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Just sent an via email to Saginaw Valley State University (here in Michigan), inquiring if it would be possible to gather volunteers from their theatre department for voice-overs for the documentary. Thought this would be a great idea, for am not making progress elsewhere. In fact, may have to fire two friends who are not panning out. Wrote to them again last week, after they assured and promised me it would be NO problem to get the scripts to me within a couple of weeks. I even told them I was applying for a grant mid-month, and had to submit a copy of the documentary in progress.

...Well a couple of weeks has gone by, and they have not even responded to my last email. Sigh! So may wind up having to replace them with FRESH MEAT! Great, for that just adds to my production time...

Let's hope this pans out. Wish me luck!

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Dear Steven:

I am writing and producing a documentary, No Bridge Too Far, which is dedicated to my late father, and his fellow WWII combat engineers. Upon completion, will be selling copies via my website, and also submitting to PBS for possible airing.

My funding is very-limited, so have been relying greatly on volunteers to help me complete the several-hour series. And that brings me around as to why I am contacting you this morning...

The production is greatly influenced by Ken Burn's, The Civil War series, and as he did, am using "actors" to play the roles of the various combat engineers, etc. While I have several volunteers, including family and friends, I am in dire need of many more. So this morning came up with the brilliant idea (that's left to be seen ha-ha!) of contacting local university theater departments, to see if it would be feasible to extract some budding actors!

I would email scripts as they become available to any volunteers, and am asking them to return completed works via mp3 or wav files.

If you are interested in finding out more...

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/NoBridgeTooFar.htm

I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you in advance for your time.

Kind regards,

Marion J Chard

Proud Daughter, LLC

Great idea M-1

That might look good on a resume, if they're going into acting.

Just sent this off to the same school, but addressed to their music department:

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Hello:

Earlier today I contacted the theater department to make an inquiry regarding voice-overs for my production, and now I am contacting your music department, to make another inquiry.

I am writing and producing a documentary, No Bridge Too Far, which is dedicated to my late father, and his fellow WWII combat engineers. Upon completion, will be selling copies via my website, and also submitting to PBS for possible airing.

My funding is very-limited, so have been relying greatly on volunteers to help me complete the several-hour series. And that brings me around as to why I am contacting you this afternoon...

I have the sheet music for three engineer tunes, which were written during WWII. I would love to showcase these songs within my production, so am looking for a men's chorus to assist me with my quest. If you think this may be possible, please get in touch with me. Of course, the school would be placed within the closing credits.

If you are interested in finding out more...

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/NoBridgeTooFar.htm

I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you in advance for your time.

Kind regards,

Marion Chard

Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek

540th Combat Engineer WWII

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com

http://www.6thcorpsmusic.us

To subscribe to our email newsletter click here:

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/newsletteremail.htm

Received a letter today from Saginaw Valley State U and they are very willing to help me! Hip-hip-hooray. Many thanks to Professor Steve Erickson and his drama students. This means more to me than words can express. I can finally stop fretting about an integral part of my production. Was beginning to get very worried about not being able to accomplish this.

Continued thanks to those who are currently assisting me with voice-overs, for I will still need you. Appreciation sent your way again.

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Marion,

We would be interested in helping with your voice-overs. Our students are quite versatile and would relish the experience. I have not had a chance to check your website yet, but will do so very soon.

I just wanted to express our potential interest in helping you with your project.

Steve

GREAT news! Glad to hear it

I was beginning to hope I wouldn't have to offer my services... you'd have to get a translator, lol!! I hate to hear my voice, I'm like UGH Who is that HICK?!

Well had no choice but to fire two people this morning. I gotta do, what I gotta do, to keep this project moving forward.

I sent over all the scripts (to-date) to the University, this morning. Am so excited. They are also going to take over the parts from the two guys I scrapped. At least now I can count on them, and not have to BEG anymore. It gets old after a while, plus I hate doing it, "Hey it's me again. It's been a month. Hate to bug you but..."

Just spoke to Steve Erickson last night, and I am so glad to have them on board for the documentary.

One of the voice-overs is this wireless broadcast by Ernie Pyle. They are going to record it "old-style", meaning making it sound like an old wireless. Ain't that cool! Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

This is the script:

Oran, Algeria (by wireless) – Ernie Pyle – Chapter Two – Slides 50-52

“Men who bring our convoys from America, some of whom have just recently arrived, tell me the people at home don't have a correct impression of things over here.

Merchant Marine officers who have been here a couple of days are astonished by the difference between what they thought the situation was and what it actually is. They say people at home think the North African campaign is a walk away and will be over quickly; that losses have been practically nil; that the French here love us to death, and that all German influence has been cleaned out.

If you think that, it is because we newspapermen here have failed at getting the finer points to you...

...In Tunisia, for instance, we seem to be stalemated for the moment. The reasons are two. Our army is a green army, and most of our Tunisian troops are in actual combat for the first time against seasoned troops and commanders. It will take us months of fighting to gain the experience our enemies start with.

In the second place, nobody knew exactly how much resistance the French would put up here, so we had to be set for full resistance. That meant, when the French capitulated in three days, we had to move eastward at once, or leave the Germans unhampered to build a big force in Tunisia.

So we moved several hundred miles and, with the British, began fighting. But we simply didn't have enough stuff on hand to knock the Germans instantly. Nobody is to blame for this. I think our Army is doing wonderfully – both in fighting with what we have and in getting more here – but we are fighting an army as tough in spirit as ours, vastly more experienced, and more easily supplied.

So you must expect to wait a while before Tunisia is cleared and Rommel jumps into the sea...

...There are an astonishing number of Axis sympathizers among the French in North Africa. Not a majority, of course, but more than you would imagine. This in itself is a great puzzle to me. I can't fathom the thought processes of a Frenchman who prefers German victory and perpetual domination rather than a temporary occupation resulting in eventual French freedom.

But there are such people, and they are hindering us, and we over here think you folks at home should know about three things:

That the going will be tough and probably long before we have cleaned up North Africa and are ready to move to bigger fronts. That the French are fundamentally behind us, but that a strange, illogical stratum is against us. And that our fundamental policy is one of soft-gloving snakes in our midst.”

Talking about Tunisia and green troops. Wonder if he

is refering to the 34th Inf. Divn. Hmmmm---