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Smalltownsoldiers2010

Small Town Soldiers (2009)

Small Town Soldiers (2009) is a documentary directed by Cody Shimek.

Main Details[]

Plot Summary[]

Small Town Soldiers is a tale of World War II as seen through the eyes of veterans from rural McKenzie County, North Dakota. These soldiers' harrowing stories are told entirely in their own words using World War II film, North Dakota scenics, still photos, and clips from local newspaper archives.

Small Town Soldiers follows these brave men as they come of age in the Depression, react to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, engage in combat ranging from Guadalcanal to the European air war and finally return home - forever changed.

Production Information[]

Small Town Soldiers began as a simple effort by Cody Shimek to capture the World War II experiences of men from his hometown of Watford City, North Dakota. Shimek conducted the initial interviews with 6 of the 9 featured veterans in 2003. On a return trip home in late 2007, Shimek taped an additional 3 interviews to round out the story that would eventually become Small Town Soldiers. As he found the initial interviews so compelling, Mr. Shimek decided to develop them into a story with the use of World War II film, still photos, local scenic footage and clips from local newspaper archives. Edited over the course of 2008, Small Town Soldiers premiered in Watford City in June of 2009. Since the beginning of production, 4 of the original 9 veterans have passed away.

The initial inspiration for Small Town Soldiers came when Mr. Shimek was a young teenager and accompanied his father to a local diner in Watford City, North Dakota. It was there that veteran Jim Taylor recounted over breakfast his experience serving on the USS Bunker Hill when it was struck by 2 kamikaze planes in May of 1945. Nearly 15 years later, Mr. Shimek would capture this same story as one part of Small Town Soldiers.

Because the original interviews were shot in 2003, the film was recorded on Betacam SP in the 4x3 aspect ratio.

Cast[]

  • John Pojorlie
  • Jim Taylor.... Himself

Crew[]

  • Cody Shimek.... Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

Other Information[]

Film Festivals[]

External Links[]

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