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Osprey HD produces high definition documentary in the Czech Republic.

VE Day / Marks the formal celebration of the allies victory in World War II

American filmmakers, Robert Galloway and Lee Dashiell, continue production in Prague, Czech Republic on their current documentary that explores General Patton's advance in Western Bohemia and the end of World War II. Their documentary captures the story of the Czech people and their fight to regain freedom from German occupation. The film explores the liberation celebrations which include battle reenactments of German and American armies. On Sunday, hundreds of US war vehicles driven by Czech re-enactors were joined by WWII American Veterans to parade the streets of Pilzen, CZ in front of thousands of Czech citizens.

"I wish every American could come here and see this, I wish the guys in Iraq could see this and know that these people may not speak English but the people here remember, they remember what the American soldiers did to liberate these villages and they appreciate their fight for freedom. Just take a look around, this is a celebration of the American Soldier" says Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Denny in his interview with the film makers. Denny is currently serving in Vilseck Germany and traveled here to witness the celebrations.

"We as Americans have never experienced the loss of freedom and we seem to overlook it's value", says veteran filmmaker Galloway. According to Dashiell, Director of Photography, "It's been an eye opening experience for me personally and emotionally. I have learned to appreciate my freedom even more and hope to convey its importance in the documentary".

The producers are shooting and editing this program in high definition and plan to release the program in time of Veterans Day 2008.

Heroes' welcome
Plzeò remembers welcoming Patton's Third Army after 62 years and rolls out once-forbidden memorabilia of the liberation from the Nazis

By Kimberly Ashton
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
For more than 40 years after U.S. forces drove Nazi Germany from Plzeò, west Bohemia, an important truth was kept quiet. Although this event was known as the "liberation" of Plzeò, the city continued to suffer under the oppressive censorship of Soviet communism, and schoolchildren were taught that it was the Russians who freed Plzeò from the Nazis' grip.
But private memories persisted. Many people remembered the massive celebration when the Americans rolled into town in May 1945. Families secretly kept photos, and some even hid U.S. military vehicles that had been left behind.

Now, official amnesia has been abolished, and the town's collective memory of the U.S. liberation has been celebrated each year since 1990. Late in the morning May 6, closing day of the 18th annual event, hundreds of people lined the streets under a sky that threatened rain to watch a convoy of dozens of historical U.S. military vehicles ? mostly jeeps ? make its way down Plzeň's main drag. In them sat Czechs outfitted largely in U.S. Army camouflage and waving American flags. A few passengers cried as their jeeps drove down Klatovská street, re-enacting the liberation.
Eva Stejskalová, of Prague, was 6 years old at the time; she remembers bringing a cake her mother baked to some U.S. soldiers and parroting the English phrase her father taught her: "How do you do?" The soldiers laughed and gave her chocolate.

Along the streets, locals dressed in U.S. military uniforms waved the stars and stripes. "It's a tradition for us because liberty is of great value for us," said Andrea Řeháčková, 35, of Plzeň, as she waited with her husband and their 4-year-old son for the parade to start. "It's a nice show for our son."
Perched in one of the jeeps was Earl Ingram, 84, a U.S. veteran from North Carolina. It was his division, the 2nd Infantry, that liberated the city in 1945. Before his jeep took off down the parade route this year, he recalled his first trip down that same street 62 years ago. "The most memorable thing is how happy the people were," he said. Since 1990, he has attended the celebration 13 times.

Doug Brackenbrough, 75, a Korean War veteran, came over from Washington state for the celebration. His eyes teared when he remembered driving through a small Czech town in 2002 with the convoy and passing a crying elderly couple holding a sign that read, "Thank you America."
"The outpouring of appreciation and patriotism in this country is much greater than in our own," he said.
Lee Dashiell, a 40-year-old U.S. filmmaker capturing the event, was also surprised by the large turnout.
Dashiell was at the event with his business partner, Robert Galloway, 39, to make a documentary about the liberation festivities. The two men own Osprey HD, a South Carolina film company that shoots in high definition for The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and other clients. The one-hour film they are making will likely air on one of those two U.S.-based channels, they said. They knew about the celebration from Galloway's father-in-law, who is General George Patton's grandson. Patton led the Allied forces into Plzeň and was ordered to stop nearby so the Soviets could liberate Prague. In Dý?ina, a small town 5 kilometers (3 miles) outside of Plzeň, Patton's grandson, George Patton Waters, attended a dedication ceremony to a statue of his grandfather standing still but peering toward Prague, a city he wanted to free.
Also in Dý?ina, Czech actors dressed in German and U.S. army gear re-enacted a battle complete with machine guns, smoke bombs and pyrotechnics. Bryan Denny, a U.S. Army officer and Iraq War veteran stationed in Germany, explained the battlefield maneuvers: The Americans made a first attempt to overcome the Nazis but were pushed back. A second attempt also failed, but a third try "pressed home the fight." By then, Denny was satisfied.

"I think I know how it's going to end now," Denny said and walked away.
Kimberly Ashton can be reached at
kashton@praguepost.com