As we moved into the final (!) phases of assembling this film, we found that we were in dire need of better footage of our all-important tanks, the ones Carrol Walsh and George Gross were commanding when they discovered the train.
Solution: find someone who has a working M5A1 Stuart, someone who’ll let us drive it around and film it.
BUT — what if they also have a jeep like the one Major Benjamin was in when the Army first encountered the train?
It seemed almost too good to be true!
And could it get any better than that? Why, yes, it could and it did! This group also had eager re-enactors with period uniforms and equipment!
So Mike Edwards and Josh Fronduti spent two unforgettable days in Kentucky — on wooded land that looked eerily like the forest of Farsleben! — filming these guys and these vehicles as they re-created crucial moments of this story.
The authenticity and visual excitement of this film has taken a giant leap forward, thanks to Matthew Brown, Michael Brown, Mark Anthony Leezer, William Southard, and Rob Woodson — and to Eric Parise and our soldiers in the vehicles: Mark Austin Leezer and Eric Palazzo. We salute you all!
Note from Lee Shackleford: I wasn’t with the team that day so I’m hoping folks can help me identify everyone in this photo. I don’t want to leave anyone out of this “thank you” post! Please write to me if you have more information.