From dogs and ponies to dogtags and a doc…

There are some meaty stories out there…and producer John Goheen began stalking them more than a year ago.

A unique alignment of numbers occurred last year. November 11, 2011. 11.11.11…and a tie-in with “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” which marked the war to end all wars. WWII. Sadly this was a great misstatement.

Goheen put out the call for volunteers to each document the day of a veteran in their area for his vision of a documentary honoring our service men and women, both active and retired. Thirty-seven photogs responded and came through with stories ranging from Veteran’s Day ceremonies to features on individual veterans.

Although only 15 videos were included in the final documentary, the rest are available on the V-Day 11.11.11 website under the link to “Stories.”

And the range of stories is as remarkable as the men and women who sacrifice daily to keep our country’s freedoms safe. I was lucky enough to follow Stockton WWII ace pilot Bill Behrns around on that day…with some unexpected results.

I will tell you that the only thing scarier than the ride in an aging and very rattly WWII plane was the trip to the airport with Bill driving. And yes – he still drives a mini-van with the same style and speed that he took to the air in during WWII.

BTW – if you know a veteran’s group or are interested, the film will be made available for educational purposed.