a few photos from our trip. It was a fantastic experience and I look forward to sharing the film with you. Until then please enjoy a few photos from the shoot!
This week I visited an amazing local Veterans Memorial in Alpine. If you are in the area and have a chance to stop by I would highly recommend it. I was lucky enough to get a tour from Dan Foster, the chairman of the Alpine Veterans Wall of Honor's chairman.
It has been a whirlwind over the last few weeks but I wanted to post an update regarding the status of our film project. As you may know we did not meet our Kickstarter funding goal despite a wonderful outpouring of support. This however has not changed the importance of this topic or my passion for helping to tell this story. Therefore, I have elected to fund as much of the film as I can myself. Last week I received confirmation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture that our media visa has been approved so we will be flying to Saigon on 4/26 and returning on 5/3. (A big shout out to Mike Fritz for buying a ticket and joining me) We are busy with pre-production but I will be working hard to keep the website, Facebook and twitter up to date as the trip approaches and during our time in Vietnam. Once the production ends and things settle down I will put the funding offerings from our Kickstarter campaign, DVDs, shirts, USS Midway tickets etc, on our website so if you are still interested you will be able to get them there. Your interest and support of the this project has been a huge driving factor in my decision to move forward and for that I will be forever grateful. I look forward to sharing the project with you and if you have any questions please let me know.
Thank you to Jeff Zevely and CBS 8. This was a great piece and we can't thank you enough for helping tell the community about this important project. Visit our Kickstarter funding campaign!
Today I had the privilege of speaking with CBS 8's Jeff Zevely about A Return to the End. The story will air on Tuesday, March 3rd at 5pm. I'm so thankful for all of the support! Check back for the full link to the story!
We are four days into our Kickstarter campaign and we are so grateful to all of our supporters! If you have yet to visit our Kickstarter page you can check out some of our rewards below. We have something for everyone! You have the power to help us tell this story and honor those who have paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom. Be sure to share this with anyone you think might enjoy being a part of this amazing project!
It's official! The funding effort for A Return to the End has begun! Please visit our Kickstarter page and be sure to share it with anyone you know who might be intersted in this amazing film. Kickstarter is all or nothing. We must reach our goal of $24,000 in 30 days in order to receive any of the pledges at all. If you are generous enough to pledge, you will not be charged unless we receive $24,000 or more by 9:00am on March 23rd, 2015. If you have any questions or if you experience problems with the payment system, please email me at info@patclarkmedia.com. You support is incredible!
Share link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/143071483/a-return-to-the-end
I am happy to announce that A Return to the End is now on Facebook and Twitter! For the lateset news and updates on the film please friend and follow us! Social media is a fantastic way for you keep in touch and to help us spread the word about this amazing project. We would be honored if you would take the time to share this story via your own social network. Maybe you know an Veteran who would be intersted in this incredbie story and what better way to share it with them!
Facebook Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/areturntotheend @ReturnEnd
We had an amazing time shooting 3 of the last men evacuated from the Embassy in Saigon on April 30, 1975 as they took a trip to see a piece of American Military History. Lady Ace 09," is the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter that evacuated Ambassador Graham Martin from the South Vietnamese Embassy in 1975. It was an honor to spend time with these amazing individuals and we are so grateful for their willingness to share their stories with us. We are extremely excited as our trip to Saigon approaches! Thanks again Doug Potratz, Ken Crouse and Juan Valdez. We also wanted to thank Flying Leathernecks Avation Museum for allowing us special access to Lady Ace!
And so we begin!!! We hope you are having a great 2015! We wanted to kick this blog off with some shots from our first day of shooting on Veterans Day 2014 in Newport Beach, CA. We attended an amazing ceremony with Doug and we were very impressed with such a great wonderful beach side event. This was a great way to kick off this project and we were very fortunate to have Chris and Norbert there to shoot! These guys are awesome! We look forward to sharing more with you as we prepare for the big trip to Saigon in April 2015.
Read MoreA Return to the End follows a small group of Marine Security Guards (MSG’s) as they travel back to Vietnam to honor the last two casualties of the war, Charles McMahon and Darwin Judge. On April 30, 1975, after helping thousands of Vietnamese civilians evacuate, these Marines were on the last helicopter that left from the roof of the U.S. Embassy. After 40 years, they return to Vietnam to honor the two men who didn't make it back.
