Missing ‘60th Anniversary’ video

As “mainlanders” or “statesiders,” Mr. Boothe and I are particularly aware that numerous U.S. veterans, relatives, and others—some of whom we’ve met during our respective travels since 2004—are quite interested in obtaining a copy of any assembled footage involving the Campfire Chat. This applies whether (a) what is involved would be in some already existing and assembled copy that could soon be made available or if, instead, (b) many months of waiting would be required because the footage in question might, for instance, presently be somewhere in storage and would therefore still have to be assembled and otherwise prepared for the first time, whether in VHS format or as DVD. At any rate, I’m sure many veterans and others would be pleased to finally obtain a copy, that is, purchase one, under either the ‘soon-available’ or the ‘later-available’ scenario.

To mention a few other individuals, I believe, for instance, that Vickie Vaughan, whom Mr. Boothe and I were fortunate enough to briefly visit on Saipan last year, would like to see any such material, if possible, even if it does not cover the entire Campfire Chat. In addition, the sole remaining crew members of the Enola Gay—Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk and Morris Jeppson, both of whom attended several 60th anniversary events but not the Campfire Chat, and with whom we are personally acquainted—would be interested. Sadly, its now too late for Paul Tibbets, the pilot, since he passed away some 18 months ago; and time, as is clear, is rapidly running out for the remaining Pacific Campaign and other World War II veterans. All things considered, if the footage in question still exists but has not yet been assembled, the sooner it is located and prepared, the better.

The Campfire Chat footage-issue may perhaps be the only large gap or “shadow” associated with the follow-up phase of what I and many others consider the excellently planned, coordinated, and implemented events of June 12-17, 2004. Those events, I believe, were unforgettable, greatly appreciated, and very important to the persons who experienced them directly. Having the mentioned footage would make them even more so. Again, we here on the mainland hope that some interested individuals, groups, or possibly even officials on your islands will find a way to clarify this somewhat complicated “Video C” issue and bring it to a positive conclusion, at least on behalf of numerous U.S. veterans and persons related to them. The inner meaning, to the people of your islands, of achieving such an end for those individuals would, of course, be separate from the inner as well as external meaning and benefit involved—still for your citizens of various ages—in more fully reaching, or perhaps finally reaching, the stated goals of the Oral History and Story Telling Project per se: In thereby better addressing, for one thing, educational, archival, and other interests of the CNMI Library, the Museum, the College, and the Council for the Humanities, insofar as availability of the documentary material in question could advance those interests.

We fully realize that individuals, groups, and/ or others on your islands may well choose to soon move ahead and address most or all aspects of the Campfire Chat video-issue with little if any further input from Mr. Boothe and I, and that, in so doing, they may well achieve an entirely satisfactory outcome on their own, however their efforts might be coordinated internally. Nothing could please us more than if matters were to proceed and concluded in that way; we would truly welcome it. Moreover, as already implied, the reality, as we see it, is that —from the present point forward—Gary Boothe and I can probably accomplish and contribute little more than we thus far have, anyways, in terms, for instance, of gathering and then sharing significant new background information and related details. This is particularly the case not only because we each live so far from you but, of course, because we lack the types of access, not to mention decision-making ability and other appropriate aspects of influence, that may now be needed in order to clarify and resolve the issue. (I might add that some of this, though far from all, is aside from the following: As one might imagine, it eventually becomes difficult and awkward to keep requesting specific details, and follow up, from any given entity, whether it is a department, an association, an agency, or other. When Mr. Boothe and I first started-out, we thought most things would be relatively simple and straightforward. Before long, however, the overall situation, including its communication challenges, began to mushroom.)

Even more fundamental is the directly related fact that, ultimately, this entire matter is truly your—CNMI’s—business or issue, not ours. We, as mainlanders and—in every strict jurisdictional sense—“outsiders,” know that absolutely. At any rate, and setting formalities aside, Mr. Boothe and I sincerely hope, at a simple person-to-person level, that a successful outcome will be reached with a minimum—ideally, an absence—of stress, embarrassment, and any other difficulty, wear and tear, or inconvenience on the part of any CNMI individuals, groups, and other entities that may either seek the footage in question or that may already have it.

However all this may eventually turn out, and whenever that may be, Gary Boothe and I hope many veterans and others will attend the 65th anniversary this June. We know that Valor Tours hopes to bring another group of mainlanders to the Mariana Islands during that month, as it has done for many years, and we believe that whoever does visit, whether with a group or not, will find your islands and their people as beautiful and welcoming as we have, during our respective, sometimes overlapping visits.