Every year I vow that I will finish my Digital Histories film on time, and for the fourth year in a row, I am late. I even got a early start on my interviews. But in looking at my notes, my initial concept was nowhere close to my final version. The most frustrating part? sound. I messed up the audio on my critical interview. Even with all the technology of today, if you mess up on the sound, it is very difficult if not impossible to fix.
Which brings me to the usual hardware issues. It always occurs after midnight. This year it was a memory card that failed to read. I had to take it apart and reassemble it in a different card. Then I found my go to camera wouldn't load and my go to microphone is the reason for my audio problems. I won't even get into my computer issues. I keep saying, the 4 years of private college was worth it as I have a permanent tech support that is indentured by blood.
My subject this year is the Japanese American National War Memorial. The memorial honors all JA that have died in wars from WWII to Korea to Vietnam to the Middle East Conflicts. This came about last year when I did my film on a group of the first Sanseis that meet once a month. Quite a few were Vietnam war veterans, all were affected by the war. The more I researched the subject, the more I found guys I know who served in Vietnam. It is not something that comes up in normal conversation. It hits close to home for me as I was fortunate to miss the draft. I remember as I approached my 18th birthday, tracking the draft lottery. President Nixon ended the draft two months before I turned 18. I did register and was classified as 1H. I have memories of seeing off a family friend's son off to basic training and being told by my Judo sensei that if I was drafted, to head directly to the Air Force recruiting office. This is from a man who served in the 442 in WWII. There is something to be said about the toughness of Japanese Americans of that generation combined with the discipline of Japanese Culture. I see it in the Korean War vets I meet and the Vietnam War vets. But as generations become more Americanized, that toughness somehow changes. I still haven't been able to describe it or understand it, it is more of a feeling.
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