TALES OF WAR
Cameras to roll for stories of veterans
South Florida veterans will have an opportunity to tell their stories to a documentary filmmaker next month.
BY JERRY BERRIOS
jberrios@MiamiHerald.com
Colorado filmmaker Larry Cappetto wants to honor military veterans by preserving their war stories in a series of documentaries.
Next month, Cappetto will make his fourth trip to South Florida, home to thousands of war veterans.
''I wanted to do something to thank our veterans for what they have done for our country,'' Cappetto said last week from his home in Grand Junction, Colo.
Cappetto's father served in the Korean War, and an uncle stormed Omaha Beach during World War II.
''The irony is I haven't served in the military but I feel that this project is doing a service for our country,'' he said.
Over the past four years, he has interviewed some 300 veterans, capturing frames of personal history that he assembles into documentaries to expand our understanding of the heroism -- and the horror -- of war.
The story that sticks with him most is about Lloyd and Boyd Lewis of Roy, Utah.
The twin brothers fought at Iwo Jima and Boyd died in an explosion.
Lloyd gathered up pieces of his brother's dismembered body in a poncho and headed to the medic tent. Insisting the doctors help his brother, Lloyd couldn't accept that it was too late.
''He said when his brother died, half of him died with him,'' Cappetto said.
A former downhill skier, police officer, musician and broadcast journalist, Cappetto turned to video production in 1989.
After watching Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film, Cappetto began to focus on documenting history.
''I didn't realize what I was doing until after it happened,'' he said.
Five films later, Cappetto's personal artistic endeavor has become a business. He has a partnership with Selected Independent Funeral Homes, a network of about 1,500 independent and family-owned funeral homes.
The funeral homes show and distribute his films, sponsor him to attend community events involving veterans and share his work with high school students.
T.M. Ralph Funeral Home in Plantation and Sunrise is sponsoring his South Florida trip.
FOCUS ON VIETNAM
Cappetto's previous films have documented invasions on Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, and Normandy Beach. This time, he wants to talk to helicopter pilots and infantrymen from the Vietnam War and soldiers in the Korean War's Chosin reservoir, among others. His upcoming documentary will focus on Vietnam veterans.
Fort Lauderdale resident Rick Coats might just fit the bill.
A Marine infantryman in Vietnam, Coats lauded Cappetto's efforts.
''We need more awareness on all fronts,'' said Coats, 60. ``In the history books in school, there is hardly any mention of the Vietnam War. People need to know if it wasn't for veterans, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the freedoms we have now.''
In 1967, Coats, a 19-year-old from Dodge City, Kan., enlisted in the Marines and went to Vietnam. He left later that year after seeing his platoon leader shot in the head.
''You can't take a pair of scissors and cut it out of your brain,'' Coats said of the dramatic events. ``I remember it like it was yesterday.''
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Cappetto's films allow veterans to tell their stories in their own words -- no narration or editorial comment.
These are veterans of wars long over. Some shuffle into their interviews clutching canes, crutches and oxygen tanks.
Often, they tell Cappetto a story they have never told anyone else. Many cry.
''These are unsung heroes,'' Cappetto said. ``They say the heroes are the ones who didn't come back.''
Patricia Ralph, funeral director at T.M. Ralph Funeral Homes, is happy with the partnership.
''It's a perfect pairing with us,'' Ralph said. ``As funeral directors, we hear the stories families share with us. We find out about interesting lives when we are helping families build a remembrance. At that time, it isn't their words, it's the family's.''
Cappetto and World War II veteran Lewis Johnson, 83, travel to schools, conferences and interview sites throughout the country.
Johnson made it through four major World War II invasions without a scratch, Cappetto said.
Last year, they traveled to Guam and Iwo Jima.
''Veterans Day is every day of the year for me,'' Cappetto said.
