<\/p>\n
By Ann Butler<\/p>\n
Herald Staff Writer<\/p>\n
It started with a simple question: \u201cWhat\u2019s the best history of the SEALs out there?\u201d<\/p>\n
When former Navy SEAL and colleague Dick Couch told her, \u201cThere isn\u2019t one,\u201d new Durango resident and documentary filmmaker Carol Fleisher Scobby knew what her next project would be.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the widespread attention paid to the (Sea, Air and Land Teams) since they eliminated Osama bin Laden, the story of how these clandestine commandoes evolved in response to changing threats \u2013 from World War II to the War on Terror, and how their extraordinary abilities shaped U.S. and world history \u2013 has remained untold,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNavy SEALS: Their Untold Story\u201d debuted Tuesday on PBS as part of the public television\u2019s \u201cStories of Service\u201d initiative. The story of the Sea, Air and Land Teams, which began during World War II as Naval Combat Demolitions Teams and Underwater Demolition Teams, is told through interviews with more than 100 former special operators. Actor Gary Sinise narrates the two-hour documentary.<\/p>\n
Researching the history and filming of the documentary was challenging because of that secrecy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took a year-and-a-half just to get the details in place \u2013 permissions from the Pentagon and Naval Special Warfare Command, collaborations with PBS and Oregon Public Broadcasting, financing from Anheuser-Busch,\u201d Scobby said.<\/p>\n
Scobby, who has won numerous awards for her work, including an Emmy, was fortunate to already have a working relationship with Couch and the military.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are told that this is the first time Naval Special Warfare has assisted with the research of a documentary about the teams and their forefathers,\u201d Scobby said. \u201cWe believe this is the first time a documentary has framed the history of the world through the lens of firsthand SEAL reports and missions \u2013 some of which have only recently been declassified.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those interviewed were a D-Day demolition team member, admirals, master chiefs, clandestine operators, demolitioneers and snipers. Images shown include never-before-seen footage, home movies and personal mementos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe history of the teams has been argued over and recounted in different versions from different sources,\u201d Scobby said. \u201cWe vetted everything carefully through trusted sources. Dick and William Doyle, a historian and friend, helped sort through the conflicts. Tom Hawkins, a retired SEAL commander and de facto historian for the teams, was of immense help.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time they began filming, the script was 400-pages long with all the notations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the first to interview together the two SEAL members that were involved in the only time one Medal of Honor winner saved the life of another Medal of Honor winner,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were fortunate to interview Ken Reynolds, 89, the last standing forefather from the Normandy combat team, before he died last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
What moment did Scobby find most memorable?<\/p>\n
\u201cI was interviewing a SEAL who had fought in Vietnam,\u201d she said, \u201cand I always finish an interview by asking, \u2018What did I forget to ask?\u2019 \u2018You didn\u2019t ask about the homecoming,\u2019 he said. \u2018Nobody welcomed us home.\u2019 Tears were rolling down his face as he remembered. No matter how long it had been, he still felt it. It made it real; they came home to nothing or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The documentary has a companion book by Couch and Doyle that is being released today as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe facts and warfare history weren\u2019t just vetted by the Pentagon and Special Naval Warfare Command, they also received CIA clearance,\u201d Scobby said. \u201cWe want to tell the story, but we don\u2019t want to endanger national security.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time Scobby moved to Durango earlier this year, she had already filmed in the area, getting footage of Ignacio resident Franklin Anderson, who was active in the SEALs. He retired with the rank of commander in 1977 after serving as director of the Basic Underwater Demolition Team\/SEALs Training Center in Coronado, California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did sit down and talk with him,\u201d Scobby said, \u201cand he was just as selfless as every other SEAL I\u2019ve talked with, selfless in putting other team members forward who should tell their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scobby has spent the last six days screening the film around the country, including at the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, and in Coronado.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a couple of hundred people last night (Sunday) in Coronado, mostly former SEALs and their families,\u201d she said as she was boarding the plane to come home. \u201cThey said it was the best ever done on their community, and they\u2019re talking about screening it during Hell Week, that first week of training for new SEALs, so they can learn about the history of this elite group they\u2019re trying to join.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does she think about last week\u2019s announcement by Robert O\u2019Neill that he had been the shooter who killed bin Laden?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t match with the SEAL ethos as I\u2019ve come to know it,\u201d Scobby said. \u201cThey really believe in team before self.\u201d<\/p>\n