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thedrifter
02-17-09, 06:52 AM
February 17, 2009
Talking to Korean War vets about Chosin

By JENNIFER BRADSHAW
KEYPORT BUREAU

Many parts of history are not included in textbooks.

One example is the use of Tootsie Rolls on the battlefield in the frozen terrain of North Korea.

The candy was used to plug bullet holes in engines and tires, where they would freeze and hold fast, said Dick Gilbert of Beachwood, a retired Marine.

Gilbert is one of the "Frozen Chosin," about 12,000 men of the 1st Marine Division who fought their way through a bitter cold winter in North Korea surrounded by more than 60,000 Communist Chinese soldiers in October-December 1950.

The Korean War is rarely discussed in classrooms. The history of the Marines at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, a remarkable account of an outnumbered division fighting off the enemy, is an important part of what has been termed the Forgotten War.

Two Iraq War veterans want more people to know the story of that battle.

Capt. Brian P. Iglesias, 31, and former Capt. Anton Sattler, 28, have started work on a documentary, "The Chosin Few," about the men of the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, seeking them out around the country to tell the stories about their time in North Korea and their lives afterward. The Chosin Few of New Jersey, based in Monmouth County, helped.

On Sunday, filming for "The Chosin Few" began at Brookdale Community College's television studios, where Gilbert and five other area veterans of the Korean War came to tell their stories on camera.

Iglesias said a motion picture involving the Korean War has not been released in decades, and there has never been a film capturing the firsthand account of the men themselves, he said.

"Nobody has sat down with these people face-to-face," Sattler said.

Once the testimony of local veterans is gathered, the crew will pile into a van and travel cross-country to interview more, Iglesias said.

A sense of urgency fills him for this project. The men of the Frozen Chosin are elderly and may not have many years left. For that reason, their stories need to be captured now.

"I have to do it now. It's that important to me," Iglesias said.

Iglesias, a service-disabled Marine with 13 years of active duty, was deployed as an infantry platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Division.

He is currently a reservist.

Co-producer Sattler, of Queens, is a combat veteran, having served as an infantry platoon commander and company executive officer with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Division.

In addition to Sattler and Iglesias, the extended production crew is also mostly Iraq War veterans.

All of the men involved have experience with film and other media, according to the production Web site.

Iglesias said the crew is ready to brave the road to get this project done. They have the equipment, the crew, and Meals Ready to Eat stockpiled.

The men are used to living in rough conditions, he said.

"We can be uncomfortable and be fine," he said.

Funding for this project comes solely from the producers.

"Brian and I are funding this all out of pocket. Between his savings and my savings, that's what's paying for it," Sattler said.

The crew is constantly looking for donations to help further the film. Brookdale donated the use of its television studio Sunday.

By the end of the year, the crew hopes to have a two-hour feature film completed, Sattler said. They also hope to produce a behind-the-scenes feature to capture two generations of veterans coming together.

Iglesias said he would like to give a copy of the film to the Marine Museum in Quantico, Va. He would also like to be able to donate copies of the film to schools and colleges so future generations can learn the story of the Chosin Reservoir Campaign.

War doesn't change, Iglesias said.

"All we do is change the place," he said.

For more information on the documentary "The Chosin Few," visit http://frozenchosin.com.

Ellie