PARTICIPANTS 2

JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY

I interviewed the exceptional, military reporter/ war correspondent and author, Mr. Joseph L. Galloway, in San Francisco at the Marine Memorial Club. It was one of the most inspiring interviews I have recorded for this documentary.

On his webpage: www.mcclatchydc.com/galloway there is a paragraph 'about Joe'- "General H. Norman Schwarzkopf has called Joseph L. Galloway, a military columnist for McClatchy Newspapers, "The finest combat correspondent of our generation- a soldier's reporter and a soldier's friend."

I call Joseph L. Galloway, a giant among men, the Keeper of Light, the Voice of Caring for our Veterans.

He was portrayed by Barry Pepper, in the film, 'We Were Soldiers', based on the 1992 book, 'We Were Soldiers Once... And Young' co- written by Joe Galloway and Lt. General Harold G. Moore.

During the Vietnam War, he served 3 tours in Vietnam for UPI, beginning in 1965. Decorated for rescuing wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire during the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, he was the only civilian awarded the Bronze Star by the US Army during that war.

August 2008 marks the release of the sequel to their book, 'We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam'- co-written by Joe and Lt. General Harold G. Moore.

Joe sent me an email the following day with a copy of this week's column, "Commentary: How we can really honor our veterans". With his permission, it is posted to this webpage.

In this column, he mentions Major General (retired) Matt Caulfield of Oceanside, CA, who I also had the pleasure to interview in San Francisco. Again, another passionate man, dedicating his time and energy to help his fellow veteran with the issue of joblessness. In addition, Col. (retired) Bucky Peterson was interviewed on the issue of college education for veterans, and the program he has helped design for the State of California called, 'Troops to College'. And Major General (retired) Mike Myatt spoke to me on camera regarding his concerns about our veterans opportunities when they return home.

I am extremely grateful to all these wonderful human beings for giving me their time and participating in this documentary. They truly CARE and are trying hard to make a difference in a system that is seriously damaged.

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JOE MANTEGNA

Joe Mantegna spoke on camera about his participation in the Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC with Gary Sinise and Charles Durning as well as his involvement with New Directions, a non-profit organization, in Los Angeles that helps homeless veterans rehabilitate back into society.

Joe is an amazing human being and I am proud to not only work with him, but to call him a friend.

CHARLES DURNING & DAN LAURIA

I had the opportunity to interview actors: Charles Durning and Dan Lauria for 'When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Homeless'. It was an absolute delight to speak with both Charlie and Dan and to gain insight into their service for our country.

Dan Lauria is a Vietnam war veteran and served as an officer in the US Marine Corps in the early 1970s. He is an advocate for veterans and is an Honorary Board of Directors member at The National Veterans Foundation, founded by Shad Meshad. The NVF, is a non-profit, veterans helping veterans, foundation- serving the crisis management, information and referral needs of all US Veterans and their families. The work of the NVF will also be featured in this documentary.

Charles Durning joined the US Army when he was 17 years old. On June 6, 1944, Durning was with Allied troops under General Eisenhower for the invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings (D-Day). Durning was also present for the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter-offensive in December 1944.

He was seriously wounded by a mine and suffered severe bayonet wounds in hand-to-hand combat with Nazis. His unit was eventually defeated in Belgium by an SS Panzer unit, but Durning escaped and was spared the fate met by many of his friends -- the infamous Malmedy massacre, in which German officer Joachim Peiper had over 100 American prisoners shot dead without warning as they stood in a field.

Charles said that he still suffers from nightmares from his war experiences. For his military service, he was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.