The Great Abyss

Some time ago I was approached by a colleague who had also written a book about the 416th Bomb Group and wanted to produce a documentary about the group and its history. The proposal struck me as appealing because I had actually harbored thoughts of doing the same, even though I was totally inexperienced in the medium of videography. The project that this colleague proposed was to be a team effort that would include professional video production people and was to be funded by a public grant. I would do a share of the interviewing and we would collaborate on the narrative. It all sounded exciting. However, over several months, the project tended to lose momentum and finally stalled for lack of ability to obtain a commitment for grant funds. Over the past year, at least four of those veterans who would have been interviewed have died and a couple more have developed medical problems that make an interview impractical. One of those that passed away was Scotty Street, the last man to see Bill Cramsie alive. The death of Mr. Street was a very strong wakeup call for me personally. I began to realize that waiting is not an option if we want to preserve the stories these courageous men have to tell. About three months ago, I decided to launch an effort on my own.

Lacking even the most rudimentary knowledge of digital video or video interviewing, I went online looking for help. It was my good fortune to stumble across DVinfo.net and a passel of friendly video experts. The site is a discussion group where practically every conceivable subject about digital video has been discussed by people who know what they're talking about. I laid out my dilemma, admitted my complete ignorance, and asked for help. Early in the process, one of the regulars who actually became very helpful later advised me to forget it and hire a professional. That was good advice, but the cost to do what needed to be done was an impossible burden. So, after more than 60 discussion list exchanges with more than a dozen experts, I assembled the basic equipment and stepped off into that wide abyss that skydivers or bungi jumpers must experience. At times, it certainly did feel like free falling. Since it would be necessary to travel across the country to do these taping sessions, I focussed on small and light equipment with the goal of fitting everything needed into an airline carry-on bag. After a lot of research and creative planning, here is a list of what my equipment consisted of:

(2) Canon Vixia HV30 high definition video cameras
(4) Rechargeable camera batteries
(1) Canon AC adapter
(2) AC/DC battery chargers
(1) Lavalier microphone with cable
(1) Shotgun microphone with cable and mounting hardware
(1) Two-piece telescoping shotgun mike boom
(2) 51" collapsing camera tripods
(1) 2' tabletop tripod
(2) 7' collapsing light stands with light fixtures
(1) 36" umbrella reflector
(1) 12" aluminum spotlight reflector
(1) Backlight fixture
(2) 85 watt fluorescent daylight bulbs (340 watt tungsten equivalent each)
(2) 26 watt fluorescent daylight bulbs (100 watt tungsten equivalent each)
(1) Folding headset
(1) Firewire cable
(1) Polarizing and color correction filter kit
(4) Extra microphone batteries
(1) 9' AC extension cord
(1) Three-way AC outlet adapter
(15) One-hour Mini DV tapes

Yes, remarkably, it does fit into a carry-on. I also carry a laptop and a flatbed scanner in a shoulder bag. My strategy is simple. I set up two cameras separated by about 15 degrees, one with a tight head shot and one with a wider upper torso shot. Each camera is fed with a different external microphone. All taping is done on battery power to eliminate any 60 Hz hum or ground loops. With this system, I have full redundancy of video and audio. I can monitor the cameras from my seated position before the subject, but do not have to do anything with them once the taping starts. This allows me to concentrate on the subject and hold eye contact. The cameras just keep recording and the unwanted segments will be cut later in editing. If there is a change in framing or audio level, I can see it and make any needed correction on the spot. Since the subject is lit with a conventional 3-light arrangement with daylight fluorescents bulbs, there is no heat or uncomfortable glare.

My first attempt with this setup was a three-day session last week in southern California with Wayne Downing, a pilot with the 416th who flew 86 combat missions in Europe during WWII. Wayne was flying on the mission in which Bill Cramsie was killed.

Wayne and Norma Downing - France 1944

He and his wife Norma (both veterans of WWII and married in France during the war) graciously invited me into their home, where a mini studio was set up in their living room. We taped nearly six hours of memories (12 hours of raw DV tape) and could have gone on even longer had there been more time. It was an extraordinary experience for me and, regardless of any amateurism that may show up in my filming, the information that was preserved is priceless.

My next interview will be with Ned Burr, a West Point graduate of the class of June 1943 who is currently president of the class alumni group. Several others are planned throughout the remainder of this year. My intention is to capture and save the raw data now and then edit the clips at a later date.

The Cramsie Diary

Those who have read First To Fall realize that the diary entries written in the hand of Bill Cramsie were constructed from events, not copied from an actual diary. Ned Burr, who is the president of the alumni of the class of June 1943 and is himself mentioned in the book, wrote about the diaries in a recent correspondence: "I found [them] so realistic that it took me a while to realize that they were yours, not his." The evolution of the Cramsie diary is something that may be worth explaining. My initial drafts of First To Fall were written in a style not unlike most histories and biographies, very matter of fact. Though I was quite satisfied with the detail that was presented, the narrative lacked the emotion that I felt the story deserved. After much deliberation, I decided to hire a "Ghost Writer" to help me structure the story a bit differently. I won't go into the process here, but I was led by providence to a web site through which I met Alice McVeigh. Almost immediately, I knew that Alice was the right person to help me with the problem I was having. Little did I know that she was the granddaughter of General Maxwell D. Taylor, a West Point graduate, a West Point Superintendant and a figure who played prominently in the Normandy invasion of 1944 not to mention his extraordinary service for the following 20 years. That discovery left me with goose bumps.

Alice was the one who first suggested doing the book as a Cramsie diary. Because there is so much technical detail, I felt that sort of presentation might not work in all cases. What I ultimately decided to do was to have Alice take the personal aspects of my narrative and convert them to diary format. I then interleaved them with the technical aspects that were written from my perspective. The bulk of the diary entries were based on actual events that were gleaned from military records at West Point and at the Air Force Historical Research Agency. Thus, the story was able to be unfolded factually in both a personal and technical atmosphere. The use of different fonts for the two "voices" of Bill Cramsie and myself made the separation clear and actually helped to develop a "then and now" aspect that was an unexpected bonus.

Bois des Huit Rues

The V-1 launch site at Bois des Huit Rues was well hidden within a patch of woods northwest of Morbecque and southwest of Hazebrouck in the Pas de Calais region of France perhaps better known to Americans as Flanders. The operational and personnel facilities were located within the wooded area itself, but the launch ramp was by necessity constructed at the edge of an open field to the north. The ruins of this site, designated site 623 by the German Luftwaffe, are still visible along a well posted walking path in what is now a state forest area.

The dark patch of green at the center of this satellite photo is Bois des Huit Rues

The site had been earmarked as a priority target in the Spring of 1944 and when the weather cleared on April 10th, after two weeks of inactivity, the 416th dispatched 36 A-20 bombers on a mission to destroy the secret facility. The weather forecast called for heavy overcast over the English Channel but clearing skies to the south over France. Official mission reports were conflicting in regard to the weather. The lead navigators of each of the two flights reported the results as a "bad miss" due to heavy cloud cover over the target. The 9th Air Force reports indicated, however, that weather was not a factor. Only recently, this conflicting information was resolved when a series of previously unpublished official photos included a photo from this mission. The cloud cover was very dense, as the navigators had reported, and the flights made three passes over the target before dropping their bombs. Some aircraft were unable to drop at all. The overall results were devastating for the 416th as the group lost three aircraft and two crews on that day.

Mission photo from April 10, 1944

Nine days later, the 416th returned to Bois des Huit Rues and destroyed the site. The aerial photo from that mission is revealing as the bomb craters from previous missions are clearly visible.

Mission photo from April 19, 1944