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Army Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp is a walking talking cliche--the intelligent, educated, artistic grunt who is or wants to be a writer.
In the movie the Big Red One, Private Zab, an author, is thrust into WWII with the Army's 1st Infantry Division.
Beauchamp is Zab, which is actually to say Samuel Fuller--all the way down to the same infantry division.
Thanks to modern technology and possibly a well positioned female acquintance, Beauchamp was able to live out his meta theme without waiting until his deployment or the war was over.
Had he waited, the success he desired a writer would have arrived. Hollywood and the publishing industry love cliches and Beauchamp would have been ready with the cliche and narrative preferred by the modern left-leaning entertainment industry.
It is a personal tragedy for Beauchamp that he entered into a venture with New Republic--it may have cost him a career.
The greater tragedy is that while certain segments of the blogosphere have been focused on Beauchamp, the stories of other Soldiers and Marines have been buried.
Rare is the adventure story in this war. The stories of less-grandiose young men who have greatness thrust upon them by events and who meet danger head on as a reflex seem not to exist.
I went to Iraq in part to tell those stories. I knew that if I did not do it, few others would.
As the Scott Thomas meta narrative unwinds, please take a moment to read about some other young men--like Specialists Stegall and Hegland and a few members of Beauchamp's own unit who weren't running over dogs and wearing dead flesh when I met them.
Help JD get back to Iraq! Buy a DVD or Contribute below.
JD is currently editing the follow-up to his 2005-2006 documentary Outside The Wire. He will return to Iraq to shoot another documentary as soon as it is released.
We all know that freedom is not free--and neither is reporting from Iraq.
Each digital tape capturing the heroic efforts of Soldiers and Marines costs $7. JD uses almost 100 tapes on each trip. One DVD buys one tape that will permanently capture what the media refuses to cover.
As you know JD spends his time in Iraq with the Soldiers and Marines doing the work Outside The Wire. That means hundred and thousands of dollars of equipment and gear gets damaged. Three dollars buys a new protective lens cover. Fifty dollars buys a pair of ballistic glasses. Just to get there, the airfare costs $1,500.
It all helps and it is all needed to tell the story that is not being told.
If you have the desire and means to contribute more and be a co-producer please contact JD via email.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and any support you can give.
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