Delco Times: Veterans-themed local production company launches premiere of ‘Edison 64’ to coincide with Veterans Day

This article originally appeared at: https://www.delcotimes.com/2021/11/01/veterans-themed-local-production-company-launches-premiere-of-edison-64-to-coincide-with-veterans-day/

Edison 64 director Shawn Swords talks about the newly formed American Veterans Media and the nonprofit’s first feature-length film, “Edison 64.” (PEG DEGRASSA/ MediaNews Group)

PHILADELPHIA — With a release date in sync with Veterans Day, American Veterans Media will premiere its inaugural feature-length documentary “Edison 64,” about the 64 students from Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia who were killed in the Vietnam War. The documentary film will make its official debut Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Ocean City American Legion Post, followed by screenings at Cape May Stage, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8 and Tuesday, Nov. 9. Copies of the DVD can be pre-ordered for December delivery online at http://www.AmericanVeteransMedia.org.

“Edison 64″ tells the emotional story of the 64 heroic students who paid the ultimate price in Southeast Asia and explains how Thomas Edison High School had more students killed during the Vietnam War than any other high school in America. The students accounted for a staggering 10% of the city’s 648 Vietnam War deaths.

“I hope viewers do not expect to find the same type of content that was in our last film, ‘Remember the 27 Crusaders,’” said Edison 64 director Shawn Swords, referring to the last documentary he directed about the 27 men from Father Judge High School who lost their lives in Vietnam. “That film was about loss and the long term collateral damage that followed, especially in their families. This documentary is about why 64 students from one school didn’t make it back home. It’s about race contention in the 1960s, lack of jobs and opportunity that came as a result of post-industrialization in Philly. When the jobs left, most of the neighborhoods in North Philadelphia degenerated. While most young people were afraid of being drafted in the 1960s, the students from Edison were enlisting, viewing it as an opportunity.”

Swords said “Edison 64” is not only about the loss of the 64 men, but it’s also about cause and effect.
“The fact that more than  50 percent of the deceased 64 are Black men is one more reason to believe that students signed up for opportunity, to make a better life for their families,” Swords explained. “Jobs were leaving Philly and gangs were growing among young people. Enlisting was a way out, an opportunity to escape and make a better life.”

As they traveled around regionally to interview surviving veterans who served in Vietnam to help tell the story, the film crew said they were impressed with the fraternity and brotherhood among the Vietnam veterans.
Swords, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1982-87, said, “The Vietnam veterans have the strongest, most loyal and devoted fraternity and bonds between them, than I ever saw in my life. We wanted to tell this story for them and for all veterans. We want viewers to see these 64 men as individuals and realize how they paid the ultimate price for trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, as well as for defending our country.”

“Edison 64” is the first full- length documentary made by American Veterans Media. The new multi-media company has evolved out of Character Driven Productions, the Philadelphia-based entertainment and production company behind the documentary films “Remember The 27 Crusaders,” “Wages of Spin,” “Charlie Gracie Fabulous,” and “Duffy’s Cut,” plus television content that has been exhibited/distributed thru PBS, Fox, TCM, UPN and Irish/Sky TV.

American Veterans Media is the group’s newest production company, formed in the summer of 2021, to create veterans-themed documentary films, television, print, and radio content, Library of Congress interviews, content for academic curriculums, and live programs. The new 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, developed “to tell stories that matter,” is comprised of noted military scholars, veterans-themed media entities, veterans, veterans’ advocates, and the experienced team at Character Driven Films.

The “Edison 64” film is a joint venture, with Shawn Swords of the Briarcliffe section of Darby Township as director and producer, Roger Bruce of Southwest Philadelphia as cinematographer, and Art Swanlund of Collingdale as post-production supervisor. With Swords as the lead producer, other producers for the documentary include the other members of the American Veterans Media and the same team that produced “Remember the 27 Crusaders,”: Dr. Gene Halus of the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation, Dr. Darryl Johnson of Wilmington, US Air Force Veteran Ralph Galati of Wallingford, U.S. Marines Veteran Jim Kirlin, and independent film producer John Ricciutti of Radnor.

Swords said, “The narrative of ‘Edison 64’ is driven by first-person interviews and archival material that explores the impact of de-industrialization on North Philadelphia, race relations and civil unrest in Philadelphia in the 1960s, gangs and early obstacles that many of the students endured throughout their youth; their time spent at Thomas Edison High School; their military service and subsequent deaths; the aftermath of their deaths on their families, communities, friends, and service members that they served with in Vietnam; long-term collateral damage to the aforementioned groups; and their enduring legacy and why monuments and memorials to slain service members are so important. We were so drawn to their powerful stories and we’re sure that audiences will connect to their stories too.”

To help American Veterans Media share more veterans’ stories through documentary films, television, print and radio content, as well as provide a forum for more Library of Congress interviews, academic curriculum and live programs, to preserve veterans’ stories for future generations, people can make a tax-deductible donation at http://americanveteransmedia.org.

For a minimum $25 donation, donors can receive choice of commemorative “Edison 64” hat, or an “Edison 64” or “Remember the 27 Crusaders” DVD. Orders placed now will enable merchandise to be delivered in time for the holidays.

American Veterans Media is offering screenings of “Edison 64” and “Remember The 27 Crusaders” to VFW and American Legion Posts or any organizations that promote veterans advocacy. For more information, to place an order, request a screening, or to watch a trailer of “Edison 64,” visit https://www.facebook.com/VeteransFilms/ or https://www.americanveteransmedia.org  or email tom@characterdrivenfilms.com.