Some 20,000 American boys and girls lost their fathers during the Vietnam War. In a new documentary film produced by WSRE, several of these Gold Star children, now adult men and women, share their stories which serve as powerful testimonies about the true cost of war. WSRE will premiere “They Were Our Fathers†with a special Father’s Day broadcast at 7 p.m. on June 19.
The Gold Star designation is given to family members who have lost loved ones in United States military service during wartime. Every five years on Father’s Day, members of Sons and Daughters in Touch—a group formed in 1990 to locate, unite and support Gold Star children who lost their fathers serving in the Vietnam War—gather at the nation’s capital to honor their parents, reflect on their common grief and support one another, like no one else can.
Under the direction of Executive Producer Jill Hubbs, a WSRE production crew traveled to Washington, D.C. last June to document the gathering and record personal accounts.
The film is narrated in first person by Hubbs, whose father became missing in action during his second tour of duty in Vietnam on March 17, 1968. U.S. Navy Cdr. Donald Richard Hubbs was commanding officer of the VS-23 Black Cats and was stationed aboard the USS Yorktown in the Gulf of Tonkin when his S-2E Tracker reconnaissance aircraft disappeared off the North Vietnam coast.
“Each of these sons and daughters has a unique story to tell. We are bonded together by tragedy, but also joined together in patriotism, honor and respect for the fathers we loved and lost,†said Hubbs.
“They Were Our Fathers†was edited by James Roy. Ted King was director of photography. To learn more about the film, visit wsre.org/fathers.
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Photo Note:
U.S. Navy Cdr. Donald Richard Hubbs with his wife Bereth and daughter Jill. Jill Hubbs is executive producer of “They Were Our Fathers,†a new documentary film by WSRE.