Documentary Films - Old Segundo Productions

Wethersfield at War

Vernon Williams — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:45:30 +0000

Available Now!

From World War II to the Cold War: An Essex Story of Service, Determination, and the Anglo-American Spirit

RAF Wethersfield is a significant place, an important airfield during World War II where its service to Britain and the United States stretched on into the future for the duration of the Cold War.

With hundreds of old airfields and ruins scattered across East Anglia and west into the Midlands, RAF Wethersfield remains unique with runways and buildings standing testament to generations of Americans and their commitment to the British and the American people.

Today no light wartime bombers are heard along the runways or jet fighters streaking across the skies, but the lingering memory of pilots, ground crew, and countless thousands of others remain in the hearts and minds of the British people today.

Since the early 1950s, thousands of American families came to live at RAF Wethersfield and the surrounding communities. It proved to be a special time, a special place, never to be forgotten.

Ships to Canada and the United States only--free shipping on all orders. Coming soon for all countries worldwide, a rental and purchase online digital site. Contact Old Segundo Productions for more details.

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Speed is the Password

Vernon Williams — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 02:38:54 +0000

Speed is the Password–This documentary traces the story of the 12th Armored Division from its activation in 1942 at Camp Campbell, Kentucky and later training at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas. By September 1944, the Division was on the move overseas, landing at Liverpool, England on October 2nd. After several weeks receiving new armor at Tidworth Barracks, the Division crossed the English Channel, joined Patch’s Seventh Army, and moved
against the Maginot Line, firing their first shots on December 5th.

Swift victories followed, but the Division suffered a devastating defeat in January at Herrlisheim. After receiving massive replacements and three
companies of African-American infantry, the 12th went on the offensive. Sealing the Comar Pocket and moving in a lightning drive, ended the German
resistance in the Vosges Mountains.

Later the Division was attached to General George S. Patton’s Third Army and spearheaded the drive to the Rhine River. This film covers their training and combat story in detail as they fought their way across France and into Germany and Austria, liberating concentration and POW camps along the way. Watch as the story unfolds with 12th Armored Division veterans remembering those dark days on the combat trail as the desperate quest for victory unfolded.

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A Journey Home

Vernon Williams — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:50:28 +0000

The history of the Fifth Army Band actually can be traced back to December 1, 1941 when at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the band was activated as the Signal Corps Reserve Training Center Band. The band was then assigned to Camp Crowler, Missouri where it became the 348th Army Band in 1943. During the war years, the band was used extensively to support the war effort as a “Goodwill Ambassador” and traveled over 20,000 miles to help recruit troops and raise funds in the U.S. Saving Bond drives to support our troops in battle overseas. In September 1946, the band came to Fort Sheridan, Illinois and on April 25 1949, the band was designated as the Fifth United States Army Band. It remained at Fort Sheridan for over 25 years until the Headquarters was moved to San Antonio, Texas in the 1970′s. In 1972, the Band was decommissioned as the 5th Army Band, and the unit was sent to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. It was then renamed the 81st Army Band. Fort Sheridan, was officially closed by the Army on May 28, 1993.

In April 1969 the 5th Army Band departed Chicago aboard a charter flight for St. Louis and buses to Fort Riley near Abilene where it awaited President Eisenhower funeral train from Washington, D.C. This documentary film traces the story of “Operation Kansas” and the 5th Army Band’s role in giving a final farewell to the former President, NATO commander, and Supreme Commander of the European Theater of Operations during World War II. The story is told by seven 5th Army bandsmen who remember those days in 1969 when the eyes of the nation and the world focused on Abilene, Kansas as they marched past the boyhood home and were a part of the final farewell to the President.

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Willard, Colorado

Vernon Williams — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 20:00:09 +0000

The Burlington Railroad, Community, and Life on the Twentieth Century’s Colorado High Plains

Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad built a new line to extend its service from Chicago through Nebraska, northeastern Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The railroad's land subsidiary, Lincoln Land Company, promoted land sales along its route to prospective farmers and other settlers using marketing campaigns in the eastern United States and in Europe.

The Homestead Act brought many settlers to the Willard area where they "proved up" their land.

The Willard town plat takes shape and Willard incorporates in 1888. A growing community brought families together as Willard became the center for a rural, agricultural society .

Drought and the Depression of 1893 slows the economic engine in Willard. Church, school, and community makes the turn of the Twentieth Century as Willard looks to the future.

Two world wars, boom times, and the Great Depression sees Willard through adversity, growth and expansion.

Postwar World War II brings growth, but changes in the American economy and the shift to urban areas spells the beginning of the end for Willard and its people.

Ships to Canada and the United States only--free shipping on all orders.

Coming soon for all countries worldwide, a rental and purchase online digital site. Contact Old Segundo Productions for more details.

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From Ozark to Fortress Europe

Vernon Williams — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 15:36:54 +0000

Flight Surgeon Thurman Shuller, War, Medicine, and a Life of Service

Born in 1914, Thurman Shuller grew up on a modest farm near Ozark, Arkansas.

Through hard work and a commitment to education, all six of the Shuller brothers earned a college education that led each to a life of success in career and family away from the farm .

Thurman pursued a medical degree at the University of Arkansas and later served a two-year internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

With war clouds on the horizons, Dr. Thurman Shuller volunteered for active service in the Army as a surgeon at the Las Vegas Gunnery School and later attended the Military Aviation Medicine course Randolph Air Field in Texas to become a flight surgeon.

Lt. Shuller is assigned as squadron surgeon in the 369th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group at Wendover, Utah. Soon he is elevated as the Group Surgeon and begins his historic journey as he and the rest of the Bomb Group departs for Thurleigh, England and combat in the European Theater of Operations.

First as Group Surgeon in the 306th, and later as the Chief Surgeon of the 1st Air Division, Lt. Colonel Shuller rises quickly as he influences policies at higher headquarters involving aircrew survival, tour limits, and improving conditions arising out of the Maximum Effort missions.

The flight surgeon in the motion picture, Twelve O'Clock High is based on Shuller during his time as Group Surgeon at the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh. He ended the war as a full colonel, going from 1st Lieutenant to Colonel in just four years.

Ships to Canada and the United States only--free shipping on all orders.

Coming soon for all countries worldwide, a rental and purchase online digital site. Contact Old Segundo Productions for more details.

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Santo Tomas

Vernon Williams — Sat, 23 May 2020 23:00:33 +0000

James E. McCall joined the U.S. Army in 1909 and traveled to the Philippines to serve as a cook in the infantry at Jolo, Sulu in the southern islands. By 1915 he was discharged, had married a Filipino girl from Luzon, and was determined to make a place for himself in the Philippines. With a talent for writing, art and education, he did just that.

Many others came to the Islands during the decades before World War II: miners, accountants and bankers, engineers, merchants, clergy and missionaries, bakers, dentists, druggists, importers, and tens of thousands of others who saw a future for themselves in the Philippines. And make a future for themselves, they did–until the Japanese came. . . .

This documentary film traces the story of James E. McCall and the thousands of his fellow expatriates from the fall of the Philippines, internment and struggle, and to their liberation three years later. McCall’s art and humor and the stories of countless others tell the dramatic portrait of brutality, death, hope, endurance, and sacrifice. This is their story.

Length: 58 minutes

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Sabre & Spurs

Vernon Williams — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 22:23:22 +0000

Originally constituted and organized as the Band, 15th Cavlary in 1901 at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. The band remained with the 15th Cavalry Regiment through a number of reorganizations, redesignations, and inactivations until World War II. In 1942 the band was activated at Fort Riley, Kansas and two years later, it was reorganized and redesignated the 62nd Army Ground Forces Band and assigned to Fort Bliss. Three years later, in 1947, the band was redesignated the 62nd Army Band.

By the 1950s and early 1960s, the 62nd Army Band was one of two bands stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. During this time, the 62nd performed its duties on post in traditional parades, retreats, and retirement ceremonies. It served the surrounding community with concerts, the Sun Bowl and local parades, and other events. By 1965 times were changing as the Vietnam War brought growth and new demands on the Army. As the war expanded, the 62nd Army received new and younger bandsmen that allowed its role to expand into New Mexico and West Texas with recruiting concert tours, public relations performances, and various ceremonial duties that brought the Army valuable publicity and increased public awareness. This film traces the story of the 62nd Army Band and its musicians during 1965 and 1966 when service at Fort Bliss set the stage for later service for many of the young musicians in Vietnam and Korea. This is their story.

If you were a member of the 62nd Army Band in 1965-1966, contact Dr. Vernon L. Williams, Old Segundo Productions, to be interviewed for the film. All members who served in the 62nd Army Band in 1965 and 1966 at Ft. Bliss are eligible to receive complimentary copies of this film for you, your children, and your grandchildren–when the film is released. You can also request free copies for your local schools and/or public library. Please email your request to: video@oldsegundo.com and thanks for your service.

Length: 58 minutes

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Rodeo Cowboy

Vernon Williams — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:56:29 +0000

This documentary film traces the life of rodeo cowboy Fred E.H. Alvord’s in Texas and on the rodeo trail. Alvord was born in Callahan County, just outside of Baird, Texas in 1898. He grew up on a ranch where he learned to work livestock and develop as a cowboy. Alvord began his rodeo career in 1919, placing first in many rodeos in bareback riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding. In 1924 he sailed across the Atlantic with Tex Austin’s rodeo show, bound for Wembley Park’s in London. Along the way, Alvord worked in many of the big rodeos produced by Colonel W.T. Johnson and later, Everett Colborn’s World Championship Rodeos. He was a pioneer rodeo cowboy and businessman and his life and career spanned the first six decades of the twentieth century. This is his story.

Length 58 minutes

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Rendezvous Over Berlin

Vernon Williams — Fri, 24 May 2019 18:14:56 +0000

On September 3, 1939 Britain declared war on Germany, and World War II began in Europe. In Canada, military authorities accelerated efforts to recruit forces for the war effort.

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, nearly 9,000 American citizens had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. One of these men was Fred H. Davis, a cowboy from a ranching family in Throckmorton, Texas.

This new historical documentary explores Davis’ service in the Canadian Royal Air Force The film follows his training in Canada, and his journey to England where he joined British RAF Squadron
100 at RAF Grimsby in the north of England. This film reveals the story of their final mission to Berlin. On the evening of September 3, 1943, the crew took off for the last time. Over Berlin. they would make a final, desperate approach to target. The crew would never return to base, and details of that final mission has remained a mystery until now. This is their story.

Length 30 minutes

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Growing Up Air Force

cobalt — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 19:38:40 +0000

Expected Release Date: 2026

Amarillo Military Families Come of Age in the Cold War, 1958-1965

New base housing at Amarillo AFB brought a whole generation of military families together on base.

School life in the country at Highland Park and on to Amarillo for 9th grade and beyond.

Memories of summer nights spent on the Operations tarmac waiting for aircraft in transit to land for fuel, sneaking in B-47s for a night of fun.

Base kids came to Amarillo with early childhoods from across the world and life in many cultures.

Some fathers left their families in Amarillo for temporary duty as advisors in Vietnam.

Patterns of life as an Air Force brat during the Cold War and glimpses of their futures.

“Some of us were in Air Scouts on base, and our scoutmaster was a navigator on a B-52 crew. Instead of camp outs and other scout activities, we went on training flights. The Air Force rule on these flights required that we had to take off and land at Amarillo A.F.B., but we could fly anywhere, learn how to navigate the aircraft all the way to Los Angeles, and operate the refueling boom on our K-135 aircraft. It was a heady time for us.”

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