Fighting on Two Fronts - great new WV documentary
Madalean McIver, a member of WAC
Jacob Young, famous for directing “Dancing Outlaw” and many other great films, was the editor for Joel Beeson’s November 2007 documentary, “Fighting on Two Fronts - The Untold Stories of African-American WW2 Vets.” Unfortunately few people got to see it including myself, but now I have - and it is great - comparable to Ken Burns’ productions.
Professor Beeson has set up a program at WVU to record the stories of WV’s 200,000 vets. This film is certainly a great way to start. I really enjoyed the perfect combination of live interviews with historic footage, most I have never seen I am sure, because it shows black WWII vets, including one woman, who were shut out of the history books.
Russ Barbour, director of the finest film on WV veterans, “West Virginians at War,” worked on this film as well as his colleagues at WVPBS and WV State Archives film historian Richard Fauss. It was great to see Jacob Young having a chance once again to work with all of these people plus the new leader of Professor Beeson to create a masterpiece.
Young was brought in to the project at the last minute to edit all of the materials and get it ready to show as part of diversity week’s Military Appreciation Breakfast, which was held as part of new WVU president Mike Garrison’s inauguration. As a result, he was unable to attend a showing of his film, “The Amazing Delores,” last fall as part of a program for the WV Music Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, few people attended that showing and Jacob was able to apply his great skills fruitfully.
Prof. Beeson wrote me to tell me about some others who really helped - “Former WV State professor Ancella Bickley was invaluable in helping to find veterans willing to talk about sometimes very bitter experiences during the war. And George Rutherford, the president of the Charles Town NAACP was also very helpful, as he found two surviving African American WACs in his area — remarkable considering their were only about 3,000 black women who served among the estimated 140,000 total number of WACs during WWII.”
I know that the WV Humanities Council helped support this wonderful film. Eventually a copy of this film will be given to every public library in the state. Hopefully every high school student, military groups like the VFW, etc. can borrow it and show it in their institutions, helping to make up for the great sin committed against WV’s own African-American heroes.
WVU School of Journalism prof Joel Beeson
Beeson is working on a 90-minute version of the film to include an interview with E. Ray Williams of Welch, WV. He hopes to enter the expanded version in film festivals around the country.
If you would like to obtain a copy, you can e-mail Prof. Beeson at - joel.beeson@mail.wvu.edu
Marcus Cranford, a Seabee who was sent to Iwo Jima without bullets
